Chateau Lafon Rochet 2020

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "2022 Château Lafon-Rochet (St. Estèphe) 95 2021 Château Lafon-Rochet (St. Estèphe) 92 2020 Château Lafon-Rochet (St. Estèphe) 95 Flowers, cigar wrapper, wet earth, smoke, chocolate, blackberries and red pit fruits open the nose. But, it is on the palate, where the wine really shines with all of its layers of full-bodied, concentrated, long, dark, round, energetic, creamy, plush, ripe, fruits. The finish is long, clean and vibrant with a creamy textured endnote that will be even better once the minor amount of oak remaining has fully integrated. This is the final vintage from the Tesseron family who brought in the harvest and vinified the wine. The new owner, Jacky Lorenzetti, along with Emmanuel Cruse finished the wine. Starting with the 2021 vintage, the new owners were fully in charge. Drink from 2024-2045."

DECANTER: "Deep, vibrant purple hue, with violet notes emerging from the glass. Very precise, intriguing spice flavours and firm tannins. Needs five years but shows undoubted potential. Harvested between 15 and 30 September. Since 2020, Jean-Claude Berrouet and Eric Boissenot have been consulting at Lafon-Rochet. A great performance in this vintage. 50% new oak."

JEB DUNNUCK: "Showing the pretty, elegant style of the vintage, the 2020 Château Lafon-Rochet exbibits a ruby/purple hue to go with a perfumed bouquet of ripe black cherries, spring flowers, graphite, and violets. Medium-bodied and elegant, with firm tannins, it needs 4-6 years of bottle age and should evolve for two decades in cold cellars."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, opaker Kern, zarte Randaufhellung. Floraler Touch nach Veilchen und Rosenblättern, reife Pflaumen, etwas Nugat und Orangenschalen. Saftig, Brombeerkonfit, feine Säurestruktur, integrierte Tannine, feiner Schokoladetouch im Abgang, mineralisch-salzig, bleibt haften, gutes Reifepotenzial, dafür noch etwas weniger Charme."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "Lafon-Rochet 2020 has a deep garnet-purple color. It slowly unfurls to offer notes of baked plums and stewed black cherries, leading to wafts of cassis, cedar, and cinnamon toast. The medium-bodied palate is bright and soft, with a lively backbone and spicy lift on the finish."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2020 Lafon-Rochet opens in the glass with aromas of cassis, plums and licorice, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep palate with good concentration, lively acids and plenty of powdery structuring tannin that asserts itself on the finish. This, too, is more structured than its 2019 counterpart and will require a bit of patience."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Subtle dried spices and berries with chocolate undertones. It’s medium-bodied with fine tannins and a savory finish. Fresh and bright. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but better in a year or two and onwards."

WEINWISSER: "Sattes Purpur mit opaker Mitte und zartem lila Rand. Dicht verwobenes Bouquet mit schwarzbeerigen Konturen, Olivenpaste und Brasiltabak, dahinter dunkles Graphit und helles Edelholz. Am delikaten Gaumen mit weicher Textur, fein körniges Extrakt, mittlerer Körper und engmaschiges Tanningerüst. Im komprimierten Finale kommen zarte kernige Noten zum Vorschein und grüne Baumnussschale, endet mit mürber Adstringenz, aufgerundet."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Plump and open, with a burst of loganberry and mulberry fruit backed by light tobacco, warm earth and savory notes. Shows a savory edge, which moves to the lead on the finish. Solid. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2034."