Château Lafite-Rothschild 2021

I loved this wine during en primeur and I still love it, hovering over giving it 98 points. It’s round and lively but also full and complete, not plush or opulent but supple with intensity and a really enjoyable, juicy acidity and a chalky, mineral grip to the tannins. It’s not trying too hard yet still displays power: such concentration and balance. The 96% Cabernet works so well and gives Lafite a star performer this year. This is one you're still going to want to crack open and finish, in 10, 20 or 30 years.

Reminiscent of the 1995 Lafite but modern, this wine is extremely aromatic, showing lead pencil, currants, blackberries, black olives and smoke with some gunpowder. Notes of iodine, stone, blood and ink. It is medium-bodied, with very fine and creamy tannins that show so much finesse and length. Racy at the end. 96% cabernet sauvignon, 3% merlot, 1% petit verdot. Give this four or five years to open.

The 2021 Lafite-Rothschild is every bit as exceptional as it was from barrel. The high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon comes through loud and clear. All the elements are so well balanced. The 2021 is dark, racy and full of Lafite sensuality, all kicked up by the natural intensity of the year. Dark red/purplish fruit, mint, lavender and rose petal are all on display. It’s not a showy wine, and it will need quite a bit of time to fully reveal its charms.

Flowers, blackberries, charcoal, cigar box, black currants, spice, cedar, graphite, and tobacco emerge on the nose with a bit of coaxing. On the palate, the wine offers a pure expression of red fruits, black cherries, and spice, with a touch of orange rind, along with boysenberry, licorice, and red plums on the back end. This is an elegant, regal, classic style of Lafite Rothschild that will age and evolve very well. The wine is complete from start to finish and was produced from a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. 12.6% ABV, 3.9 pH. Drink from 2032–2060. 96–98

Dark ruby, deep core, purple reflections, subtle ochre brightening on the rim. On the nose, a hint of spice and a touch of orange, mineral character, sweet cherry and fresh plum. Juicy and elegant on the palate with a subtle sweetness and a pleasant interplay between the acidity, fruit and ripe tannins, a salty note and amazing length. A delicate food wine with definite ageing potential. (9/1/2024 cellar, drink 2028 +30)

A classic expression of this Château, the 2021 Château Lafite-Rothschild checks in as 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. It's not massive but textbook Lafite with its red and black currant fruit as well as cedar pencil, ripe tobacco, graphite, and spicy nuances. More medium-bodied on the palate, it has a great mid-palate, ample concentration, ripe, polished tannins, and a gorgeous finish. The vintage doesn't get much better than this beauty, and it should round into form (I would gladly drink a bottle today) with 4-6 years of bottle age. It might be one of the longest-lived wines in the vintage, offering 30 years or more of prime drinking.

Kunz barrel sample 2022: (96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot) Concentrated, profound, complex, dark, powerful, velvety bouquet: black cassis, licorice, candied sugar, black tea, currants, mint candy, cedar, dark tobacco. Concentrated, elegant, multi-layered, perfect palate with plenty of fine tannins, a concentrated, fine, elegant structure, sensational aromatics, and a very long, dense, aromatic finish with many lingering flavors.

(96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot) Concentrated, deep, complex, dark, powerful, velvety bouquet: black cassis, liquorice, rock candy, black tea, currants, mint candy, cedar, dark tobacco. Concentrated, elegant, multi-layered, perfect palate with plenty of fine tannins, a concentrated, fine, elegant structure, sensational aromatics, a very long, dense, aromatic finish with many lingering flavours. 20/20 2034 - 2070

One of the wines of the vintage, as it was En Primeur, delivering grip and character, laced with slate and graceful cool blue and black fruit. Finessed tannins open to reveal waves of sage, liquorice root, cloves and forest floor. Almost entirely Cabernet Sauvignon, with a slice of Petit Verdot from 100-year-old vines. Yield of 34 hl/ha, harvest from September 22 to October 8, 90% new oak for ageing. A long-ageing wine in the context of the vintage, and a reminder that this is a wine that takes all kinds of weather in its stride. 1st year of organic conversion.

Lafite 2021 showcases the great class of its Cabernets (96%), which have reached a very fine level of balance. The wine slips discreetly onto the palate before unfurling and flowing with layers of complex flavors. Admirable tannin definition. A very classic Lafite.

On the nose, the wine shows such purity that its scent blends almost imperceptibly into the nostrils, yet with a refreshing edge like the smell of snow. Notes of blueberry, iris, humus, and flower sap unfold, quietly and without ostentation, in a composed, aristocratic, peaceful bouquet, as if gazing at the sea while sitting beneath the Landes pines, your face brushed by a salty breeze. On the palate, the wine is precise, balanced, intensely juicy, with superb acidity that gives structure. The finish is sublime: toasty, indulgent, very fine.

Dark, purple-tinged color. An intense, refined, noble and complex nose, unfolding with great subtlety in the glass. Supple on the attack, brilliant on the mid-palate despite its low alcohol level, the wine develops with great aromatic concentration and an airy flow. A long, complex, deep finish. A rare and majestic sensation. The wine of the vintage!

96–98. Barrel Sample. This is essentially Cabernet Sauvignon, giving beautiful black currant notes that come through in succulent juiciness and a serious core of tannins that are giving the wine a solid backbone. This will push the wine's maturity well into the long-term.