CHÂTEAU LAFON ROCHET
2012 4ème Cru Classé Saint Estèphe Château Lafon-Rochet
Ripe, ripe fruit on attack, then some gloriously fine tannin. This has an intensity of good extraction and lovely drive. Lovely spice and ripe, dark plumminess. Great effort.L&S (Apr 2013)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2012 Lafon-Rochet is quite high-toned on the nose with black plum, iodine, violet and mint. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and juicy ripe black fruit with a silky texture. It's pretty rich and sweet towards the finish, with veins of blue fruit. The 2012 is showy, sweet and delicious, although it still needs time. Tasted at the Lafon-Rochet vertical at the property. Drinking range: 2022 - 2040 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2023)
The 2012 Lafon-Rochet has an attractive nose with blackberry, wild hedgerow and light graphite scents, gently unfolding in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, good depth and freshness, the oak neatly integrated with a judicious spiciness coming through on the finish. Recommended. Tasted blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting. Drinking range: 2022 - 2030 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Sept 2022)
The Lafon Rochet 2012 is a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot that was picked late from 8th October when they felt that the fruit was completely ripe and finished on the 19th October. Basile told me that 10 hectares are now being farmed biodynamically. It is being matured using 40% one-year old barrels rather than 100% and there is only a tiny amount of vin de presse, something that Jean-Claude Berrouet has advised. It has a lifted bouquet nose of dark plum and blackberry fruit with just a touch of iodine. The palate is medium-bodied with a firm, tannic entry. It is a little pinched at first but unwinds with aeration. There is a good backbone here, though it is not a “weighty” Lafon Rochet. It is nicely balanced with an attractive saline touch on the finish. Somewhat conservative in style and showing a touch of attenuation, but overall this is not bad at all. Fine. Rating: 89-91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2013)
Bright deep purple. Enticing, delicate aromas of blackcurrant, red cherry, violet and iris are complicated by a mineral twist. Very suave on the palate, offering seamless flavors of dark fruits, minerals and black pepper. Finishes long and clean, with a hint of cassis syrup and a bright mineral overlay. Just like La Conseillante in 2012, this wine has a beautiful purity and a seamless texture; you can recognize the Jean-Claude Berrouet touch in both of these wines (he consults at both properties). Rating: 87-90 Ian d'Agata, www.vinousmedia.com (May 2013)
The opaque purple-hued 2012 Lafon Rochet reveals plenty of incense, blueberry, black raspberry and spring flower notes intermixed with a hint of forest floor. Rich and medium to full-bodied, it is a complete wine from beginning to end. It may tighten up once it’s in bottle, but this wine has 15 or more years of cellaring potential. This superb effort is a major sleeper of the vintage. Made from a final blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, it boasts 13.5% natural alcohol and was made by Basile Tesseron, whose family owns this chateau as well as the well-known Pontet Canet. Like his uncle Alfred, Basile has moved to biodynamic farming. Rating: 90-92 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (Apr 2013)
Very dark. Warm, cosy nose is very flatteringly ripe. But it lacks real savour and structure. Loose finish. 2018 - 2026. Rating: 16 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2013)
Rating: 89 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2013)
Ripe and well-extracted meaty, typically St Estephe volume of fruit, good spice, good character and good future. Drink: 2016 - 2030. Rating: 17 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2013)
Rating: 17 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Apr 2013)
Features plum and black cherry fruit, with a rather soft-edged feel, showing hints of licorice and spice on the finish. A bit too easy in the end. Rating: 85-88 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2013)
Château Lafon-Rochet
Saint Estèphe Quatrième cru 1855 A somewhat complicated history eventually placed the Rochet vineyard - so named due to its rocky soil - into the hands of the Lafon family in the early years of the 17th Century. The family owned the estate until 1895. It passed through several hands until Guy Tesseron, who's family had prospered in the Cognac business, bought the, now run-down, estate in the 1960's. Guy completely renovated Lafon-Rochet, even to the extent of demolishing all of the delapidated buildings and rebuilding a grand 18th Century style chateau, which was painted yellow to match the labels. Thus Lafon-Rochet are almost unique among Haut-Médoc châteaux in being built in the 20th Century. In the 1960's Château Lafon-Rochet's vineyards consisted of just 15ha of Merlot. Today, there are 41ha under vine, and at a more Médoc-like 54% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Grand Vin spends up to 20 months in wood (50% ish new). Sitting inland from Cos d'Estournel, facing across the Jalle de Brieul at Duhart Milon and Lafite, Lafon-Rochet has some very noble neighbours. The Tesseron family also own Château Pontet-Canet.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.