2016 Carruades de Lafite
By Chateau Lafite Rothschild
2016 Carruades de Lafite from Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac, Bordeaux
The renowned Chateau Lafite Rothschild needs little introduction among collectors and connoisseurs of Bordeaux's finest offerings. However, what distinctly sets the 2016 Carruades de Lafite apart in the annals of Pauillac's storied vintages, is its testament to a year that challenged and triumphed.
Vintage Virtuosity: A Season's Tale
The 2016 vintage in Bordeaux stood under auspices of dichotomy, where a perturbed and prolonged wet season eventually relented to a magnificently dry and sunny summer. It was this contrast and the estate's adept management of their acclaimed terroir that endowed the 2016 Carruades de Lafite with a character as complex as it is captivating.
Pauillac's gravelly vineyards found favour in these conditions, nurturing the wine's predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon blend with smaller portions of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. This assemblage honed the intrinsic intensity and formidable structure one anticipates from Chateau Lafite Rothschild, while also giving the 2016 Carruades de Lafite an edge of refinement and early approachability.
Investment and Indulgence: A Confluence of Merits
It is no mere happenstance that this vintage finds a place in the cellars of astute investors. The harmony discovered within its colour - a deep, almost impenetrable garnet - flows forth into its bouquet; an expression of dark cherries, cassis and the subtleties of oak-induced vanilla embraced by the silken whisper of fine tannins. On the palate, however, this wine reveals its true nobility; an aristocratic precision juxtaposed against a generous breadth of flavour persisting through an enduring finish.
The 2016 Carruades de Lafite boasts not only investment potential due to its lineage but also for its vintage-specific hallmark. In this timeless dance between climate's caprice and vintner's craft emerges a wine unmistakably worthy of attention both in glass and in portfolio.
To wed financial foresight to enological enlightenment is seldom done so deftly as by this cherished second wine from Chateau Lafite Rothschild. The 2016 vintage promises to reward both seasoned aficionados and those newly initiated in the cellar circle with a profound taste experience—a legacy bottled in anticipation of its blossoming maturity.
Current market price
£2,840.00
12x75cl
Highest score
95
POP score
189.33
Scores and tasting notes
The most tannic and textured Carruades ever. Full-bodied, big and powerful. Very, very long. New style?
James Suckling - jamessuckling.com, April 4th 2017
A blend of 49% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Carruades de Lafite opens with expressive baked plums, Morello cherries and blackcurrant cordial scents with touches of stewed tea, bay leaves and tilled soil plus a waft of tree bark. Medium-bodied with a great mid-palate core of red and black fruits, it has a solid, grainy frame and compelling freshness, finishing long and minerally.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate, 30 November 2018
There's a putty note on the nose. Neat, restrained, rather tight nose and a tad mean on the end. Just as there's a big gap between Petit Mouton and the grand vin, so there seems to be between Carruades and Lafite. Drying tannins on the end. Seems to be a lack of phenolic ripeness towards the end of the palate experience even though it starts out pretty ripe and round.
Jancis Robinson - jancisrobinson.com