Château Lafite Rothschild 2021
Recommended - Second Release
IN BOND
Delivery 2024
Appellation - Pauillac
Owner - Rothschild family
96% CS, 3% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot
Exceptional cases 1994 vintage 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot and 1961 vintage 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Second wine – Carruades de Lafite
Decanting – 2 hours or more
Tasting temperature – 16-18 °C
Ageing in barrel for 18-20 months in new oak barrels
Annual production – 16,000 cases
TASTING NOTES
"The 2021 Lafite-Rothschild, which was aged in 90% new oak, has a deep, almost opaque hue. This has quite an arresting bouquet with dense blackberry, sous-bois and pencil box scents, quintessential Lafite aromas with nuanced floral scents surfacing with time. The palate is medium-bodied, though with more weight than you would expect given the growing season. The Cabernet Sauvignon imparts graphite and almost briny elements into the aromatic profile. Sapid and classic in style, head winemaker Eric Kohler suggests that it is a return to the style of Lafite-Rothschild of the nineties in terms of freshness. I concur."
95/97
Neal Martin, vinous.com, May 2022
"A brilliant wine that shares some similarities with the formidable 1996, the 2021 Lafite Rothschild wafts from the glass with inviting aromas of dark berries, cigar box, loamy soil, black truffle and violets. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's rich and concentrated, with beautifully powdery tannins, lively acids and a long, saline finish. Of course, this isn't as dramatic as the 2020 or 2019 out of the gates, but the 2021 is a brilliant success in its own right. What's more, its structure and balance mean that it is likely to prove almost immortal. It's a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, which is one of the all-time highest percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon chez Lafite."
95/97
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (260), April 2022
"Polished and refined with a firm, fine and linear tannin structure. Harmonious. Perfumed violets, roses and subtle licorice. All in balance here, with precise layers of black fruit, minerals and pencil lead. Rather seamless. Firm, yet fine and sleek to the end. Very classy. Fine-velvet texture. 96% cabernet sauvignon, 3% merlot and 1% petit verdot."
97/98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 2022
"The 2021 Lafite Rothschild is a blend of 96% CS, 3% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a lot of swirling to shake loose notions of ripe blackcurrants, fresh blackberries, and black raspberries, followed by hints of cedar, graphite, cloves, and cast-iron pan with a waft of roses. Light to medium-bodied, the palate delivers intensely perfumed black fruits with a floral and herbal undercurrent textured by firm, finely grained tannins, and featuring well-integrated acidity, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note. This should be one of the most long-lived wines of the vintage, with cellaring potential of 40+ years. Yields came in at 33 hl/ha and the wine has a pH of 3.9.
2029-2063"
94/96
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, May 2022
