Carruades de Lafite - Pauillac 2023

Wine Advocate

91

par William Kelley le 10/04/2026

The 2023 Carruades de Lafite offers up aromas of cassis bud, cedar box, spices and orange zest, followed by a medium- to full-bodied, ample and charming palate animated by a lively spine of acidity. It's a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, without any Cabernet Franc or Petit Verdot this year.

The Wine Palate

94

par Lisa Perrotti-Brown le 09/04/2026

The 2023 Carruades de Lafite is deep garnet-purple in color. It prances out with gregarious notes of roses, kirsch, and fallen leaves, leading to a core of cassis and dried Provençal herbs, plus a touch of incense. The medium-bodied palate is energetic and refreshing, with a great intensity of floral-laced black fruit flavors and a fine-grained texture, finishing long and minerally. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, with a pH of 3.70. The alcohol is 13.2%.

Jeb DUNNUCK

93

par Jeb Dunnuck le 31/03/2026

The second wine of this famed estate, the 2023 Carruades De Lafite checks in as a unique blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, and it might be the first time it's been only two varieties. Pure Lafite elegance emerges in its ripe currants, cherries, leafy herbs, graphite, and leather. It's medium-bodied, pure, layered, and incredibly elegant. Give it just a few years and enjoy over the following two decades. Drink 2028-2048.

Vinous

94

par Antonio Galloni le 16/03/2026

The 2023 Carruades de Lafite is a rare Carruades that is just Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, as the team felt Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot were not as successful. Silky, aromatic and finessed, the Carruades captures all the elegance of its big sibling, but in a more accessible package. Dried rose petal, orange peel, mint, cinnamon and red-toned fruit soar across the palate. Brisk acids pull it all together on the long, sustained finish lifted by expressive floral overtones.

Vinous

92

par Neal Martin le 01/02/2026

The 2023 Carruades de Lafite, which has Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot this year, has a delightful bouquet with lifted black cherries, blueberry and violet scents that blossom in the glass. Touches of vanilla pod emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins. Quite tensile, fresh, sapid with a bright finish, this is a clean and precise Carruades that lingers in the mouth. One of the best Carruades that I have tasted.

Jamessuckling.com

94

par James Suckling le 27/01/2026

Elegant and fruit-forward, with fresh herbs, plums, red currants and red berries. Expressive, juicy and poised, with medium body. Tannins are fine and firm, the bright finish lingering elegantly in the back of the nose. Lovely finesse. A blend of 60% cabernet sauvignon and 40% merlot. Already charming and drinkable but can hold.

My Bettane + Desseauve

93

par Bettane & Desseauve le 15/05/2024

Le vin continue à se rapprocher du style du grand vin, avec un corps et des sensations tactiles qui s’épanouissent à l’aération.

Jeb DUNNUCK

92-94

par Jeb Dunnuck le 13/05/2024

The second wine of this reference point château, the 2023 Carruades De Lafite is based on 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, resting in 50% new French oak. Crème de cassis, graphite, wildflowers, spicy wood, and lead pencil notes all define the aromatics, and it's medium-bodied, with a focused, classic Lafite elegance, ample mid-palate depth, and ripe tannins. I love its overall purity, balance, and length.

The Drinks Business

92-94

par Colin Hay le 07/05/2024

Carruades de Lafite (Pauillac; 60% Cabernet Sauvignon; 40% Merlot; pH 3.70; a final yield of 45 hl/ha; 13.2% alcohol; tasted at Duhart-Milon). Very dark berry fruited with a little damson. Herbal and almost a little herbaceous. Quite strict and austere, though with ultra-refined and super fine-grained tannins. A nice juicy sapidity. There’s a touch of crushed rock and rock salt minerality that lifts this on the chewy finish. Clean, lean and fresh on the finale which is nicely focussed and well-sustained.

The Wine Cellar Insider

92-94

par Jeff Leve le 06/05/2024

Spicy, floral, and fruity in the nose, with its red, black, and blue aromatics, you quickly move to the soft, silky, elegant, fragrant, medium-bodied palate. This is a bright, fresh, charming wine that even though it does not feel weighty, it is sneaky in its length, as it lingers on the palate, with fruit, as well as freshness. The wine is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 40% Merlot. It is interesting to note this is the first vintage in ages, if not ever, with only 2 vintages in the blend. 13.2% ABV, 3.7 pH. The wine consists of roughly 35% of the harvest.15% press wine. Drink from 2027-2042. 92-94 Pts.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

94

par Jane Anson le 06/05/2024

Medium intensity ruby, fairly austere right now, structured, with the same mint leaf and ink quality as Lafite. The sweet brambled black fruits only come in through the mid palate, this is well paced, unrolls slowly, a serious and concentrated Carruades that has its eye on the future. 12% pres wine, harvest September 7 to 29, unusually only using Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend.

Vinous

92-94

par Antonio Galloni le 30/04/2024

The 2023 Carruades de Lafite is a very pretty, sensual wine that very much captures the personality of the Grand Vin, naturally in a more approachable style. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, with no Franc or Petit Verdot. I have to say, there is something very direct about the 2023—something frank that is really evident. I admire its purity. Succulent red plum, spice, cedar, tobacco and a lifting touch of white pepper open first, while beautifully persistent saline undertones extend the finish.

Vinous

91-93

par Neal Martin le 29/04/2024

The 2023 Carruades de Lafite is notable for some of the Cabernet being picked prior to the Merlot, between September 7 and 29. This year, there is no Cabernet Franc or Petit Verdot in the blend. It has a far superior bouquet to some of the vintages I was tasting a decade or so ago—much more purity and precision, with notes of black plum, wild strawberry and a touch of cassis. The palate is medium-bodied with a silky texture and a crisp line of acidity. It’s fresh, precise and saline, with a long tail on the finish. This is surely one of the best Carruades I have tasted at this stage.

Falstaff

95

par Peter Moser le 29/04/2024

Dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, delicate edge brightening. Delicate herb- al savouriness, ripe cherry fruit. Full-bodied, ripe red fruit, elegant, firm, integrated tannins, mineral-salty finish, lingers well, lemon touch, a refined food companion, dynamic, fresh and delicate in the aftertaste.

The Wine Independent

92-94

par Lisa Perrotti-Brown le 28/04/2024

The 2023 Carruades de Lafite is deep garnet-purple in color. After a swirl or two, a beautiful perfume of rose oil and lavender is released, opening out to a classic core of cassis, fresh plums, and pencil lead with a touch of red, iron-rich soil. The light to medium-bodied palate is delicately styled, with compelling vibrancy and nice, ripe, fine-grained tannins supporting the black fruits, finishing long and fragrant. This is very pretty! The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, with pH 3.70. The alcohol is 13.2%.

Wine Advocate

91-93

par William Kelley le 26/04/2024

A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, the 2023 Carruades de Lafite is lovely, bursting with aromas of minty blackberries, cassis and cigar box, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered palate that's creamy and textural, its generous core of fruit largely concealing its powdery structuring tannins, concluding with a long, resonant finish.

Jamessuckling.com

95-96

par James Suckling le 25/04/2024

A savory and juicy Carruades with softness and notes of ripe berry, cedar and dried tobacco. Like Lafite from the 1980s but more precise. Round and pretty. It really grows on the finish with such sweetness of fruit and length. Pointed, fine tannins at the end. Very long. A blend of 60% cabernet sauvignon and 40% merlot.

Vertdevin

92-93

par Jonathan Chicheportiche le 24/04/2024