Extremely perfumed with sweet tobacco and blackcurrants as well as cedar and dark chocolate. Aromatic. Medium-bodied with an intense center palate of blackcurrant, orange peel and peaches. Nervy. 53% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot.

Cherry aromas burst from the glass - bright, open, and inviting - layered with bitter chocolate, tobacco, cedar, and a subtle spice. The texture is remarkable: deep yet soft, with seamlessly integrated tannins that provide a silky powderiness, filling the mouth with both volume and finesse. A serious wine, yet it retains an effortless energy, its vibrant acidity lifting waves of red cherry and strawberry. Layered, lively, and utterly gorgeous, this is a Carruades that shines with classicism and charm. 16% press wine.

The second wine of Lafite checks in as 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. This smoking good second wine has more than a little Lafite character and offers ample red and black fruits, notes of tobacco, graphite, and leafy herbs, medium to full-bodied richness, silky, polished tannins, and a great finish. As with the Grand Vin, it's concentrated, powerful, and flawlessly balanced.

The vintage is marked by intense spice, with cassis, chocolate, mandarin, greengage, dense tannic architecture, with welome mint leaf and raspberry pip freshness on the finish. Need to sit with this, allow the floral aromatics to uncurl, bitter edge on the finish. A serious, almost sombre Carruades at this point, will reward ageing. 16% press wine, 38% Carruades of overall production. 3.75ph,

The 2022 Carruades de Lafite is a real showstopper. I don’t remember tasting a Carruades quite like the 2022, a wine that combines the richness of the year with tons of supporting structure. Super-ripe red-fleshed fruit, blood orange, mint, cinnamon and rose petal all race across the palate, supported by bright citrus-driven acids that keep the flavors vibrant. I can’t wait to see how this turns out.

The 2022 Carruades de Lafite has turned out nicely in bottle, unwinding in the glass with a youthfully understated bouquet of raspberries, cherries and cedary pencil shavings, followed by a medium to full-bodied, suave and velvety palate that's supple and lively, built around refined, powdery tannins.

Aromas of sweet cherries and berries mingled with hints of cedar box, loamy soil, warm spices, violets and orange zest introduce the 2022 Carruades de Lafite, a medium to full-bodied, bright and velvety blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot.

The 2022 Carruades de Lafite, which represents 37% of the production, has a clean and quite crisp bouquet, pure with black cherries and touches of blue fruit, wilted violet petal emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, fine depth, lightly spiced with touches of pencil lead infusing the black fruit. Quite persistent on the aftertaste.

53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot. Cask sample. Relatively complex nose with dark fruit and spice prominent. Energy and tension on the palate so freshness. Zesty for the year. Comfortable tannic structure. Should be intriguing as it opens. (JL)