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Lafon Rochet 2020

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

Recent vintages here at this classed growth St Estéphe have been amongst the best ever with the latest generation of the family - Basile Tesseron - now in charge of the property. The new consultant is the legendary Jean-Claude Berrouet of Pétrus - his first job on the left bank. This striking property, with its yellow walls, is just along the road from Cos d'Estournel and overlooks the vineyards of Lafite. En primeur prices remain reasonable. The 40 hectare vineyard is planted 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot.

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

Label

Tasting Notes

The 2020 Lafon-Rochet was picked September 15–20 and marks the first collaboration between consultants Jean-Claude Berrouet and Eric Boissenot, who both worked on the blending. It has a really lovely bouquet of blackberry, briar and faint estuarine scents, hints of crushed iris flower emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and modest depth, and quite fleshy; lip-smacking salinity urges you to take another sip. Intriguingly, it comes across a tad Pomerol-like on the finish, completing a top-notch Lafon-Rochet that may well end up at the top of my banded score. Drink 2024-2044.

92/94
Neal Martin, vinous.com, May 2021

Blackberry and spice with firm, chewy tannins that show polish and focus. It’s medium-to full-bodied with excellent energy. Blackberry and blackcurrant character on the finish with a touch of cedar and spice.

93/94
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2021

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.

92
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, March 2023

Attractive, well-paced fruits, plenty of clarity to the flavours, together with a feeling of linearity to the tannins. Austerity through the mid-palate constrains the brambled cassis fruit, but things build back up again and this is a measured, successful wine that will age well. 3% Petit Verdot completes the blend. First year with Eric Boissenot accompanying Jean-Claude Berrouet as consultants.

Drinking Window 2027 - 2042

93
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, May 2021

The 2020 is a blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, and 3% each Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Harvest was completed by the end of September. Deep ruby colour. Fresh, cool berries, cedar and tobacco on the nose. The palate is bright and crunchy, full of red berries and a hint of blackcurrant. There is a herbal note that pairs with a graphite edge. This is compact and fresh, and should offer enjoyable mid-term drinking.

91/93
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, April 2021

Full bottle an admirably light 1,290 g. Cask sample taken 6 April. 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot.
Deep lustrous purplish crimson. Interesting vitality to the nose, almost as though biodynamic techniques were employed here. Lovely balance of ripeness and vitality. This is a very successful 2020. It may be dismissed by some because the tannins are not obvious but it's a delightful drink – already! Very distinctive. Perhaps not for seriously long-term cellaring but well done Basile Tesseron for producing something so appetising and groundbreaking. The finish is impressively persistent. 13.5%
Drink 2025 – 2040

17
James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2021

(61% CS, 33% M, 3% CF, 3% PV; 13.5% ABV)
Freshly cassis-sweet to smell, a hint of gravel; medium-full, fresh in acidity, very finely tannic; succulently rich yet restrained, a classic “drier” claret profile, but freshly sweet-cored, beautifully textured, long, and graceful, concentrated without being in any way thick, and with an absolutely lovely farewell, a perfect mirror of all the tastes before. Classy, complete, aristocratic wine. 2030–50+.

92/94
Michael Schuster, The World of Fine Wine, May 2021
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.