Lead-pencil aromas with currants and plums, too. Full body, silky tannins and a focused and very refined finish. It´s the tannins that drive things. An excellent second wine of Lafite. Needs two or three years to soften. Start drinking in 2021.

Score: 94 James Suckling (JS), JamesSuckling.com, February 2018

The 2015 Lafite Rothschild, which was bottled in May 2017, has a very refined bouquet with blackberry, bilberry, hints of cassis and violets, all beautifully defined. It is initially quite understated but blossoms in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, slightly chalky tannin. The acidity here is perfectly pitched, lending tension and that sense of vibrancy that winemaker Eric Kohler talks about. It just seems to flow nicely along before fanning out toward the precise finish although I still believe that its proximity to Saint-Estèphe that suffered more pre-harvest rain possibly shaved off a little of what could have been. Nevertheless, this is a Lafite that seems to run like clockwork and it will surely give immense pleasure over the next 20 or 30 years. Anticipated maturity: 2022 - 2050. 

Score: 95 Neal Martin (NM), The Wine Advocate (WA), March 2018

The deep garnet-purple shaded 2015 Lafite Rothschild is blended of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot and was matured for 20 months in new oak barrels from Tonnellerie des Domaines (their own cooperage). It is still sporting a lot of cedar at this nascent stage with a vibrant core of black raspberries, red currants and crushed plums plus touches of cigar boxes, violets and underbrush with a waft of tilled loam. Medium-bodied and elegantly styled with wonderful freshness and depth, it is compellingly earthy/minerally in the mouth with a frame of seductively silky yet very firm tannins and culminating in a very long, racy and pure finish. Boasting spectacular finesse and packed with nuances, clearly, given some of the challenges here in 2015, this is a masterpiece of diligence in the vineyards, careful selection and very clever crafting—bravo!

Score: 96+ Antonio Galloni (AG), Vinous Media (VM), February 2018

A blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc and aged for 18 months in barrels, 10% new, the 2015 Carruades de Lafite is medium to deep garnet-purple colored and just a little closed at this youthful stage, revealing delicate notes of red and black plums, black cherries and dried herbs plus touches of pencil lead, cedar chest and beef drippings. Medium-bodied, refreshing and with a well-played chewy texture, although just a baby in terms of evolution, it has an accessible structure, finishing long and savory.

Score: 91 Lisa Perrotti-Brown (LPB), The Wine Advocate (WA), February 2018