So much rich, sweet tobacco with currants and spices, as well as graphite. Full-bodied, tight and focused with oyster-shell and lead-pencil character on the palate. Tangy, spicy and peppery. Needs three to four years to soften, but already beautiful.

Just as it was from barrel, the 2017 Carruades de Lafite is ample and rich on the palate. Succulent dark cherry, lavender, spice and plum all fill out the wine's frame effortlessly. In 2017, Carruades is especially resonant and creamy, with notable richness and volume. I expect the 2017 will drink well with just a few years in bottle.

Brought up in just 20% new oak, the 2017 Carruades De Lafite checks in as 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and a splash of Cabernet Franc. It has that classic Lafite-like elegance and lead pencil character as well as ripe red currants and tobacco notes, medium body, a rounded, seamless texture, and present yet ripe tannins. It's a charming, elegant second wine that will evolve for 15-20 years.

The 2017 Carruades de Lafite is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it prances out of the glass with joyful notions of black cherries, redcurrant jelly and cassis plus hints of kirsch, cedar chest, pencil lead and a waft of raspberry leaves. Medium-bodied, the palate possesses bags of poise and freshness, dishing out lots of bright red and black fruits with a soft, finely grained frame, finishing long with a skip in its step.

Bracken, earth and brambly blackcurrants. This is autumn hedgerow, smoked sarments, attractive and well put together with an autumnal feel. A little short on the finish as is often the case with 2nd wines in 2017. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2045
Tasted by: Jane Anson (at Mouton, 21 Nov 2019)

The 2017 Carruades de Lafite has a pleasant bouquet with brambly black fruit intermingling with damp earth and light tobacco aromas. Maybe it would benefit from a little more precision. The palate is well balanced with a saline tang on the entry. This is a little "chunky" at the moment, maybe missing the finesse of the 2016, although I appreciate the briny influence that surfaces towards the finish. Fine, although not the best second wine that I have tasted from this First Growth. www.vinous.com

The second wine of the legendary Chateau Lafite, Carruades traditionally provides the style and character of the Grand Vin in a more approachable build.
Red fruits, lightly herbaceous and crunchy. Fine tannins, nicely balanced acidity and a clean, long and precise finish. - April 2018

Deep crimson. More lifted and fragrant than the Duhart-Milon just tasted. Dark-red fruit and graphite freshness. Richer and sweeter fruited on the mid palate than the Duhart, a little more generous. Very soft texture but not lacking backgrounded structure. Elegant, and an attractive minerally, dark-fruited finish. Subtle. Understated. - Julia Harding, jancisrobinson.com, April 2018

60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep crimson. More lifted and fragrant than the Duhart-Milon just tasted. Dark-red fruit and graphite freshness. Richer and sweeter fruited on the mid palate than the Duhart, a little more generous. Very soft texture but not lacking backgrounded structure. Elegant, and an attractive minerally, dark-fruited finish. Subtle. Understated. (JH)

Tasted blind. Deep ruby colour. Forest fruit and blueberries here, with some sweet pastries. Soft and a bit smudgy, there is lots of ripe, succulent and brambly fruit. Good intensity and ripe in tannin, this will drink well young but will hopefully gain clarity with a few years in bottle. (TP)