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Goedhuis, May 2021, Score: 98-99
92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot
A complex array of aromas with a controlled Cabernet scent reflecting characters of cedar, herbal undertones, and smoky dark fruits. This is so poised; the early impression of subtlety and refinement recedes as the distinctive Pauillac core and power builds in the palate. Although incredibly intense it is so composed, almost reticent, but this reflects its class and potential. Straight jacketed now but bears the hallmarks to surely be one of the wines of the vintage. Distinguished and destined to be a great.
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Neal Martin, December 2022, Score: 98
The 2020 Lafite-Rothschild, which contains the highest proportion of Merlot since the 2016, hit the bull's eye from barrel. Revisiting the wine in the bottle since July, it still bursts from the glass with copious blackberries, touches of blueberry and juniper, pencil lead and a hint of crushed stone. Wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-chiseled tannins, quite linear and "correct" - a quintessential Lafite-Rothschild in many ways. It gently builds in the mouth while keeping a restraint on things, finishing with fine sapidity yet a little more juiciness than you would have found a decade or two earlier. This has the potential to evolve beautifully over several decades. Drink 2028-2065
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Neal Martin, May 2021, Score: 96-98
The 2020 Lafite-Rothschild is much more intense and complex compared to the Carruades this year. This First Growth bursts from the glass with beautifully defined blackberry and wild strawberry scents laced with sprigs of wild mint and juniper berries. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins that frame the pixelated black fruit. This is quintessential Lafite in that it is not a powerful or immensely structured wine, but rather a First Growth with unerring balance and harmony, one that is unashamedly classic in style. There is just the right amount of dryness on the finish to urge you back for another sip. So Lafite it has its name tattooed onto its DNA. It will begin to soar after 10 years in the cellar. Drink 2030 - 2070
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Antonio Galloni, December 2022, Score: 97
The 2020 Lafite-Rothschild is a super-classic wine, just as it was en primeur. Bright acids and expressive saline notes give the 2020 its shape. The 2020 represents a sort of hypothetical blend of cooler and warmer years in terms of its overall feel. Today, it is surprisingly austere, but time in the glass brings out classic Lafite red/purplish fruit, lavender and graphite notes. Readers will have to be patient. Drink 2030-2070
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Antonio Galloni, June 2021, Score: 95-97
The 2020 is a super-classic Lafite-Rothschild of grace and finesse. A reticent introvert, Lafite impresses with its vertical lift and palpable energy. It is a wine of regal bearing that does not feel the need to say much, and yet everything is very clearly there. Bright acids and strong, saline notes come alive in the glass as the long, persistent finish unfolds with remarkable grace. The 2020 is simply exquisite. It's a fabulous showing from the team led by Technical Director Eric Kohler. Drink 2035 - 2060
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Wine Advocate, May 2021, Score: 96-98
Displaying a deep purple-black color, the 2020 Lafite Rothschild takes a little swirling and coaxing to unlock scents of freshly crushed blackcurrants, boysenberries and spiced plums, followed by emerging nuances of red roses, raspberry preserves, underbrush and unsmoked cigars, with a waft of cedar chest. The medium-bodied palate is an exercise in elegance and finesse, featuring tightly wound layers of red and black berries and loads of mineral sparks, framed by finely grained tannins and well-poised tension, finishing with fantastic length and the most stunning perfume. Magnificent achievement. This 2020 is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, coming in at 12.8% alcohol and a pH of 3.9. Drink 2028-2063
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Decanter, May 2021, Score: 97
This is pretty much as close to entirely Cabernet Sauvignon as Bordeaux gets (92%) and yet it has an incredibly fine, gentle richness to the tannins. They build up pretty quickly though, so that by the end of the palate you start to feel the closing in and tightening, deftly underscoring how well this will age. The kaleidoscope of flavours and aromatics that Lafite does so well is fully on display, nothing trying too hard, a velvet texture to the tannins where the cassis fruit, earth, crushed stone and graphite is held in from beginning to end. Impressive that even in dry vintages like 2020 with the real concerns over global warming, the top Bordeaux estates can still produce wines of this quality. Drink 2028-2046 (JA)
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Jancis Robinson, April 2021, Score: 19
A very masculine Lafite with a powerful tannic frame (bigger than 2019 and 2018). Deep, intense and stately on the nose with mineral-graphite notes to the fore. Palate rich but with a massive charge of fine-grained tannin and lingering freshness. Enormous length on the finish. Incredible potential. (JL) 12.8%. Drink 2032 – 2060
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Jeb Dunnuck, May 2021, Score: 97-99
The 2020 Château Lafite-Rothschild checks in as 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot brought up in roughly 90% or more of new French oak. It's a deep, inky-hued Lafite boasting incredible notes of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, graphite, crushed stone, and gravelly earth-like minerality. Full-bodied and beautifully balanced, with terrific purity of fruit, it has ripe tannins, a layered, seamless mouthfeel, and a great, great finish. It should surpass the 2015 and 2017 and be in the same realm as the 2018 and 2019. Despite its richness and depth, it hit just 12.8% alcohol, with an IPT of 72 and a pH of 3.5. It’s going to be just about immortal.
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Wine Cellar Insider, May 2021, Score: 97-99
The compelling nose, with its showy notes of lead pencil, tobacco leaf, cedar, cigar box, currants, spice and wet forest leaf comes through easily. The palate is pure silk in texture. Seamlessly moving from the beginning, middle and end, the wine is fresh, bright, long and intense. The purity in the fruit, paired with its energy and lift linger for more than 50 seconds. Refined, elegant, complex and compelling, if you have the patience to wait for 15-20 years before opining a bottle, this is going to be one of the great vintages for Lafite Rothschild. The wine is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot 12.8% ABV. The harvest took place September 14 - October 4. With yields of 37 hectoliters per hectare, the Grand Vin represents 45% of the harvest.
