87-90 Points | International Wine Cellar , May/June 2011

(50% cabernet sauvignon, 42.5% merlot, 5.1% cabernet franc and 2.4% petit verdot) Deep ruby-purple. Highly perfumed, enticing nose offers spicy blackcurrant, violet and minerals. Fresh and sweet in the mouth, with almost syrupy blackberry, plum and saline flavors showing plenty of flesh without any undue heaviness. Nice floral persistence on the slightly simple, sweet, very accessible finish. Though the tannins are youthfully chewy, there is none of the astringency displayed by many merlot-rich 2010 wines. When I mentioned to technical director Charles Chevalier that I loved this wine's dainty, smooth personality, he pointed out that most of the grapes used to make Carruades come from vines planted on soils with a higher percentage of clay, which partly explains why this merlot-rich wine doesn't show astringent tannins.

91-94 Points | Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate