Carruades de Lafite 2020

Some candy floss notes, ripe fruit, almost sweet and perfumed, scented cherry drop sweets on the nose. I was expecting something more plush on the palate but this is just so fun with a lovely bouncy palate, cushioned and bright. Stunning sharp and bright bramble fruit flavours are given grip from the liquorice-laced tannins but overall this has so much joy, energy and character. A strong spiced backbone gives the structure with excellent freshness and tension for ageing but it's also saying 'look how fun and drinkable I am right now'. An excellent Carruades.

So perfumed and subtle with roses, lavender, sage, and currants. Medium-bodied. So much Spanish cedar, cigar box, currants, fresh tobacco and spice. Classic Lafite character. 52% cabernet sauvignon, 42% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 3% merlot. Better after 2028.

The 2020 Carruades de Lafite is a very pretty wine that marries the aromatic presence of Cabernet Sauvignon and the plushness of Merlot that make up the principal part of this blend. Dried herbs, leather, earthiness, tobacco and cedar lend darkness and aromatic intensity to this brooding Pauillac. The 2020 is a powerhouse Carruades that needs a few years in bottle to find its finest balance.

Flowers, cedar, tobacco, spice, exuberant black raspberries, kirsch and plums open the perfume. Medium-bodied, elegant, fresh and lifted on the nose and palate, this is a good example of a baby Lafite in its youth. The finish is all about its silky elegance and purity of fruit. The wine is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. 93-95 Pts

Dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, ochre rim. Floral with nuances of cassis and liquorice, fine oak aromas, ripe cherries; an attractive bouquet. Taut, tight-knit, juicy, red berry fruit, a mineral-salty touch, well-integrated, supporting tannins, well-balanced and persistent. Very good ageing potential.

Pure and perfumed, fine toast and mocha with violet, ripe black currant, sage and some butterscotch. Rather dense with an already rounded texture, melted tannins, with a fresh backbone, some herbal notes paired with digest dark fruit and a long, supple finish.

This Château has made truly legendary wines in 2020. Looking at the vintage, the harvest occurred all in September, and their second wine, the 2020 Carruades De Lafite, is based on 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that was raised in 90% new French oak. The alcohol hit 13% and the pH is 3.84. It's much more open and expressive than the Grand Vin and offers beautiful darker red and black fruits as well as leafy tobacco, cedar pencil, and spicy nuances. Medium-bodied, layered, and concentrated, it has the vintage's more structured, firm feel on the palate, rock-solid mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It needs 4-5 years of bottle age but will evolve for two decades.

Delicate, noble Pauillac bouquet: freshly picked red cherry, marzipan, blackcurrant drops, dark tobacco, blackberry jam. On the sublime palate with a silky texture, ripe, well-structured tannins, a refined saline note, with its own identity – young vines. In the focused, finely aromatic finish: morello cherry, light graphite.

Kunz barrel sample 2021: velvety, fruity, dark bouquet, cassis, licorice, fine woods, tobacco, currants. Densely interwoven, elegant palate with creamy dark fruit, fine tannins, velvety structure, powerful dark aromatics, long, finely opulent finish. Has room to improve.

Silky, fruity, dark bouquet: cassis, licorice, noble woods, tobacco, currants. Densely interwoven, elegant palate with creamy dark fruit, fine tannins, velvety structure, powerful dark aromatics, long, finely opulent finish. Can still improve. 17/20 2026 - 2040

This is an enjoyable Carruades, with confident weight and spice, barely out of its En Primeur character. Black cherry and cassis notes grip through the palate, with liquorice, tobacco and espresso, and a creamy mid-palate gives a welcoming kick. Eric Kohler, technical director, 20% new oak.

93-94

Carruades, which has gained in density in recent years, bursts on the palate with notes of licorice, fresh red fruits, and menthol. A fine success worthy of its big brother.

A mysterious nose, evoking twilight where you can see only silhouettes and shadows, with notes of mountain aromatic herbs. A wine full of tension, levity, with a lovely acidity that counterbalances the richness of the vintage. Dynamic, electrifying. A beautiful grain of chocolatey tannin.

94–96. Barrel Sample. With its elegant tannins and velvety Merlot in the blend, the wine brings out both the richness of the year and its great fruit. Behind it all there is this superb structure that makes this second wine of Lafite-Rothschild a great wine in its own right.