2017 chateau lafite rothschild premier cru classe, pauillac
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Why We're Buying
It's almost impossible to overstate the prestige and renown of Château Lafite Rothschild. The wine estate has first-growth status, endless critical acclaim, and vintages that age more than 50 years. These are just a few of the reasons why someone paid $698,076 for three bottles of its flagship wine in 2010.
Critics Scores
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Composed of 97 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.5 Merlot and 0.5 Petit Verdot, the 2017 Lafite Rothschild is deep garnet-purple colored. It opens slowly, cautiously with restrained notes of chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries, warm blackcurrants and wild blueberries, followed by emerging notions of smoked meats, fragrant earth, crushed rocks and lilacs with touches of cast-iron pan and Marmite toast. Medium-bodied, the palate is deceptively light and quite ethereal on entry, growing in the mouth to reveal elegant layers of energetic red and black fruits with tons of savory accents. Framed by exquisitely ripe, wonderfully fine-grained tannins, it has exhilarating freshness and a very long, hypnotically perfumed finish. On a final note, the alcohol here is a jaw-dropping 12.5, which is something of a miracle considering the ripeness of the Cabernet. A total head-turner, I cannot wait to follow the development of this wine! Rating: 97+
James Suckling
Deep and typical on the nose with blackcurrants, black tea, leather and graphite. The aromas draw you down to the palate. Full-bodied, creamy and beautiful with extremely polished, refined tannins. Yet, it’s powerful and long. Highest percent of cabernet sauvignon ever. Juicy and almost exotic, but very tidy with ripe tannins. Try after 2025 and onwards.
Decanter
Deep ruby in colour but not so inky as to be impenetrable - that is not their style. Nose subdued at first, but on the palate it unfurls to show violet edging and rich but well defined black fruits. Lafite never tries overly hard to please everyone in its early years, and this will take some time to open up. There is plenty of concentration - there are hefty tannins but they are so finessed that you don't feel them at first. It will almost certainly take a full ten years to reach its drinking window, unlike many in 2017. Its 97 Cabernet Sauvignon means a lot of the power is implied at this point, with only a hint of Merlot to soften and gently layer up through the palate. Extremely impressive. A yield of 40hl/ha, only very lightly affected by frost. 99 new oak. 3.75pH.
Jeb Dunnuck
The grand vin 2017 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild checks as a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blend that includes just 2.5 Merlot and less than 1 of Petit Verdot, brought up in new French oak. It shows the classy, elegant style of both the vintage and the estate, revealing a ruby/purple hue, complex notes of red and black currants, lead pencil, and cedary herbs, medium-bodied richness and depth, and both present tannins and acidity. It checks in behind the 2015 and 2016 yet is nevertheless a classic Lafite. It will benefit from a decade of bottle age and keep for 30 years or more.
Wine Spectator
This is a youthful tumble of warmed black currant, fig and blackberry paste flavors, entwined with bay leaf, tobacco, savory, lilac, smoldering charcoal and warm cast iron notes. Terrific stony minerality zips everything up for now, but riveting acidity and excellent energy should carry this easily in the cellar. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2040.
Wine Enthusiast
This wine is poised, gathering freshness and good acidity in the same structured container as the pure black-currant fruits. With 97 Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine has a classicism about it: fruity and structured at the same time. Drink from 2024.
Tim Atkin
Very dark purple colour. Super concentrated aromas of black fruit and spices. Some cinnamon and earth, rosehip and violet. Very concentrated and earthy-spicy with deep black fruit flavours and elegance, deftness of tannins. Balanced, creamy texture with freshness and complexity. Very long finish with fine tannins. It’s powerful and flavoursome, but not the equal of the 2016.