CHÂTEAU LAFITE

During en primeur, the 2017 Lafite-Rothschild was one of the most impressive wines of the Left Bank. Today, it is equally impressive. An ample, richly constituted wine, the 2017 is an unusually dark, somber Lafite, with a percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon that is among the highest ever here. There is a sort of monastic sense of austerity that gives the wine its impression of reserve. Dark cherry, plum, chocolate, licorice, spice and menthol develop in the glass, but it will be many years before it awakens. Readers will have to be patient but there is a lot to look forward to here. Like many of his colleagues, Technical Director Eric Kohler opted for gentle extractions and incorporated a relatively high amount of press wine (16%) into the blend. Those are merely details, though, because the 2017 Lafite is stellar. Drinking range: 2027 - 2057 Rating: 96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Mar 2020)

The 2017 Lafite-Rothschild was bottled at the end June 2019, two months prior to my visit to the château. It has a lovely bouquet with blackberry, briary, brine and cedar. Generous, especially for the normally more introspective First Growth. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins that frame the blackberry and bilberry fruit. The acidity is nicely judged and there is a satisfying linearity from start to finish. Classic Lafite-Rothschild in many ways, though it does not have the precision on the bravura finish that singles out a truly great vintage like the 2016. Yet, this will certainly give 20-30 years of pleasure. Drinking range: 2024 - 2055 Rating: 95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2020)

This is a youthful tumble of warmed black currant, fig and blackberry paste flavors, entwined with bay leaf, tobacco, savory, lilac, smoldering charcoal and warm cast iron notes. Terrific stony minerality zips everything up for now, but riveting acidity and excellent energy should carry this easily in the cellar. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2040. 16,000 cases made. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Jan 2020)

The 2017 Lafite-Rothschild had been blended in mid-March, a couple of weeks prior to my visit, therefore it was important to let this settle and aerate. Moreover, I returned on my final day in Bordeaux mid-April for a second reading. It feels very aloof at first, even a little green, although that ebbs away with time in the glass to reveal pure blackberry and bilberry fruit, touches of brine, cedar and graphite. Patience discloses a really quite sublime array of aromas. The palate is where all the action is: filigree tannin, very well judged acidity, harmonious and poised with a silky smooth finish that glides across the mouth. It does not possess enormous length but it is very precise and, for want of a better, less clichéd word, classic from start to finish. Tasted twice with consistent notes. Drinking range: 2023 - 2050 Rating: 95-97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)

96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.5% Merlot, 0.5% Petit Verdot. Inky crimson. Dark, savoury black fruit, a little understated in aroma. On the palate, could do with just a little more flesh. It's balanced and not overdone on the tannins but not the standout first growth this year. Elegant but rather underwhelming, perhaps lacking the sweetness and mid-palate depth of Merlot. Tannins very fine. Fresh and really quite soft, textural finesse but rather understated fruit. Savoury graphite finish. Drinking range: 2027 - 2040 Rating: 17 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2018)

This is very tight and tannic with lots of blackcurrant and sweet-tobacco character. Firm and powerful tannin texture sets this up for a long and chewy finish, yet it remains very compact and polished. It's a wine that possesses all the hallmarks of Lafite — everything from flavors to structure. Rating: 97-98 James Suckling, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2018)

Eric Kohler, now working alongside the recently arrived Jean-Guillaume Prats at Lafite-Rothschild, says that there was no frost of note here. The spring weather was excellent, the flowering passed without problem, while the 60 mm of rain the vineyard received in September, right at the beginning of harvest, did not help the Merlot. Nevertheless, the conditions afterwards were perfect for the ongoing ripening and harvest of the Cabernet Sauvignon. The harvest ran from September 11th until the 15th for the Merlot, while the Cabernet Sauvignon was picked between the 16th and the 29th, the Cabernet Franc on the 20th, and the Petit Verdot on the 29th. The grand vin took 40% of the crop, while the second wine took the same proportion, and 20% was excluded from either wine. The blend in this vintage is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, which accounts for 96% of the total, well above average, and there are few vintages with figures higher than this (although 2013 and 1994 are candidates). The balance is 3.5% Merlot and 0.5% Petit Verdot. This has a completely different aromatic impact compared to Carruades de Lafite, as here the Cabernet shows much more strongly, unsurprising considering its representation in the blend. The nose is filled with wall-to-wall smoked cherry, with a ripe, dark, red-fruit character, focused, albeit dusted with the same toast and praline oak notes, and it also has a finer floral perfume, with scents of white flower petals and a little chalk. The palate is very serious and convincing, immediately composed, finely structured, with a very fine balance of focused, pencil-drawn structure at its start, wrapped up with gentle red cherries and toasted fruits. The tannins are imperceptible at first, so velvety and tight-knit are they, a style which works well with the fresh acid seam running through the wine. We have here a very fresh, composed, reserved example of Lafite, with impressive potential. It is not a wine of power or weight, unlike some of the other top wines of the vintage, rather one of focused precision and balance, but with a very reassuring tannic substance. Rating: 94-96 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2018)