Château Lafite Rothschild 2024

Critic scores

• James Suckling96-97
• Vinous95-97
• Decanter96
• Jeb Dunnuck93-95
• Wine Advocate91-94

The 2024 vintage in Pauillac

Vintage benchmark: 87/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: A rainy spring and a difficult flowering reduced the crop; the dry October saved fine, light, easy-drinking wines.

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

Deep, dazzling color of intense garnet. The nose opens with great aromatic purity, between fresh blackcurrant, wild flowers and a subtle touch of graphite. Nuances of sweet spices, cedar and blond tobacco appear upon aeration. The palate seduces with its directness and finesse. The attack is precise, the chiselled tannins carry a noble, dense but airy substance. The finish, long and distinguished, reveals the elegance of Cabernet-Sauvignon in a controlled vintage, marked by endurance and grace.

Blend of the 2024 vintage

Figures from the 2024 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.