2022 Chateau Lafite Rothschild - 1er Grand Cru Classe Pauillac

Decanter.com – 98 pts – GH: *A wonderful example of restraint and delicacy in a year where it was easy to overdo. Sharp and straight, you feel the acidity as soon as this enters the mouth, alive, pulsing, bright and shining. Aromatically so expressive after a few minutes. Delicate almost, such a fine tapestry of tannins, present and at the fore but like taffeta or finely woven silk. It has power but you don't feel it, not instantly anyway, the focus is on the beautiful texture with edges of cool red and blue fruits, flint, graphite, liquorice and tobacco nuances with high acidity that all help build a layered and well constructed mid palate. The structure then focuses and narrows to a mineral, fresh finish. Has bite and succulence, gently muscular with tons of vibrancy. This is definitely one of the less showy wines that really grows on you. A delicious, defined, poised, refined and finessed Lafite. Calm, collected and incredibly charming already. Earliest harvest in over a century, 31 August to 24 September. 17.5% press wine. 3.8pH. 64IPT. 41% grand vin production.* - 04/2023

Falstaff Magazin – 100 pts – PM: *13,6 % Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Zart tabakig unterlegtes Edelholz, schwarze Waldbeeren, Cassis und dunkle Kirschen, ein Hauch von Orangenzesten und Lakritze. Stoffig, schwarze Beeren, frische Kirschen, Ribiseln, finessenreiche Struktur, seidige Tannine, mineralisch-salzig im Abgang, geprägt von enormer Länge, grandioses Reifepotenzial.* - 01/2023

WeinWisser – 19,5/20pts – GL, TW: *94 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 5 % Merlot, 1 % Petit Verdot, pH 3.85, Presswein 17 %. Ungeheuer tiefgründiges Bouquet, Wildkirsche, Graphit, weißer Pfeffer und rote Johannisbeere. Im zweiten Ansatz getrocknete Fliederblüten und Graphit. Am geradlinigen, druckvollen Gaumen mit feinmehligem Extrakt und einer rasiermesserscharfen Rasse, die sich ungemein elegant um den durchtrainierten Körper legt. Im sehr straffen, konzentrierten Finale katapultiert sich der Pauillac wie ein Sprinter nach vorne mit schwarzbeerigen Konturen, tiefschürfender Terroirwürze und körniger Adstringenz. Dieser Pauillac ist mit einem gewaltigen Lagerpotenzial ausgestattet. So eine pure Rasse haben wir bei Lafite bei einer Primeur-Verkostung noch nie erlebt.* – 04/2023

JancisRobinson.com – 18,5/20pts – JL: *94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. 33 hl/ha. Cask sample. Precise and long with sublimated force. Darker colour than usual. Deep and fathomless in terms of expression, dark-fruit and graphite notes dominating. Impressive fruit on the palate, the tannins powerful but suave and fully integrated. Long life ahead.* - 04/2023

Vinous.com – (96-98) pts – AG: *The 2022 Lafite Rothschild is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage. All of the Lafite signatures are present, but what impresses most about the 2022 it its poise, its stature. Readers will find a regal, statuesque Lafite built for serious aging. There’s tons of fruit and tannin, all masterfully put together. A modern-day classic.* - 04/2023

Vinous.com – (96-98) pts – NM: *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.* - 04/2023

Thewinecellarinsider.com – (98-100) pts – JL: *Garnet in color, a single swirl brings out its cornucopia of scents: flowers, currants, cherries, smoke, leather, lead pencil, Cuban cigar wrapper, orange rind and smoke. The wine is pure silky, elegance in texture. This is perhaps the most sensuous vintage of Lafite ever produced with its dream texture on the palate. In the mid-palate, the wine shifts from black to red to black fruits before moving to its wave of orange citrus, ending with refreshing mint notes. The purity in the fruits is striking. The over 60-second finish is seamless, which is a good thing, because this wine is so good, you never want it to end. The wine is complete from start to finish. The wine blends 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot. It is interesting to note that the wine includes 17.5 % press wine in the blend, which sets a record for Lafite. 13.6% ABV, 3.85 pH. Harvesting starting August 31 for the young Merlot vines, for the grapes used in the Grand Vin, September 5, - September 23. Yields were 35 hectoliters per hectare. 40% of the harvest went into the Grand Vin. This is an earth-shattering vintage of Lafite that buyers with the disposabile income should add to their cellar. Drink from 2030-2065.* - 05/2023