2020 Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac, Bordeaux

Cabernet Sauvignon 92%, Merlot 7%, Petit Verdot 1%.

This is a masterclass in composed, confident and understated winemaking. Lafite has always been the most reserved first growth, easy to misread in youth, yet languorously uncoiling as it matures. These hallmarks are so evidently still in situ, despite the challenges of the year. The alcohol is a mere 12.8%, allowing a limpidity of expression and providing a conduit for all the other components to flow along. Individual adjectives are insufficient: the flavours are spirals of fruit, earth, mineral, dried leaf and spice, all softly persistent. Note that the tannins are measured as even stronger than 2018 and ’19, but their cool salinity is simply absorbed into the essence of the experience.

Drink 2030 - 2070

Berry Bros. & Rudd