2022 Château Lafite-Rothschild En Primeur
2022 Château Lafite-Rothschild En Primeur: Release expected May 2023.
Bordeaux En Primeur, landing in spring 2025.
To order, e-mail us at sales@richardkihl.ltd.uk
Producer Profile
Château Lafite-Rothschild, 1er Cru Classé Pauillac
Château Lafite-Rothschild is a Premier Cru Classé Pauillac, consistently responsible for producing some of the world's finest red wines over the last two centuries. The first known reference toLafite dates to 1234, when it was owned by Gombaud de Lafite, abbot of the Vertheuil Monastery to the north of Pauillac. The name Lafite comes from the Gascon “la hite”, which means “hillock”. The Ségur family owned the vineyard in the 17th century, with Jacques de Ségur credited with planting the vineyard in the 1670s and 80s. In 1695, Jacques de Ségur’s heir, Alexandre, married the heiress of Château Latour, who gave birth to Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur.
Lafite established its reputation in London in the 1700s. Amongst its followers was Robert Walpole, who purchased a barrel every three months. Subsequently, its reputation grew in France, particularly at the court of Versailles. This was largely due to the efforts of Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur, who became known as 'the wine prince', with Lafite itself becoming known as 'the king's wine'. Famously, Thomas Jefferson also became a loyal customer during his stint as US ambassador to France.
Now owned by Domaines Baron Rothschild, Lafite's technical director is Eric Kohler. From 2021, Lafite are introducing more bio-diversity to the estate, pulling up 3 ha of vines to allow for more hedgerows and margins. Not an insubstantial commitment, when you consider that the land price is circa €2 million per hectare!
| RED | 2022 | Château Lafite | 75cl | £3,570 per case of 6 | Château Lafite 2022 / / 75cl £3,570 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"Saturated inky colour, with intense ruby reflections. This is a classically constructed Lafite, with clear power to the tannins and intense spice, a little more upfront and concentrated than you find in many En Primeur vintages at this property but it exemplifies balance and confidence. Fully in control, delivering estate signature with finesse and understatement, with pulses of graphite, slate, bitter almond and cocoa bean. Takes its time to uncurl in the glass, leaving you plenty of time to admire its architecture. Give it a good decade at least. 17.5% of press wine, 3.85ph, 41% Lafite of overall production. Harvest August 31 to September 24, earliest since 1893. 100% new oak, Eric Kohler techincal director. Potential upscore in bottle. 97 points" janeanson.com------"A blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2022 Lafite Rothschild unwinds in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cassis, sweet soils tones, cigar box and lilac. Medium to full-bodied, it's the most tensile of the first growths this year, with a layered, concentrated but youthfully introverted mid-palate, lively acids and a long, saline finish. It checks in at a rather high pH of 3.85, which belies its incisive profile, from a harvest that extended from August 31 to September 24. 95-97+ points" William Kelley, RobertParker.com------"The 2022 Lafite-Rothschild was picked from 31 August to 24 September and apart from the 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, there is 17.5% pressed wine in the blend. The IPT is slightly lower than 2020. There is 13.6% alcohol this year, higher than 2018 and 2019. It has an intense bouquet with blackberry, crushed stone, touches of pencil box and undergrowth, very Lafite-Rothschild in style. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, perfectly judged acidity, linear and focused. Compared to vintages a couple of decades ago, there is mid-palate weight, yet it retains classicism and transparency, while delivering quite a gentle but insistent grip on the finish. Perpetually the most deceptive of First Growth, one should not doubt its long-term potential. 2032-2075. 96-98 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com------"The 2022 Château Lafite-Rothschild is based on 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot that was harvested between the 31st of August and the 24th of September. It's a richer, more opulent wine compared to the more classic 2020 (although the pH is higher in the 2020) and has a deep, full-bodied, concentrated profile as well as classic Lafite aromatics of spicy red and black fruits, freshly sharpened pencils, graphite, and tobacco. Deep, rich, and concentrated, it nevertheless stays pure and flawlessly balanced, with ample, ripe tannins and a great finish. It's going to have some up-front appeal by Lafite standards but should still require a decade of bottle age. Director Eric Koher compares this to the 2005, but this modern-day clone of the 1959 is one of the most powerful, concentrated Lafites I've tasted. 97-99 points" Jebdunnuck.com------"A classical Lafite that reminds me of something like the 1986, with its blackcurrant and tobacco character with cedar and hazelnut, but it's so today with its purity and precision. It's really about being Lafite here. Terroir gives great elegance with strength. 99-100 points" jamessuckling.com |
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