The most famous wine in the world? Chateau Lafite is unmistakable and at its best is peerless throughout Bordeaux. Typically impenetrable on the nose - just a hint of eastern mystery, spice, perfume, musk. Soft, plush, dense, but so effortless. Sweet, dense, pure fruit, such concentration and tension - incredible energy. Perfect tannins. Such length. - April 2017

The 2016 Lafite Rothschild is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot, with 15% of the press wine contributing to the blend this year. Deep purple-black in color, it slowly reveals the most gorgeous perfume of kirsch, lilacs, black raspberries and warm blackcurrants with underlying nuances of cigar box, rose hip tea, cloves, licorice and pencil lead plus a waft of garrigue. Medium-bodied and built like a brick house with a firm yet beautifully ripe, finely pixelated tannic backbone and seamless freshness supporting the amazing intensity of black fruits and floral layers, it finishes very long and provocatively perfumed. LPB

The 2016 Lafite-Rothschild is a total stunner. Seamless, racy and voluptuous in the glass, the 2016 is even better from bottle than it was from barrel. Once again, I am blown away by the inner sweetness and purity of the fruit. The 2016 is, rich, concentrated and yet also light on its feet, in the way only Lafite can be. Dramatic and ample the 2016 Lafite is a beautifully resonant, super-expressive wine endowed with regal beauty and tremendous overall balance. It will drink well for many years and decades.

The 2016 Lafite-Rothschild underwent three days of pre-harvest selection to pick out the clusters that you could see through, where the grapes had little pulp because of retarded maturation during the growing season. This tank represented 3% of the volume that did not even make it into the Carruades because it would have detracted from the precision. It has a beautiful bouquet, one of the most seductive in recent years, offering pure blackberry and boysenberry fruit, hints of pressed violet and India ink that emerges with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, quite saturated tannin that belies the backbone, and a rondeur that I was not anticipating. Referring back to my notes, it’s clear that this first growth has developed greater amplitude and perhaps sensuality in barrel. It has a sense of approachability, although it clearly has the substance to last for many years.
Vinous, Jan 2019

Very rich, dense dark crimson. Not much nose, just a vague impression of quality lurking beneath the super-subtle aroma. Round texture, tannins are in a very low register indeed. Then I'd love to see just a little bit more energy. Round and it may all get together. A really rather delicate Lafite. Nothing in excess; it's true and very classic claret - very Lafite - but arguably just a little muted. Drink 2026-2045. - jancisrobinson.com, April 2017

What I love about the 2016 Lafite is that the sweetness of the fruit comes through even at this early stage. Sweet, ripe blackberry and cassis pulse through the palate behind the tight construction of tension and classicism given by high acidity and plenty of tannins. It has ripeness and a sense of promise but, as is often the case with a young Lafite, it's not giving a lot away and we can expect it to age for many decades perfectly comfortably. Extremely accomplished, one to cherish. Matured in 100% new oak. - decanter.com, Jane Anson, October 2018

On another level and one of the greatest young Bordeaux I’ve ever tasted, the 2016 Lafite-Rothschild is composed of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot raised in new oak. It takes the classic elegance and class of Lafite and turns the dial up to 11, offering a massive, heavenly array of blackcurrants, cedar pencil, graphite, tobacco, and incense aromas and flavors that soar from the glass. Deep, full-bodied, and flawlessly constructed, with perfectly integrated fruit, acidity, and tannins, this is legendary stuff all the way. It will be drinkable in 7-8 years and keep for 50-75 years or more. Along with Mouton, it’s the wine of the vintage from the Médoc. Hats off to director Eric Kohler. - jebdunnuck.com, February 2019

Incredible aromas of crushed berries, sweet tobacco and wet earth. So perfumed and gorgeous. Hot stones and cement, too. Full-bodied, dense and powerful with lots of intense tannins and a never ending finish. Juicy and flavorful. A muscular Lafite, not seen for a long time. Classssssss! Try after 2025.