Lafite’s second wine has become stronger over recent vintages as the selection for the grand vin has become Draconian under administrator Charles Chevalier. The dense ruby/purple-tinged 2004 Carruades de Lafite (48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) exhibits sweet, crunchy, savory, black cherry, and raspberry fruit along with hints of road tar, spring flowers, and a touch of minerality. Give it 1-2 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following 12-13.

Medium red-ruby. Plum, currant, brown spices, leather and tobacco leaf on the nose, along with some smoky oak. Distinctly firm and herbal but with a sweetly spicy quality to the flavors of cassis, lead pencil and tobacco leaf. Finishes with a fine dusting of tannins and a repeating herbal note.

This has a crisp, pencil lead and tobacco scented bouquet that is straight down the line Pauillac. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and well judged acidity. There is a savoury aspect to this Pauillac with touches of cooked meat furnishing the salty finish. Tasted March 2014.

Lively and fresh. Less dense than many. Racy and very juicy. Delicate.
JR - Feb 2014