Finesse and savoury black fruits and mint leaf with gentle rosemary. It has a quiet concentation, together with layers of graphite, slate, and a mouthwating finish. Both quiet and yet powerful, it gives an insight into what makes Lafite so singular, and that is all you can really ask of a 2nd wine. Interesting also in how it differs from Petit Mouton, such a brilliant distillation of the difference between the two estates. Drink now - 2034
Tasted March 2022 - Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux

Perfumed and pretty aromas of blackcurrants, mineral and stones. Full body, very structured and intense. Tannic and muscular. Serious. Better in 2020.

Tasting this was quite hard after a flight of Ducru going back to 1995... But as comebacks go, it’s a pretty good one. As with the grand vin, initial nose is quite open and complex. Very polished, classy style with focused black cherry fruit and some lift. Very characterful.

This has a streamlined feel, offering dark cherry and steeped currant fruit flecked with tobacco and dark anise accents, carrying through a smoky finish. Shows a notably silky edge for the vintage. Drink now through 2022. 20,000 cases made. JM

[53CS/42M/3CF/2PV] (50% harvest, 40h/ha, 12.6%) Fresh and mineral nose; very well balanced, fresh, juicy, vital, and with a very gentle tannin; a nice density and flesh to the ripe fruit this year; juicy, appetising, and yet with clear complexity and a very nice fruit length too. One of the most complete Carruades for a long time. Delicious! Excellent length of both fruit and aroma. Drink 2018-28.
-M.Schuster, Bordeaux Mar/Apr 2013

A very good second wine from Lafite Rothschild, the 2012 Carruades de Lafite (53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) shows dark ruby/plum/purple color, cedar wood, blackcurrants, medium-bodied, ripe tannin and a nice textured mouthfeel. It is very attractive, soft and ideal for drinking over the next 15 or more years.

The 2012 Carruades de Lafite has quite a perfumed and floral bouquet, pencil shaving and tobacco scents filtering through the brambly red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, lighter than the Le Petit Mouton tasted alongside and just a little conservative on the finish. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index's Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.

Quality 583 | Brand 890 | Economics 979 | buzz brand
Quality: Below the average quality score of its peer group for the 2012 vintage, 703 Brand: One of the most talked-about wines by the fine wine trade, with mention frequency in the top 20% in Wine Lister's proprietary Founding Member survey Economics: Above its peer group average price of £60 for the 2012 vintage Production: Higher production than its peer group average of 151,058 bottles

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017