Château Lafite Rothschild, 1er Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2022

Name: Château Lafite Rothschild, 1er Cru Classé, Pauillac
Brand: Château Lafite Rothschild
Price: 3603.53 GBP

Available Vintages

all 1994 1995 1996 2000 2002 2007 2009 2013 2014 2015 2016 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

justerini & brooks tasting note

We're going to run out of superlatives… Lafite has provided one of the most handsome, detailed and downright gorgeous wines of the vintage. A wine of epic proportions and rippling muscle, yet so measured and genteel. Initially brooding and introspective, with some coaxing, it starts to reveal a glorious floral bouquet of iris, violets, tobacco, mint and sage, along with pure cassis, graphite and hints of oak spice. The attack is pure blackcurrant infused with minerals, very athletic and cool, with some lovely leafy notes. All tension and class, there's an intensity and purity to the fruit that is so alluring, a certain strictness even. This is very much the complete package, the seamless core glides across the palate offering layers of fruit and minerals before segueing to resonant, linear tannins, which provide enduring length and grip. The precision and clarity here is on another level, and one feels there's still tons in reserve. One of the superstars of the vintage, a wine that captures the noble essence of Cabernet Sauvignon. Quite wonderful! 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot.

critic reviews

97/100Chris Kissack,The Wine Independent

The grand vin from Lafite is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, the latter from one small parcel (of two planted) which is home to some very old vines, and the élevage was in entirely new oak. I adore the nose here, the fruit profile moving from red to black, but with a savoury tension rather anything broad or rich, with nuances of black pepper, olive, liquorice and tobacco, not to mention a wrapping of finely polished new oak and a touch of fine reduction. This latter element also wraps up the palate, which carries dark fruit, olive, liquorice and currant, with a very fine and well-honed core of finessed tannins, which support the sinewy substance of the palate. The finish is all snugly defined elegance, and overall this has an excellent and rather aristocratic stance, with a long finish of incredibly tightly packed tannins. Buyers of this wine will need to be patient. The alcohol on the label is 13.5%.

DRINKING WINDOW 2034 - 2074

date of review 06/2025

99/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

This is a great Latour, muscular and sculpted, delivering waves of tobacco leaf, pomegranate, powerful cassis and bilberry fruits, crayon, crushed rocks, ripe and finessed tannins. Lifted by waves of fresh acidities, not as rooted in the earth as vintages like the 2016 or 2010 - rather this has edges of juice and sinew that suggest it could be ready within a decade to begin drinking, rather than the 15 years+ of many Latours. Compelling, complex, precise. 95% new oak, Hélène Génin director.

DRINKING WINDOW 2032 - 2050

date of review 03/2025

98/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2022 Lafite-Rothschild bides its time in the glass. Head winemaker Eric Kohler told me that this contains the highest proportion of <em>vin de presse</em> ever at 17%, and the alcohol is 13.6%. The 2022 is initially quite reticent, but after four or five minutes, it unfolds with scents of blackberry, cedar, graphite and a touch of inkwell. Like a few other wines in this vintage, the <em>mineralité</em> only reveals itself later. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins, the signature trait of a first-rate Lafite. It is adorned with unerring purity and elegance, very focused with a beguiling symmetry. Quintessentially Lafite Rothschild, this is as precise as a Swiss watch with just the right degree of salinity to keep the saliva flowing on the finish. Just a magnificent First Growth destined to give immense pleasure.

DRINKING WINDOW 2032 - 2075

date of review 02/2025

95-97/100William Kelley,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

A blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2022 Lafite Rothschild unwinds in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cassis, sweet soils tones, cigar box and lilac. Medium to full-bodied, it's the most tensile of the first growths this year, with a layered, concentrated but youthfully introverted mid-palate, lively acids and a long, saline finish. It checks in at a rather high pH of 3.85, which belies its incisive profile, from a harvest that extended from August 31 to September 24.

date of review 04/2023