Château Lafon-Rochet - Saint-Estèphe 2016 11166fe81142afc18593181d6269c740

Decanter.com

94 / 100

byJane Ansonthe10/30/2018

Drinking Window 2024 - 2040

Closed yet concentrated and silky, this takes its time and although there is balance, it's certainly not generous. The high acidity is notable but it softens, deepens, and opens on the palate, revealing black fruits held in a chargrilled frame. Matured in 50% new French and Austrian oak.

Wein Wisser

17,5 / 20

the5/22/2017

Granat mit rubinroten Reflexen und lila Schimmer. Komplexes Bouquet mit floralen Noten und Walderdbeeren,dahinter rote Grütze und Baumnuss. Am saftigen Gaumen mit reifem, süssem Extrakt und viel rotem Kirschsaft imRückaroma – was für eine Eleganz! Mit klarer Tendenz zur besseren Note. Bravo, Basile!

Le Figaro - L'Avis du Vin

17,5 / 20

byClub Vinthe5/15/2017

Nez fumé, fruits noirs, myrtille. Bouche fraîche, tonique, tannins souples, belle mâche.

Bettane & Desseauve

95-96 / 100

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/3/2017

Forte couleur, intense, très profond, tannin encore un peu épais, long, complexe, grande garde assurée.

Wine Advocate

91-93 / 100

byNeal Martinthe5/2/2017

The 2016 Lafon Rochet is a blend of 25% Merlot, 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot and 6% Cabernet Franc cropped at 46 hectoliters per hectare and matured in 50% new oak. The harvest was between 1 October and 20 October. The alcohol is 13.6%, which is just a little higher here than say Cos d'Estournel or Montrose. It has a very succinct bouquet with blackberry, bilberry and light oyster shell aromas, classic in style, more reserved than I found the 2015 Lafon Rochet last year. The palate is medium-bodied with powerful tannin on the entry, a keen line of acidity (3.65 pH), fine symmetry with a pleasant rondeur on the finish sprinkled with black pepper and tobacco. This is a very fine Lafon Rochet from Basile Tesseron and his team.

The Wine Cellar Insider

93-95 / 100

byJeff Levethe4/27/2017

Sweet dark, blackberry, cassis, floral and forest scents lead you to a finesse-styled wine. Full bodied, polished, fresh and spicy with a nice shot of juicy cassis in the finish — it sounds like a great evening to me. This wine has a serious concentration of flavor and a party pack assortment of dark red fruits in the finish. Produced from a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 0.2% Petit Verdot, the wine reached 13.6% alcohol.

Vinous

91-94 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe4/26/2017

The 2016 Lafon-Rochet is a worthy follow-up to the 2015, although it is much less obvious than that wine. Scents of smoke, graphite, leather, wild cherry, lavender and blueberry give the 2016 its beguiling, expressive personality. Deep and concentrated but not big or overdone, it is likely to require at least a handful of years to be at its best. The long, persistent finish, punctuated by grippy tannins, is a thing of beauty. The 2016 has the most Cabernet ever at the estate. Proprietor Basile Tesseron told me he expects to increase plantings of Cabernet Franc at the property. Tasted three times.

matthewjukes.com

17,5 / 20

byMatthew Jukesthe4/25/2017

(67 Cabernet Sauvignon, 25 Merlot, 6 Cabernet Franc, 2 Petit Verdot) | 50% new oak | 13.5% alc. Classic, layered and suave, this is a focussed, intense Lafon-Rochet with serious intent and masses of power beneath the bonnet. The nose shows the way with succulent fruit and showy oak and then the palate calms down to reveal a wonderful, balanced finish. 17.5+

Decanter.com

95 / 100

byJane Ansonthe4/24/2017

All the success of St-Estèphe in 2016 can be seen in Lafon-Rochet this year, where the 30mm of rain on 13th September and 13mm on 8th October, with nothing in between, allowed the clay, limestone and gravel soils to fully ripen the grapes. Owner Basile Tesseron says he had never seen such maturity in his Cabernet Sauvignons, and certainly we have hugely intense aromatics from the first nose. The palate features finessed and fleshed out mouthwatering black fruits making it hard not to love this. Tasted three times in total, and every time it stood out. Blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot aged in 30% new oak. 3.68pH. Drinking Window 2027 - 2045

Jancis Robinson

16,5 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe4/21/2017

Not the deepest crimson. Broad and rich and a bit beefy and yeast-extract-like. A tad scrawny on the end.

Wine Enthusiast

95-97 / 100

byRoger Vossthe4/19/2017

Barrel Sample. The great improvements at this estate have really paid off in this fine wine. Owned by another branch of the family that owns Pontet-Canet, the estate has produced a beautifully structured wine, packed with tannins and full of delicious blackberry fruits. It's a wine with a great future, to be held until 2028 and beyond.

Wine Spectator

90-93 / 100

byJames Molesworththe4/10/2017

Very pure, with a lilac note leading the way for racy red currant and cassis flavors. The finish is alive, featuring a brisk iron note and long, pleasantly austere structure. Nicely done.—J.M.

Jamessuckling.com

93-94 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/5/2017

Plenty of fruit and concentration to this wine, and it's buttressed by the tannins. Muscular and intense. Full-bodied yet reserved and tight. Excellent.