2023 CARRUADES DE CHÂTEAU LAFITE Pauillac, Lea & Sandeman

CARRUADES DE CHÂTEAU LAFITE

2023 Pauillac

Grapes Petit Verdot, Cab Franc, Merlot, Cab Sauv
Colour Red
Origin France, Bordeaux
Sub-district Haut Médoc
Village Pauillac
ABV 13%

Medium intensity ruby, fairly austere right now, structured, with the same mint leaf and ink quality as Lafite. The sweet brambled black fruits only come in through the mid palate, this is well paced, unrolls slowly, a serious and concentrated Carruades that has its eye on the future. 12% pres wine, harvest September 7 to 29, unusually only using Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. Drinking range: 2029 - 2044 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2024)


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The 2023 Carruades de Lafite is a very pretty, sensual wine that very much captures the personality of the Grand Vin, naturally in a more approachable style. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, with no Franc or Petit Verdot. I have to say, there is something very direct about the 2023—something frank that is really evident. I admire its purity. Succulent red plum, spice, cedar, tobacco and a lifting touch of white pepper open first, while beautifully persistent saline undertones extend the finish. Drinking range: 2028 - 2043 Rating: 92-94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)

The blend here is 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, picked between September 7th and October 3rd. A very reserved nose, de rigueur for these particular Rothschild wines, with a mineral wrapping of gravel and stone, wrapped around fine desiccated currant fruits, with slowly emerging floral notes, lightly expressed, the focus here being reserve and tension. The palate really steps up though, with a taut and mineral line of currant and berry fruits, underpinned by a finely knit and ripe core of tannins, supporting the savoury and lightly bitter fruits through the middle and finish. This has a fine sense of savoury poise, the fruit almost sour such is its reserve, but the structure is integrated and charged, with a long and tense wrapping of tannins at the end. A very correct Carruades this year. The alcohol is 13%. Rating: 91-93 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

The 2023 Carruades de Lafite is notable for some of the Cabernet being picked prior to the Merlot, between September 7 and 29. This year, there is no Cabernet Franc or Petit Verdot in the blend. It has a far superior bouquet to some of the vintages I was tasting a decade or so ago—much more purity and precision, with notes of black plum, wild strawberry and a touch of cassis. The palate is medium-bodied with a silky texture and a crisp line of acidity. It’s fresh, precise and saline, with a long tail on the finish. This is surely one of the best Carruades I have tasted at this stage. Drinking range: 2027 - 2047 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2024)

Château Lafite

1855 classification - Premier Grand Cru Classé The long history of Château Lafite includes a period in the 17th and 18th century when it was owned by the Ségur family, who also at the time owned Latour and who's name lives on at Calon-Ségur and Phelan-Ségur. By the time of the 1855 classification which rightly recognised the reputation of Lafite, the estate was under a complicated ownership arrangement which inevitably unravelled, and Lafite was sold to Baron James de Rothschild, largely it would seem to keep uo with his cousin Nathaniel Rothschild who had recently purchased Brane-Mouton (later to become Mouton Rothschild). He died a couple of months later, but his descendents own the estate to this day. Baron Eric, who took control during the 1970's, returned Lafite to its rightful place at the top of the Bordeaux hierarchy with a programme of investment, improvement and modernisation. There are 103ha of land under vine at Lafite, facing Cos d'Estournel across the Jalle du Breuil which marks the border between Pauillac and Saint Estèphe. Indeed, Lafite own a small parcel of vines over the border in Saint Estèphe. Just over 70% is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon with 25% Merlot and smaller portions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Vines for the grand vin average around 40 years old with none less than 10. Wines are aged in barrels from their own cooperage for aound 18 months. The second wine is Carruades de Lafite which usually features a higher proportion of Merlot in the cuvée.

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