critic reviews
The 2022 Lafon-Rochet has a well-defined bouquet with pure blackberry and blueberry fruit, the oak better integrated here than the disappointing Haut-Marbuzet. The palate is medium-bodied with rounded tannins, a keen line of acidity, black pepper and seaweed-tinged black fruit, with a nicely composed, quite persistent finish. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.
This is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, and the élevage was in 40% new oak, 40% second-fill and 20% third-fill barrels. A nose of sweet and dark fruits, with smoky dark red cherry laced with tobacco and toast. This dark and sweet character translates onto the palate as a supple, creamed and velvety, with a beautifully polished outer surface, within which there is a wealth of savoury black fruits, salted olives and currants, black cherries and damsons, which are set within a harmonious texture draped over a firm and yet beautifully knit bed of tannins. With little juicy edges giving it lift, and a firm peppery structure, the pure and defined tannins lingering long in the finish, with spicy grip, this is a strong vintage for Lafon-Rochet. A fine result, but I feel there is room for improvement here, I wonder if the new direction under Vincent Bache-Gabrielsen will bring more impressive results. I hope and expect so. Tasted twice. The alcohol on the label is 14.5%.
New team under ex-Lafite winemaker Christophe Congé (who will be heading to sibling estate Pédéslaux for the 2025 vintage), there is plenty happening at Lafon Rochet, and this is intense enjoyable, well put together, slight rustic tannins on the finish that emphasise their edges a little more than during En Primeur, but this seems set for the long haul, and is balanced by plentiful black fruits. 50% new oak for ageing, 60% 1st wine, down from 70% in 2021, as the new team focuses heavily on quality.
The inaugural vintage for winemaker Christophe Conge, the 2022 Lafon-Rochet is an ambitiously styled blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Offering up aromas of creme de cassis, burning embers and loamy soil, it's medium to full-bodied, broad and velvety, with supple, generously extracted tannins and a rather lavish, demonstrative profile. It's a wine crafted to grab one's attention, but if elevage is kind to it, it may make my score seem conservative.