Rather tight, with an alluring whiff of cocoa that lures you in before disappearing into the core of steeped plum, roasted fig and blackberry coulis notes. Sandalwood, black tea and loam elements fill in on the long and expansive finish. This seems to be lying in wait for what could be a very long time in the cellar before unfurling fully. Best from 2018 through 2045. 15,833 cases made.

– James Molesworth (WineSpectator.com, March 2013)

Deep ruby-purple. Closed but extremely pure and penetrating on the nose, offering delicate aromas of crushed blackcurrant, flint and graphite lifted by a perfumed violet topnote. Very refined and clean on the palate, with concentrated cassis, violet, ink and cedar flavors that are archetypal Lafite. Finishes with the hint of astringency that I find in a lot of 2010 Bordeaux. This is an extremely impressive Lafite but it needs at least a decade of cellaring.

The 2010 Lafite-Rothschild is a beautiful Pauillac in the making. It has a very well-defined bouquet that exhibits more red than black fruit, laced with cedar, damp undergrowth and pressed flowers. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly grainy tannins, conveying a sense of symmetry and focus that is second to none. Yet I feel that there ought to be greater substance and grip towards the second half. I miss the fullness shown by the 2009 Lafite-Rothschild that is shown alongside it. There is a pleasant sharpness and clarity to this decidedly masculine Lafite. I suspect it will continue to improve in bottle, if never taking the accolade of "best in show" for this auspicious growing season. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild 150th anniversary dinner at the estate.

Inky colour, more so than in many years of Lafite, imprinted by the vintage. It is at this level, in these type of years, where you see why these terroirs have stood out for centuries. We are in a crowded field of excellence in Pauillac in 2010, and yet still the First Growths manage to deliver an extra heartbeat of brilliance. This is still extremely closed, and I have no hesitation in saying that when Lafite is planning its 250th anniversary celebrations that this will be one of the wines that it chooses, just as we all marvelled at the 1893 in the summer of 2018. Blocks of liquorice and black chocolate come through alongside the tannins, standing guard to ensure the fruits don't escape before they are ready to do so. There are vintages where Lafite is sculpted, liquid elegance (like 2017, speaking of one I have recently tasted), and where it stands out against the vintage, and then there are other years when it epitomises why the vintage is so good, and that is where we are here. It has less obvious muscles than the Latour but every bit of the strength. Drinking Window 2025 - 2050
Tasted by Jane Anson (at BI London, 30 Jan 2020)
Part of Château Lafite-Rothschild: 1986-2010 vertical tasting

Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Lafite Rothschild is a little mute on the nose at this stage, opening to reveal warm blackcurrants, baked plums and boysenberry scents with hints of chocolate mint, violets, cedar chest and pencil lead. Full-bodied, rich and densely packed with perfumed black fruit layers, it has a rock-solid backbone of fantastically ripe, grainy tannins and beautiful freshness, finishing very long and minerally. Still very youthful! LPB