Château Lafite Rothschild 2015

Critic scores

• Wine Enthusiast100
• James Suckling99
• Decanter98
• Wine Advocate96
• Vinous96
• Jeb Dunnuck96
• Wine Spectator95

The 2015 vintage in Pauillac

Vintage benchmark: 93/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: A hot summer tempered by August rains gave expansive wines, with rounded tannins and generous fruit.

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

Its color is very dark with purple reflections still indicating its great youth. On the nose the wine is still discreet, it is classic after only a few months in bottles. But already a beautiful depth and a great complexity are presented. Notes of fresh strawberries and tobacco in which the oak character is perfectly blended. The attack is both flexible and very powerful. Without any aggressiveness, and in perfect harmony, the length on the palate is very pleasant. It is a Lafite which today reveals only a small part of its potential, and which we will have to wait... a few years.

Blend of the 2015 vintage

Figures from the 2015 sheet

• 46 hl/haYield
• 200,000 bottlesProduction

Winemaking

The maceration duration varies depending on each tank, but is generally around 20 days. Following malolactic fermentation, the wines are barreled into French oak barrels. Lafite has its own cooperage in Pauillac, a factor which contributes to its unique style.

Ageing

Following blending, the wine begins its 20-month period of ageing and maturation in new oak barrels.

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.