Chateau Lafite Rothschild - Carruades de Lafite 2020

James Suckling: "So perfumed and subtle with roses, lavender, sage, and currants. Medium-bodied. So much Spanish cedar, cigar box, currants, fresh tobacco and spice. Classic Lafite character. 52% cabernet sauvignon, 42% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 3% merlot. Better after 2028."

Decanter: "Some candy floss notes, ripe fruit, almost sweet and perfumed, scented cherry drop sweets on the nose. I was expecting something more plush on the palate but this is just so fun with a lovely bouncy palate, cushioned and bright. Stunning sharp and bright bramble fruit flavours are given grip from the liquorice-laced tannins but overall this has so much joy, energy and character. A strong spiced backbone gives the structure with excellent freshness and tension for ageing but it's also saying 'look how fun and drinkable I am right now'. An excellent Carruades."

Falstaff: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, tiefer Kern, zarte Randaufhellung. Zarte Kräuterwürze, etwas tabakig, reife Pflaumen, etwas Brombeere und Lakritze sind unterlegt, mineralischer Touch. Komplex, saftig, schwarze Waldbeeren, feine Tannine, die gut tragen, mineralisch und anhaftend, feiner Säurebogen, ein Hauch von Süße im Abgang, gute Länge, sicheres Reifepotenzial."

Weinwisser: "Delikates, erhabenes Pauillac-Bouquet, frisch gepflückte rote Kirsche, Marzipan, Johannisbeerdrops, dunkler Tabak, Brombeerkonfitüre. Am sublimen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, reifes Tannin - gerüst, edle Salznote, hat seine (eigene) Identität – junge Reben. Im gebündelten feinaromatischen Finale Schattenmorelle, helles Graphit."

The Wine Cellar Insider: "Flowers, cedar, tobacco, spice, exuberant black raspberries, kirsch and plums open the perfume. Medium-bodied, elegant, fresh and lifted on the nose and palate, this is good example of a baby Lafite in its youth. The finish is all about its silky elegance and purity of fruit. The wine is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot."

Jeb Dunnuck: "This Château has made truly legendary wines in 2020. Looking at the vintage, the harvest occurred all in September, and their second wine, the 2020 Carruades De Lafite, is based on 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that was raised in 90% new French oak. The alcohol hit 13% and the pH is 3.84. It's much more open and expressive than the Grand Vin and offers beautiful darker red and black fruits as well as leafy tobacco, cedar pencil, and spicy nuances. Medium-bodied, layered, and concentrated, it has the vintage's more structured, firm feel on the palate, rock-solid mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It needs 4-5 years of bottle age but will evolve for two decades."

Jancis Robinson: "Intense colour. Fresh and zesty with plenty of sappy fruit. Red- and dark-berry fruit notes provide aromatic appeal. Hint of mint as well. Palate long and lithe but structured with fine but grainy tannin. Power but charm as well."

The Wine Advocate: "A blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2020 Carruades de Lafite offers up aromas of dark berries, cassis, cigar wrapper, violets and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, broad and fleshy, it's a rich, gourmand wine, some 20% of which was matured in tank."