Château LAFITE ROTHSCHILD 2020

Description

Jean-Marc Quarin 98 points www.quarin.com
Couleur sombre, intense et belle. Nez très aromatique et très fruité. Encore un peu discret. Moelleux en entrée de bouche, ample au milieu, avec un toucher royal, le vin glisse sur le palais, juteux et séveux. Il gagne de la profondeur en finale, endroit où il livre toute sa dimension. C’est long, puissant, délicat et très, très bon.

Yves Beck 100 points www.yvesbeck.wine

Dégusté le 13.12.2022 par Yves Beck

92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot

Comme à son habitude, Lafite Rothschild se positionne avec finesse et profondeur. Les tannins sont d’une grande précision et le vin se distingue par ses 12.5% d’alcool… profond et subtil, il ne cherche pas la démonstration et dispose de tannins précis, porteurs, aux grains fins. On ressent bien sa grandeur, cet élément immuable, même sur les vins qui sont en mode « hibernation ». Chaque année, il me semble que Lafite passe au-dessus du millésime, il suit sa voie, sa logique. C’est pour ma part une des plus grandes réussites du millésime. Il n’écrase rien, il parle calmement, sereinement, clairement. C’est bien là l’essentiel de sa force.  2028-2055

Antonio Galloni 97 www.vinous.com
The 2020 Lafite-Rothschild is a super-classic wine, just as it was en primeur. Bright acids and expressive saline notes give the 2020 its shape. The 2020 represents a sort of hypothetical blend of cooler and warmer years in terms of its overall feel. Today, it is surprisingly austere, but time in the glass brings out classic Lafite red/purplish fruit, lavender and graphite notes. Readers will have to be patient.

Georgina Hindle 99 points  www.decanter.com
An utterly brilliant Lafite – a sense of understated charm, it’s certainly not shouting but delivers a bright, sharp, joyous sensation. Almost subtle in its presentation with delicacy and refinement on show yet such clear power underneath. An incredible aromatic display with ripe black fruits, pepper, liquorice and crushed stones – calm, controlled and contained with beautiful tannin integration and a chalky, salinity on the finish. Supremely complete with mass appeal.

William Kelley 97 points www.erobertparker.com
The 2020 Lafite Rothschild opens in the glass with a deep bouquet of cassis, black truffle, pencil shavings and violets. Full-bodied, fleshy and layered, its broad attack segues into an ample core of fruit framed by supple, melting tannins. Seamless, layered and complete, it’s richer and deeper pitched than the 2019, and its notably high pH of 3.94 likely means it will never shut down. It’s a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, incorporating just a touch more Merlot from the plateau of Carruades than the 2019.

Neal Martin 98 www.vinous.com
The 2020 Lafite-Rothschild, which contains the highest proportion of Merlot since the 2016, hit the bull’s eye from barrel. Revisiting the wine in the bottle since July, it still bursts from the glass with copious blackberries, touches of blueberry and juniper, pencil lead and a hint of crushed stone. Wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-chiseled tannins, quite linear and « correct » – a quintessential Lafite-Rothschild in many ways. It gently builds in the mouth while keeping a restraint on things, finishing with fine sapidity yet a little more juiciness than you would have found a decade or two earlier. This has the potential to evolve beautifully over several decades.