Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2023

AROMA
Cassis, cedar, lead pencil, dark currant, and graphite.

PALATE
Medium to full-bodied with fine-grained, polished tannins and seamless balance.

Grape Composition: 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot

Wine Advocate: 96
Bottled a touch earlier than usual due to the extensive construction work that is ongoing at the estate, the 2023 Lafite Rothschild offers up notes of cassis and plums mingled with pencil shavings, spices and a subtle touch of fresh leather. Medium- to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's rich and youthfully structured, with supple, powdery tannins, lively acids and a sapid finish.

Decanter: 98
A clear contender for wine of the vintage. Deep, purple colour on the rim. Some soft herbal and floral aromatics, milk chocolate. A real sense of understated power as Lafite does so well. Not so demonstrative at all, but there’s a gorgeous charming delicacy to this - fine powdery blue fruit tannins with edges of liquorice and slate. Smooth and supple, excellent weight in the mouth, light and streamlined, less overt acidity and brightness than Carruades, but still with a mouthwatering centre that gives strawberry and cherry fruit flavours. Ends with subtle graphite and wet stone, long and lingering though. Just delightful, so elegant and finessed. You can feel the density on the finish, the slight weight of the tannins comes at the end, bringing a controlled and quiet power. I love the sense of ease and seamlessness about this wine, it just slips down. 1% of very old Petit Verdot went into the blend this year. 15% press. 3.8pH. 38% grand vin production. Ageing 90% new oak. A potential 100-point wine.

Decanter: 98

A clear contender for wine of the vintage. Deep, purple colour on the rim. Some soft herbal and floral aromatics, milk chocolate. A real sense of understated power as Lafite does so well. Not so demonstrative at all, but there’s a gorgeous charming delicacy to this - fine powdery blue fruit tannins with edges of liquorice and slate. Smooth and supple, excellent weight in the mouth, light and streamlined, less overt acidity and brightness than Carruades, but still with a mouthwatering centre that gives strawberry and cherry fruit flavours. Ends with subtle graphite and wet stone, long and lingering though. Just delightful, so elegant and finessed. You can feel the density on the finish, the slight weight of the tannins comes at the end, bringing a controlled and quiet power. I love the sense of ease and seamlessness about this wine, it just slips down. 1% of very old Petit Verdot went into the blend this year. 15% press. 3.8pH. 38% grand vin production. Ageing 90% new oak. A potential 100-point wine.

Vinous: 98
The 2023 Lafite-Rothschild races out of the glass with notable textural intensity. Explosive and deep, with striking balance, Lafite dazzles in this vintage. The 2023 is a somber, virile Lafite endowed with remarkable depth and tons of sheer character. Plum, blackberry, gravel, pencil shavings, graphite, mocha and lavender build into the intense, palate-staining finish. The blend is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot.

Vinous: 98

The 2023 Lafite-Rothschild races out of the glass with notable textural intensity. Explosive and deep, with striking balance, Lafite dazzles in this vintage. The 2023 is a somber, virile Lafite endowed with remarkable depth and tons of sheer character. Plum, blackberry, gravel, pencil shavings, graphite, mocha and lavender build into the intense, palate-staining finish. The blend is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot.

James Suckling: 98
Very perfumed, with currants, orange peel, strawberries, cedar and lead pencil. Medium-bodied, with ultrafine tannins that are completely integrated into the wine, giving a graceful and seductive finish. Weightless. It's so long and caressing, making you smile with each sip. A joyful young Lafite. 93% cabernet sauvignon, 6% merlot and 1% petit verdot.

Jeb Dunnuck: 97
Reminding me of the 2019 with its modern yet ultra-classic style, the 2023 Château Lafite-Rothschild sports a gorgeous perfume of cassis, freshly sharpened lead pencil, tobacco, and loamy earth that gives it an utterly classic Pauillac profile and style. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has good concentration, ripe, polished tannins, flawless balance, and so much charm and accessibility. Based on 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, drink this gorgeous Lafite over the coming 40-50 years.

Jeb Dunnuck: 97

Reminding me of the 2019 with its modern yet ultra-classic style, the 2023 Château Lafite-Rothschild sports a gorgeous perfume of cassis, freshly sharpened lead pencil, tobacco, and loamy earth that gives it an utterly classic Pauillac profile and style. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has good concentration, ripe, polished tannins, flawless balance, and so much charm and accessibility. Based on 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, drink this gorgeous Lafite over the coming 40-50 years.