The 2016 Lafon-Rochet is very intense on the nose. A mixture of red and black fruit, crushed violet, wild mint and crushed stone unfolds with aeration. It's perhaps a little Barolo in style. The palate is beautifully balanced with supple tannins, very velvety smooth with lovely acidity and sensuality on the finish. Gorgeous. A high point for the estate. Tasted at the Lafon-Rochet vertical at the property. June 2023

Plenty of fruit and concentration to this wine, and it’s buttressed by the tannins. Muscular and intense. Full-bodied yet reserved and tight. Excellent. - March 2017

Good value St Estephe from Basil Tesseron - one of the nicest (and best dressed) men in Bordeaux. Dark fruits, hint of mocha and dark chocolate. Fine but quite firm tannins frame a juicy entry to the palate. Lifted with a little fine perfume and plenty of dense, sweet black cherry fruit. Fresh, elegant and really quite classy. - April 2017

The 2016 Lafon-Rochet is a worthy follow-up to the 2015, although it is much less obvious than that wine. Scents of smoke, graphite, leather, wild cherry, lavender and blueberry give the 2016 its beguiling, expressive personality. Deep and concentrated but not big or overdone, it is likely to require at least a handful of years to be at its best. The long, persistent finish, punctuated by grippy tannins, is a thing of beauty. The 2016 has the most Cabernet ever at the estate. Proprietor Basile Tesseron told me he expects to increase plantings of Cabernet Franc at the property. Tasted three times. - vinous.com, April 2017

Very pure, with a lilac note leading the way for racy red currant and cassis flavors. The finish is alive, featuring a brisk iron note and long, pleasantly austere structure. Nicely done. - James Molesworth (WineSpectator.com, April 2017)

Tasted blind. Firm and minerally with lots of ripe, correct fruit in the middle. Very St-Estèphe. Dry finish but not drying tannins. Whizzy and lively and pure pleasure for fans of this commune. (JR)