93pts Wine Enthusiast
The vineyards surrounding the 12th-century castle have produced this rich and densely structured wine. Powerful tannins give a smoky character to the ripe, black-plum fruits.
93pts Decanter
Once again Magrez has made a very enjoyable wine at this estate. There's a ton of fruit on offer and it has been extracted liberally but with care. The construction and the architecture feel more like 2010 and 2016 than many of its peers in 2018. It's a good wine that's clearly going to age exceptionally well. It has notes of blackcurrant, blackberry, dark chocolate, liquorice and black pepper. It has layers of complexity and enough acidity to rein in the exuberance.
92pts James Suckling
Blueberries, plums and blackberries, as well as herbal notes. It’s medium-to full-bodied with solid, tight tannins. Fine texture with pleasant acidity and a nice grain. Blackcurrant and light tar in the aftertaste. Try after 2024.
92pts Jeb Dunnuck
Lots of impressive cassis and currant fruit as well as tobacco, lead pencil, new leather, and spice notes emerge from the 2018 Château Tour Carnet. It's a medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, elegant 2018 with good concentration, ripe tannins, a solid spine of acidity, and outstanding length. It's well worth buying multiple bottles and is going to drink brilliantly for 15 years or more.
92pts Vinous
The 2018 La Tour Carnet has calmed down a bit since I tasted it in barrel, but it still delivers plenty of punch. Inky dark red fruit, cedar, mint, dried herbs, mocha and pipe tobacco give the 2018 notable complexity. Somber and a bit brooding, the 2018 us going to need a few years to be at its best which is always the case here. Bernard Magrez makes a wide range of compelling wines. La Tour Carnet is one of his finest. (March 2021)
90pts Wine Spectator
Cassis and cherry notes stream through, laced with light anise, black tea and sweet tobacco accents along the way. Late tug of earth on the finish adds nice contrast. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2028. 48,300 cases made.
90pts Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 la Tour Carnet is a little closed and broody to begin, slowly unfurling to offer glimpses at notions of tar, star anise, damp soil and tapenade with a core of stewed plums and boysenberries, plus a waft of cassis. The medium-bodied palate has lovely freshness and bags of savory-laced black fruits framed by rounded tannins, finishing with a lively lift.
History
The history of La Tour Carnet is inextricably linked with that of France. The name of the property, for instance, comes from the name of the estate’s horseman who unfailingly aided his master to fight off French royalty at the end of the One Hundred Years War. Then, after having played a major role in the revolution of the Médoc vineyard, La Tour Carnet was duly recognised for the quality of its wine, when the estate was ranked in the 1855 classification of Grands Crus. The diversity of its terroir on the one hand, and the constant search for perfection on the other, have made this Haut-Médoc an outstanding growth.
