Château Lafite Rothschild, 1er Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2023
This is clearly a very strong line-up from the Lafite team. Whilst the Duhart Milon is quite demonstrative, the Lafite is extremely reserved. Even with a lot of aeration it doesn't reveal much. One can sense a great wine, but it's rather enigmatic. On the palate the quality of fruit is evident. Cool, pure cassis, clear, vivid, and deep, there's a well of mineral infused berries, layers of fruit and stones all cosseted by imperious tannins with long flavours of ripe berries and graphite. Great detail and poise. Towards the end of the tasting the impenetrable aromatics relent revealing hints of graphite, iris and humidor mingling with creme de mûre and eucalyptus. A very serious and vertical Lafite. 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot
critic reviews
An architectural Lafite that stretches out endlessly, crafted, delineated, powerful, sappy, with waves of salted cracked, graphite, crushed tobacco, mint leaf, cassis, squid ink, cocoa bean, campfire. Not the concentration of 2022, but in many ways showcasing the essence of Lafite more squarely, and this will delight anyone lucky enough to own it in future years. These Pauillac Firsts are all a little more closed down than I expected after experiencing them En Primeur - more like 2000 than 2001, and are seriously going to age well. 45hl/h yield, harvest September 7 to 29. 100% new oak. Eric Kohler director.
The 2023 Lafite-Rothschild, which was bottled in July, is a very succinct First Growth and politely declines to sprint out of the blocks. That is Lafite's style. But these aromas unfurl with each swirl of the glass: very pure black cherries and light blueberry fruit, violet petal, hints of humidor in the background. Superb delineation. The palate boasts exquisite balance, chiseled tannins, fresh and saline, very focused with a judicious touch of cracked black pepper toward the prolonged finish. Just an outstanding Lafite-Rothschild that will vie against the '22.
The 2023 Lafite Rothschild is deep garnet-purple in color. After a little swirling, wonderfully pure notes of boysenberries, wild blueberries, and blackcurrants emerge from the glass, followed by hints of violets, dark chocolate, licorice, and fertile loam with a hint of black truffle. The light to medium-bodied palate delivers electric sparks of vibrant black berry and mineral flavors framed by super-ripe, fine-grained tannins and great tension, finishing long and shimmery. A wine that is so, so cerebral, this is a vintage well played by Lafite. The blend is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, with pH 3.76, and an alcohol of just 12.9%.
The finest of the first growths this year appears to be the 2023 Lafite Rothschild, a terrific effort that unwinds in the glass with deep and incipiently complex aromas of cassis, pencil shavings, lilac and violets mingled with hints of cigar wrapper and mint. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's vibrant and refined, with a deep core of fruit, plenty of sweet structuring tannin and a compelling marriage between energy and plenitude. It's a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot that reminds me of 2019's tannins combined with 2016's unimpeachable classicism.