The second wine of the legendary Chateau Lafite, Carruades traditionally provides the style and character of the Grand Vin in a more approachable build. Tight, backward style - not giving much up - palate is round and generous, sweetly fruited, clean, pure and harmonious. Perfumed and appealing. Best Carruades for years. - April 2017

While few people get excited about second wines, the reality today is that the top estates are making such a strict selection that their second wines are unquestionably equivalent to the grand vins of a few decades ago. Case in point: the 2016 Carruades de Lafite, a brilliant wine that stands up with the top wines in Pauillac. Offering a medium to full-bodied, seamless, incredibly pure style as well as classy black cherry fruits, graphite, licorice, and dried earth, it’s impeccably balanced, has no hard edges, and is already hard to resist. Drink it any time over the coming 20-25 years.

This has a dark profile, with gently steeped black currant and plum fruit, liberally inlaid with smoldering charcoal, tobacco and humus notes. Offers a bright iron accent on the finish, along with black tea and dried anise details. A charcoal dust texture lingers in the end. Best from 2023 through 2035. 20,000 cases made. JM

Sweet-tobacco and berry aromas here with fresh herbs, too. Full-bodied, dense and chewy with a savory edge, bright acidity and a long, flavorful finish. Iron and graphite at the finish with Indian ink. Second wine of Château Lafite Rothschild. Try after 2022.

A blend of 49% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Carruades de Lafite opens with expressive baked plums, Morello cherries and blackcurrant cordial scents with touches of stewed tea, bay leaves and tilled soil plus a waft of tree bark. Medium-bodied with a great mid-palate core of red and black fruits, it has a solid, grainy frame and compelling freshness, finishing long and minerally.

The 2016 Carruades de Lafite is soft, gentle and caressing, with silky tannins and a sweet, perfumed bouquet that gives the wine its sensual, inviting personality. Medium in body and gracious, the Carruades will be easy to drink and enjoy upon release. Sweet red cherry, plum, spice and floral notes are all laced together in this exquisite Pauillac. In 2016, the Carruades has a bit more Merlot than is typically the case.

A little reserved - surprisingly so for Carruades at this stage - but then 2016 is an architectural vintage that's not overly generous when young. This is clearly built to last, with excellent quality, tight, well-polished tannins. It makes an impression and again shows what a successful vintage this is for second wines in Pauillac. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. - decanter.com, Jane Anson, October 2018

The 2016 Carruades de Lafite has a richer, more opulent bouquet compared to its peers, featuring intense blackberry, boysenberry and cassis fruit, if perhaps not displaying the precision of other Pauillacs. The medium-bodied palate is not quite as luxurious as the aromatics, displaying supple tannins and a slightly powdery texture. There’s good depth here and fine acidity, plus plenty of black pepper toward the finish. Fine. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting.

Tasted blind. Quite a burly nose. Big and beefy. Robust. Chunky. Very dry on the end. Sincere rather than charming. Lots packed in here. Wait awhile! Exciting.
JR - Feb 2020