2012 Lafite Rothschild
Buying options
Tasting notes
91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% Merlot, 0.5% Petit Verdot. Very savoury on the nose with firm pencil-lead minerality to the fore. Austere and mineral on the palate with lots of tannin. A fine, linear Lafite which will need time to open out. FINE+RARE
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
FINE+RARE
More reviews and scores
Healthy, glowing crimson. Neat and contained without any flashiness. Classic top claret. But not the sort of wine that would knock the socks off a neophyte. (JR)
Savoury bilberry, cassis and liquorice, with softer edges of tobacco and brushed leather. This is a take-your-time, unfurl-slowly kind of a wine, with slate tannins and sappy sage herbs giving a drawn-out finish. Ripe without being exuberant, showcasing graceful, sinewy muscles that feel like a signature Lafite, if lighter in style than the greatest vintages. 38% of overall production, 100% new oak. Charles Chevallier technical director, Eric Boissenot consultant.
Tasted blind. Lustrous crimson. Ageing nose. But very luscious sweetness on the palate. Bounces out of the glass. Clean, dry finish. Really quite opulent overall, counterbalanced by more freshness than some of its peers. Saline note on the end. (JR)
About the producer

Ch. Lafite Rothschild is one of the most famous wine estates in Bordeaux and the world. One of the Left Bank’s five First Growths, the Pauillac property is renowned for producing wines of finesse and elegance that age beautifully.