2016 Chateau Lafon-Rochet - 4eme Cru Classe St. Estephe

Decanter.com – 93 pts – EM: *This has precise flavours, intense violet aromas, and plenty of personality, zing, spice and finesse, which tasting several times only confirmed. A Cabernet Sauvignon dominant (67%) blend, it's rounded out by 27% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, and was aged in 30% new oak. The consultant is Jean Claude Berrouet, who spent years making Château Petrus, which has the same kind of blue clay as parts of Lafon Rochet's vineyard. No chemical pesticides or herbicides are used, and 2016 was the first year for two new vat rooms. 2016 was a stunning vintage for St-Estèphe and for this fourth growth.* - 04/2021

Falstaff Magazin - 92pts - PM: *Dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, dezente Randaufhellung, zart schokoladig unterlegte reife Pflaumenfrucht, balsamischer Touch, tabakige Nuancen. Gute Komplexität, reife Kirschen, integrierte Tannine, harmonisch, eher rotbeerige Nuancen im Abgang, gute Frische, ein vielseitiger Speisenbegleiter.* - 05/2017

Vinum Magazin – 18/20pts: *Sinnlichkeit ist das Wort, das diesen Wein am besten charakterisiert. Tannin grösster Feinheit, Saftigkeit, Fruchtigkeit, Länge; herrlicher Wein, der in jedem Stadium seines Lebens grossen Spass machen wird.* - 06/2019

WeinWisser - 18/20pts - GL: *Granat mit rubinroten Reflexen und lila Schimmer. Komplexes Bouquet mit floralen Noten und Walderdbeeren, dahinter rote Grütze und Baumnuss. Am saftigen Gaumen mit reifem, süssem Extrakt und viel rotem Kirschsaft im Rückaroma – was für eine Eleganz! Mit klarer Tendenz zur besseren Note. Bravo, Basile!*

JancisRobinson.com – 17,5/20pts – JR: *Tasted blind. Firm and minerally with lots of ripe, correct fruit in the middle. Very St-Estèphe. Dry finish but not drying tannins. Whizzy and lively and pure pleasure for fans of this commune.* - 01/2020

JamesSuckling.com - 93-94pts - JS: *Plenty of fruit and concentration to this wine, and it’s buttressed by the tannins. Muscular and intense. Full-bodied yet reserved and tight. Excellent.* - 04/2017

Vinous.com - (91-94)pts - AG: *The 2016 Lafon-Rochet is a worthy follow-up to the 2015, although it is much less obvious than that wine. Scents of smoke, graphite, leather, wild cherry, lavender and blueberry give the 2016 its beguiling, expressive personality. Deep and concentrated but not big or overdone, it is likely to require at least a handful of years to be at its best. The long, persistent finish, punctuated by grippy tannins, is a thing of beauty. The 2016 has the most Cabernet ever at the estate. Proprietor Basile Tesseron told me he expects to increase plantings of Cabernet Franc at the property. Tasted three times.* - 04/2017
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Vinous.com – 95 pts - AG: *A sleeper in this vintage, the 2016 Lafon-Rochet is positively stellar. Bright, translucent and super-expressive, the 2016 has so much to offer. Lavender, tobacco, cedar, mint and dried herbs give the 2016 striking aromatic top notes to play off the darker fruit flavors. The 2016 is pure class. Don't miss it.* Januar 2019

Vinous.com – 95pts - NM: *The 2016 Lafon-Rochet has a very engaging bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit laced with pencil shavings and loamy scents. In fact, the more you nose this wine, the more its complexity becomes apparent. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine line of acidity, ripe and generous yet maintaining outstanding tension and revealing a judicious touch of peppercorns on the finish, which fans out gloriously. This is a fabulous Lafon-Rochet and certainly the best bottle of 2016 that I have encountered. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting.* - 08/2020