Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2014

JAMES SUCKLING: "The aromas of stones, oyster shell, blackcurrants and mushrooms are very intense. Full-bodied, dense and powerful with lots of blackberries. Great finish. Super energy and depth. Try in 2022. Fascinating."

WEINWISSER: "Dichtes Rubinrot, purpurfarbener Rand, verschlossen-kühl, cassisbetontes Bouquet, Hauch Minze, Blaubeeren. Dicht, fest, cremiger Gaumen, viel Cabernet- Würze, leicht floral, festes, feines Tannin, saftig-feine Konturen, gute Säure, royale Finesse."

FALSTAFF: "Cassis und dunkle Beeren, Holundermark. Tabak, Süßmandel. Am Gaumen straff und nervig, verdichtet, mit klassischer Struktur, eine Spur »nobler« Grüntöne im insgesamt reifen Tannin, sehr mineralisch hinter dem feinkörnig-festen, spannungsreichen Gerbstoff. Exzellent absaftend im Übergang zum verschlossenen, aber Länge andeutenden Abgang. Viskose Extraktschichten, fruchtig unterlegt. Wird super reifen. 87 Prozent Cabernet Sauvignon."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "This is a major wine. It has enormous tension, structure and a core of dark tannins. Amid all this, the wine is also packed with fruit and concentrated blackberry and black-plum flavors. It will age slowly and steadily with its enormous structure and concentration. Drink this wine from 2027."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Dark fruits, Cuban cigar wrapper, spice, cedar and wet forest scents open the wine. Elegant, fresh and sweet, the wine has put on weight during its aging time. The tannins are silky, the wine is fresh, pure and clean. The finish has energy, length and purity. For Lafite, this will drink well young, but by young, that means you still need to wait at least 20 years. A difficult vintage because of the various levels of maturity. This resulted in a lot of sorting, which made the effective yields lowers than in most vintages."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2014 Lafite-Rothschild, tasted with head winemaker Eric Kohler, has retained that very opulent and outgoing bouquet that dare I say actually reminded me of Mouton-Rothschild. There are layers of blackberry and boysenberry fruit, still that hint of juniper berry, certainly a more extrovert Lafite-Rothschild compared to recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannin, very focused and quite linear, again with plenty of black fruit laced with cedar and tobacco. It begins to clam up towards the saline finish, suggesting that it will need several years in bottle, but I still have high expectations for this First Growth once afforded several years in bottle."

DECANTER: "Beautifully expressed and polished aromas showing Lafite's wild violets, very fine texture, balance and length."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Reserved for now, but the core of cassis, bitter plum and raspberry coulis flavors is pure and energetic, while extra black tea, iron and singed alder notes fill in steadily through the finish. This has a very focused, streamlined feel overall, yet there's serious depth for the cellar. Best from 2020 through 2035. 16,000 cases made. — JM"