Château Lafite Rothschild 2014

Critic scores

• James Suckling98
• Wine Enthusiast98
• Wine Advocate95
• Vinous95
• Wine Spectator95
• Decanter93

The 2014 vintage in Pauillac

Vintage benchmark: 90/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: A gloomy summer redeemed by an Indian summer: the cabernets are radiant and the freshness is true to the Médoc.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Pauillac. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

Beautiful intense garnet red color. Complex and fruity nose characteristic of the 2014s, presents beautiful floral notes. We perceive a slight toasted note, but the wood is already well integrated. On the palate, the wine takes on great breadth, it is powerful while remaining elegant. Blackberry and blackcurrant still assert themselves here and are well complemented by notes of violet and cedar so often present in Lafite wines. The palate is fresh, harmonious and very long. It presents a beautiful balance between richness and finesse. This is a wine that you will have to wait around ten years for, before it reaches its peak of tasting.

Blend of the 2014 vintage

Figures from the 2014 sheet

• 12 % vol.Alcohol
• 40 yrsVine age
• 200,000 bottlesProduction

Winemaking

Fermentation takes place in two vat rooms: the traditional vat room, fitted with large oak vats, and the modern vat room, fitted with stainless steel vats. Blending is carried out when the barrels are first racked in March.

Ageing

The wine then begins its ageing and maturation in the cellar, a stage lasting 18 to 20 months.

Terroir

The vineyard comprises three main areas: the slopes around the Château, the Carruades plateau adjoining it to the west, and a 4.5 ha parcel in the neighbouring commune of Saint Estèphe. The vineyard covers 112 ha of fine, deep gravel soils mixed with aeolian sands over a Tertiary limestone subsoil, well drained and well exposed. The grape varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet Franc (3%) and Petit Verdot (2%). The average age of the vines is 38 years overall, but it should be noted that vines under 10 years old (20 ha) do not go into the grand vin, so that the average age of the vines contributing to the grand vin is closer to 45 years. The oldest parcel, known as « La Gravière », was planted in 1886.