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Lafon Rochet 1996

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Estèphe
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Lafon-Rochet

Label

Tasting Notes

90
Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (4), December 2003

The 1996 Lafon-Rochet is a wine that I had not tasted for nearly one decade. It was always a modest 1996 Saint Estèphe. The nose is pleasant with blackberry and briary aromas, cedar and sandalwood, but perhaps what is missing vigor. You almost end up giving it a kick up the rear to offer more intensity. The palate is well balanced and delivers a pleasant fleshy mouthfeel. It feels saline in the mouth with a generous pinch of black pepper towards the finish. This is drinking beautifully now and if your expectations and not lofty, you will enjoy this Lafon-Rochet that is à point. Tasted July 2016.

89
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com (227), October 2016

Relatively pale and evolved. A bit stringy and light on the nose. Very lightweight though correct - a bit austere. This will never be voluptuous! Drink 2008-15

16
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, September 2006
91+
Farr Vintners, 1996 Bordeaux Blind Tasting 8/9/2006, September 2006
Read more tasting notes...

One of the sleepers of the 1996 vintage, Lafon-Rochet has turned out an atypically powerful, rich, and concentrated wine bursting with black currant fruit. The opaque purple color gives way to a medium to full-bodied, tannic, backward wine with terrific purity, a sweet, concentrated mid-palate, and a long, blockbuster finish. This wine remains one of the finest values from the luxury-priced 1996 vintage, and is well-worth purchasing by readers who are willing to invest 5-6 years of patience; it should keep for two decades. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2020.

90
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (122), April 1999
87/90
Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (3), November 1998

Dense ruby/purple-colored, this big, burly, masculine wine exhibits hard tannin, but also intense concentration of fruit. It was tasting more monolithic and tougher-textured than it had last spring, but there is no doubting that it is a highly extracted, rich, layered wine with considerable potential. Once again, patience will be essential.

87/90
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (115), February 1998
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.