2023 Carruades de Lafite
Buying options
Tasting notes
We’ve been particularly impressed by Carruades in recent vintages – and it’s proved itself again this year, as much more than just a Second Wine. The nose is open and inviting, yet refined and delicate, with high-toned red and dark berry fruit. The palate shows beautiful balance (and just 13.1% alcohol), echoing the elegance of the Grand Vin. It has true Cabernet credentials (indeed, the 2023 has the highest proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon to date), with many layers of flavour and a long, fresh finish. Really excellent this year. Blend: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2023 Carruades de Lafite is a rare Carruades that is just Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, as the team felt Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot were not as successful. Silky, aromatic and finessed, the Carruades captures all the elegance of its big sibling, but in a more accessible package. Dried rose petal, orange peel, mint, cinnamon and red-toned fruit soar across the palate. Brisk acids pull it all together on the long, sustained finish lifted by expressive floral overtones.
Enjoyable tasting this in bottle, with its finesse and fine framed promise. Spicy, good depth to the autumnal fruits, laced with tobacco, cigar box, cold ash, slate, bilberry fruits, with an easy-to-love slate scrape to the tannins. 12% press wine, harvest September 7 to 29, unusually only using Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend.
The second wine of this reference point château, the 2023 Carruades De Lafite is based on 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, resting in 50% new French oak. Crème de cassis, graphite, wildflowers, spicy wood, and lead pencil notes all define the aromatics, and it's medium-bodied, with a focused, classic Lafite elegance, ample mid-palate depth, and ripe tannins. I love its overall purity, balance, and length.
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.