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Carruades de Lafite
Region Bordeaux
Appellation Pauillac
Category Red Wine
Classification 2nd Wine of First Growth (Médoc 1855)
See all vintages of this wine
C(s)=Case(s), Bt(s)=Bottle(s), Cat=Wine Category
Cat Appellation Year Producer, Wine Size C(s) HKD/Cs Score Critic
Pauillac 2017 Chateau Lafite Rothschild , Carruades de Lafite BT6 0 HK$15,960.00 94 JS
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Tasting Notes

So much rich, sweet tobacco with currants and spices, as well as graphite. Full-bodied, tight and focused with oyster-shell and lead-pencil character on the palate. Tangy, spicy and peppery. Needs three to four years to soften, but already beautiful.

Score: 94 James Suckling (JS), JamesSuckling.com, January 2020

Just as it was from barrel, the 2017 Carruades de Lafite is ample and rich on the palate. Succulent dark cherry, lavender, spice and plum all fill out the wine´s frame effortlessly. In 2017, Carruades is especially resonant and creamy, with notable richness and volume. I expect the 2017 will drink well with just a few years in bottle.

Score: 92 Antonio Galloni (AG), Vinous Media (VM), March 2020

The 2017 Carruades de Lafite is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it prances out of the glass with joyful notions of black cherries, redcurrant jelly and cassis plus hints of kirsch, cedar chest, pencil lead and a waft of raspberry leaves. Medium-bodied, the palate possesses bags of poise and freshness, dishing out lots of bright red and black fruits with a soft, finely grained frame, finishing long with a skip in its step.

After escaping the frosts with minimal damage, Lafite Rothschild’s winemaker Eric Kohler commented, “Most of the rest of the vintage was excellent.” He went on to confess, “Unfortunately, 10-20 September, we had some rains. This was toward the end of harvest. Harvest finished on 30th September. If we hadn’t had the rains, the wines would have been more concentrated. But the slight dilution was great for balance.” Then he mentioned what is the critical point here, that the grapes were ripe when the rains came. “If they weren’t, things would have been difficult.” As for the winemaking, “This year, what was important was maceration—the effect was spectacular in the mouth and the analysis. Sixteen percent of press wine was used this year—which is a high percentage!” Commenting on the very high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the grand vin this year, he said, “When you have Cabernet Sauvignon of this level, you don’t want to use anything else—it can look like the Merlot is already blended in. For us, I believe 2017 was even better than 2015.” Kohler summarizes, “If I have one word for all the wines, it’s ‘harmony’.” In fact, this 2017 Lafite is a bit atypical. It has more Cabernet Sauvignon than usual—the fourth-highest percentage ever, according to Kohler. The result is a beautifully ripe, elegantly expressed, incredibly pure expression of Cabernet. Stunning.

Score: 91 Lisa Perrotti-Brown (LPB), The Wine Advocate (WA), March 2020

The 2017 Carruades de Lafite has a pleasant bouquet with brambly black fruit intermingling with damp earth and light tobacco aromas. Maybe it would benefit from a little more precision. The palate is well balanced with a saline tang on the entry. This is a little "chunky" at the moment, maybe missing the finesse of the 2016, although I appreciate the briny influence that surfaces towards the finish. Fine, although not the best second wine that I have tasted from this First Growth.

Score: 89 Neal Martin (NM), Vinous Media (VM), February 2020

Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.