2021 Lafite Rothschild

Yields were 20% lower in 2020 chez Lafite, but the alcohol is the same, just under 13%. The key this year – beyond exceptional efforts in the vineyard, especially working organically (the first year at Ch. Lafite-Rothschild) – was careful vinification, Eric Kohler believes. The Technical Director was gentle with extraction, but included more press wine in the blends (15% for the Grand Vin) – and one of the highest portions of Cabernet Sauvignon ever (96%). Tasting this alongside the estate’s other wines, the leap in quality is evident. The nose is quiet at first, dark and brooding, slowly revealing its pinpoint, pencil-lead and mineral precision with time in the glass. There’s a crunch of tiny red and black berries, the lift of redcurrant and a seasoning of oak spice (100% new). It is, however, the exceptional length that reveal's the wine's true class, with elegance and savoury freshness. The balance here is impeccable, building to a long, nuanced, smoke-scented finish. Such was the level of work required to produce a wine of greatness this year that it cost the château 45% more – an investment few estates could make. Blend: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot