2021 Château Lafite Rothschild

The 2021 Lafite-Rothschild is every bit as exceptional as it was from barrel. The high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon comes through loud and clear. All the elements are so well balanced. The 2021 is dark, racy and full of Lafite sensuality, all kicked up by the natural intensity of the year. Dark red/purplish fruit, mint, lavender and rose petal are all on display. It’s not a showy wine, and it will need quite a bit of time to fully reveal its charms.

- Antonio Galloni (12/2023)

Reminiscent of the 1995 Lafite but modern, this wine is extremely aromatic, showing lead pencil, currants, blackberries, black olives and smoke with some gunpowder. Notes of iodine, stone, blood and ink. It is medium-bodied, with very fine and creamy tannins that show so much finesse and length. Racy at the end. 96% cabernet sauvignon, 3% merlot, 1% petit verdot. Give this four or five years to open. (07/2024)

A classic expression of this Château, the 2021 Château Lafite-Rothschild checks in as 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. It's not massive but textbook Lafite with its red and black currant fruit as well as cedar pencil, ripe tobacco, graphite, and spicy nuances. More medium-bodied on the palate, it has a great mid-palate, ample concentration, ripe, polished tannins, and a gorgeous finish. The vintage doesn't get much better than this beauty, and it should round into form (I would gladly drink a bottle today) with 4-6 years of bottle age. It might be one of the longest-lived wines in the vintage, offering 30 years or more of prime drinking. (04/2024)

A blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2021 Lafite Rothschild has a deep garnet-purple color. Notes of ripe blackcurrants, Morello cherries, and fresh redcurrants prance from the glass, followed by perfumed wafts of lilacs, jasmine tea, fallen leaves, and aniseed, with a waft of rose bud tea. The light-bodied palate vibrates with electric black and red berry flavors, matched by the typically super-fine-grained Lafite tannins and a racy backbone, finishing long and fragrant. This is very pretty. (04/2024)

To my palate, the 2021 Lafite Rothschild has emerged as the finest of the Pauillac first growths this year. Wafting from the glass with aromas of dark minty berries mingled with notions of iris, licorice and cigar box, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a velvety attack that segues into an elegantly dense and structured mid-palate that's nicely framed by sweet but abundant tannins, concluding with a long, penetrating finish.

William Kelley (02/2024)