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Goedhuis, April 2022, Score: 98-100
Tasting this brilliant wine was a lightbulb moment for me, showing that 2021 should not be underestimated. It is quite simply electrifying. So confident were the team at Lafite in their Cabernet Sauvignon that they nearly made a 100% Cabernet wine: the last time this great first growth did that was in 1961! A blend of 96% Cabernet and just 3% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, this is outstandingly classy. Pure cherry and dark berry, cocoa and coffee bean on the nose. It starts graceful and poised on the palate, slowly building to show amazing structure and intensity. Jean-Philippe at the Chateau likens it to the 1996, some compliment indeed, and I cannot argue. It is just quite simply a beautiful wine in the making.
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Neal Martin, April 2022, Score: 95-97
The 2021 Lafite-Rothschild, which was aged in 90% new oak, has a deep, almost opaque hue. This has quite an arresting bouquet with dense blackberry, sous-bois and pencil box scents, quintessential Lafite aromas with nuanced floral scents surfacing with time. The palate is medium-bodied, though with more weight than you would expect given the growing season. The Cabernet Sauvignon imparts graphite and almost briny elements into the aromatic profile. Sapid and classic in style, head winemaker Eric Kohler suggests that it is a return to the style of Lafite-Rothschild of the nineties in terms of freshness. I concur. Drink 2030 - 2070
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Antonio Galloni, April 2022, Score: 95-97
The 2021 Lafite-Rothschild casts an imposing presence. Black fruit, sage, menthol, licorice and incense give Lafite its dark, almost somber, personality. Cabernet Sauvignon is dialed up, and that very much comes through in the wine's flavor profile and overall feel. The tannins are quite prominent at this stage. In some ways, the 2021 reminds me of the 1996, but with the greater delineation found in today's wines. I can't wait to see how it ages. The 2021 is one of the stars of the Left Bank. Its longevity will ultimately be dictated by storage conditions more than anything having to do with the wine itself. Drink 2031-2061
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Wine Advocate, April 2022, Score: 95-97
A brilliant wine that shares some similarities with the formidable 1996, the 2021 Lafite Rothschild wafts from the glass with inviting aromas of dark berries, cigar box, loamy soil, black truffle and violets. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's rich and concentrated, with beautifully powdery tannins, lively acids and a long, saline finish. Of course, this isn't as dramatic as the 2020 or 2019 out of the gates, but the 2021 is a brilliant success in its own right. What's more, its structure and balance mean that it is likely to prove almost immortal. It's a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, which is one of the all-time highest percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon chez Lafite.
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Matthew Jukes, April 2022, Score: 19.5
Grainy, introverted, tense, and monastically composed, this is a classic Lafite stance on the palate, and then something rather enchanting occurs. No matter how much it tried to keep a straight face and furrowed brown, Lafite cannot hide the incredible purity of Cabernet fruit, nor can it stop the flavours from seeming extraordinarily appealing at this extremely young age. Lafite is usually a challenge to taste in its youth, but the 2021 vintage is a positive pleasure. In addition, Lafite is generally a wine that takes 20 years to open and blossom and a further 20 to start to gather pace. But it appears that much of the fruit charm of this stunning young wine is already on display, but that is not to say that it lacks anything in the longevity stakes. There is impressive openness and charm coupled with discreet sensuality and fragrance, and this all adds up to make a thrilling, (relatively) forward, and mesmerisingly flattering vintage that I can guarantee everyone will fall for. You will note that Cabernet forms a mighty 96% of this blend and, in the end, only half a vat of Merlot from Pointon Gravette, a plot on the legendary Carruades plateau, went into this wine. This is further proof of how captivating, intriguing and unique 2021 is for this famous estate.
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Wine Cellar Insider, April 2022, Score: 96-98
Flowers, blackberries, charcoal, cigar box, black currants, spice, cedar, graphite and tobacco come through on the nose with a bit of coaxing. On the palate, the wine offers a pure expression of red fruits, black cherries, spice and a touch of orange rind, along with boysenberry, licorice and red plums on the backend. This is an elegant, regal, classic style of Lafite Rothschild that will age and evolve quite well. The wine is complete from start to finish and was produced from blending 96% Cabernet Sauvignon. 3% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. 12.6% ABV, 3.9 pH. Drink from 2032-2060.
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Jane Anson, April 2022, Score: 97
Deep in colour, has grip and presence. Loganberry, blueberry, wet stones, hawthorn, forest floor, this is a long-ageing Lafite, not one that I would rush to open. It delivers tannic power from beginning to end, with density and juice and length, a reminder that Lafite manages to perform strongly in so many different styles of vintage. Delivering right at the very top of Pauillac. 1st year organic conversion. 90% new oak. No frost at the estate, yields of 34hl/h, harvest September 22 to October 8. 40% 1st wine.
