Carruades de Lafite (2nd wine of Ch Lafite) 2016

Pauillac, Second wine

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Tasting Notes
The 2016 Carruades de Lafite is soft, gentle and caressing, with silky tannins and a sweet, perfumed bouquet that gives the wine its sensual, inviting personality. Medium in body and gracious, the Carruades will be easy to drink and enjoy upon release. Sweet red cherry, plum, spice and floral notes are all laced together in this exquisite Pauillac. In 2016, the Carruades has a bit more Merlot than is typically the case. Score: 92 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2020-2030 01 January 2019
The 2016 Carruades de Lafite is a sexy wine. Inviting scents of ripe black cherry, plum, smoke, torrefaction and mocha set the stage nicely. Deep and textured on the palate, yet also light on its feet, the 2016 exhibits terrific balance and striking purity in its fruit. I especially like the way the fruit fans out to cover every inch of the palate on the finish. This is impressive stuff. Score: 89 - 92 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 25 April 2017
The 2016 Carruades de Lafite contains more Merlot than Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a tightly wound bouquet featuring tightly coiled black fruit and hints of brine and sea spray. I appreciate the aromatics, but it needs a little more intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin. This is very well balanced, with gentle grip, and very pure in the mouth, offering blackberry, bilberry and a touch of white pepper toward the quite persistent finish. Very fine. Score: 90 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2021-2036 01 January 2019
The 2016 Carruades de Lafite is a blend of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot this year that matured in around 20-25% new oak. Eric Kohler told me that they now practice more selection for the Carruades and in this respect, the great fruit concentration means that he has just tweaked the level of new oak upwards. It has an attractive bouquet with smoke and tobacco infused black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannin. This is a linear and conservative Carruades, one without the frills, almost economical but that is not necessarily a bad thing. It is fresh and focused, demonstrating more ripeness than previous vintages, and has a little more length. Drink it over the next decade. Score: 89 - 91 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2020-2035 28 April 2017
A blend of 49% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Carruades de Lafite opens with expressive baked plums, Morello cherries and blackcurrant cordial scents with touches of stewed tea, bay leaves and tilled soil plus a waft of tree bark. Medium-bodied with a great mid-palate core of red and black fruits, it has a solid, grainy frame and compelling freshness, finishing long and minerally. Score: 92 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2019-2034 30 November 2018
A fresh cherry and violet nose with some green pepper and spices. Creamy fruit with firm tannins and an angular finish. Score: 90 - 92 Albany Vintners, - 19 April 2017
49% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. There's a putty note on the nose. Neat, restrained, rather tight nose and a tad mean on the end. Just as there's a big gap between Petit Mouton and the grand vin, so there seems to be between Carruades and Lafite. Drying tannins on the end. Seems to be a lack of phenolic ripeness towards the end of the palate experience even though it starts out pretty ripe and round. (16.5+) Score: 16 - 17 Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2024-2038 18 April 2017
The most tannic and textured Carruades ever. Full-bodied, big and powerful. Very, very long. New style? Score: 94 - 95 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 24 March 2017

Tasting Notes

The 2016 Carruades de Lafite is soft, gentle and caressing, with silky tannins and a sweet, perfumed bouquet that gives the wine its sensual, inviting personality. Medium in body and gracious, the Carruades will be easy to drink and enjoy upon release. Sweet red cherry, plum, spice and floral notes are all laced together in this exquisite Pauillac. In 2016, the Carruades has a bit more Merlot than is typically the case.

Score: 92

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2020-2030 01 January 2019

The 2016 Carruades de Lafite is a sexy wine. Inviting scents of ripe black cherry, plum, smoke, torrefaction and mocha set the stage nicely. Deep and textured on the palate, yet also light on its feet, the 2016 exhibits terrific balance and striking purity in its fruit. I especially like the way the fruit fans out to cover every inch of the palate on the finish. This is impressive stuff.

Score: 89 - 92

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 25 April 2017

The 2016 Carruades de Lafite contains more Merlot than Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a tightly wound bouquet featuring tightly coiled black fruit and hints of brine and sea spray. I appreciate the aromatics, but it needs a little more intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin. This is very well balanced, with gentle grip, and very pure in the mouth, offering blackberry, bilberry and a touch of white pepper toward the quite persistent finish. Very fine.

Score: 90

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2021-2036 01 January 2019

The 2016 Carruades de Lafite is a blend of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot this year that matured in around 20-25% new oak. Eric Kohler told me that they now practice more selection for the Carruades and in this respect, the great fruit concentration means that he has just tweaked the level of new oak upwards. It has an attractive bouquet with smoke and tobacco infused black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannin. This is a linear and conservative Carruades, one without the frills, almost economical but that is not necessarily a bad thing. It is fresh and focused, demonstrating more ripeness than previous vintages, and has a little more length. Drink it over the next decade.

Score: 89 - 91

Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2020-2035 28 April 2017

A blend of 49% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Carruades de Lafite opens with expressive baked plums, Morello cherries and blackcurrant cordial scents with touches of stewed tea, bay leaves and tilled soil plus a waft of tree bark. Medium-bodied with a great mid-palate core of red and black fruits, it has a solid, grainy frame and compelling freshness, finishing long and minerally.

Score: 92

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2019-2034 30 November 2018

A fresh cherry and violet nose with some green pepper and spices. Creamy fruit with firm tannins and an angular finish.

Score: 90 - 92

Albany Vintners, - 19 April 2017

49% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. There's a putty note on the nose. Neat, restrained, rather tight nose and a tad mean on the end. Just as there's a big gap between Petit Mouton and the grand vin, so there seems to be between Carruades and Lafite. Drying tannins on the end. Seems to be a lack of phenolic ripeness towards the end of the palate experience even though it starts out pretty ripe and round. (16.5+)

Score: 16 - 17

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2024-2038 18 April 2017

The most tannic and textured Carruades ever. Full-bodied, big and powerful. Very, very long. New style?

Score: 94 - 95

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 24 March 2017

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