Lafon Rochet - Saint-Estèphe 2016

Jamessuckling.com

95

par James Suckling le 06/02/2026

Aromas of smoke, incense, black currants and expressive dark fruit. Assertive yet sleek tannins. This will age well over the coming years. Drink or hold. 10 Years On retrospective.

Vinous

95

par Neal Martin le 30/06/2023

The 2016 Lafon-Rochet is very intense on the nose. A mixture of red and black fruit, crushed violet, wild mint and crushed stone unfolds with aeration. It's perhaps a little Barolo in style. The palate is beautifully balanced with supple tannins, very velvety smooth with lovely acidity and sensuality on the finish. Gorgeous. A high point for the estate. Tasted at the Lafon-Rochet vertical at the property.

Decanter.com

93

par Elin McCoy le 01/04/2021

This has precise flavours, intense violet aromas, and plenty of personality, zing, spice and finesse, which tasting several times only confirmed. A Cabernet Sauvignon dominant (67%) blend, it's rounded out by 27% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, and was aged in 30% new oak. The consultant is Jean Claude Berrouet, who spent years making Château Petrus, which has the same kind of blue clay as parts of Lafon Rochet's vineyard. No chemical pesticides or herbicides are used, and 2016 was the first year for two new vat rooms. 2016 was a stunning vintage for St-Estèphe and for this fourth growth.

Vinous

95

par Neal Martin le 13/08/2020

The 2016 Lafon-Rochet has a very engaging bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit laced with pencil shavings and loamy scents. In fact, the more you nose this wine, the more its complexity becomes apparent. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine line of acidity, ripe and generous yet maintaining outstanding tension and revealing a judicious touch of peppercorns on the finish, which fans out gloriously. This is a fabulous Lafon-Rochet and certainly the best bottle of 2016 that I have encountered. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting.

Jancis Robinson

17,5

par Jancis Robinson le 05/02/2020

Wine Spectator

93

par James Molesworth le 05/02/2019

This is vivid, with a mix of steeped red and black currant coulis flavors streaming through, while ample savory, bay leaf, tobacco and warm stone notes course underneath. The elements meld wonderfully on the finish, revealing a tug of savory and earth at the very end. Best from 2023 through 2033. 8,333 cases made.  –JM

Jamessuckling.com

94

par James Suckling le 04/02/2019

An explosion of all manner of black berries with discreet, toasty and smoky oak, makes this a joyful St.-Estèphe. Then the great balance of ripeness, lively acidity and velvety tannins come together beautifully at the elegant finish to make this the best wine from this producer in modern times. Needs two or three years to soften. Try in 2022.

Vinous

93

par Neal Martin le 24/01/2019

The 2016 Lafon-Rochet has quite a floral bouquet, pressed iris infiltrating the black fruit, and touches of tar coming through with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, quite elegant in style, refined and much more approachable that I expected, yet still with satisfying substance and a light pepperiness on the aftertaste. This is a beautiful Lafon-Rochet from Basile Tesseron and his team.

Vinous

95

par Antonio Galloni le 21/01/2019

A sleeper in this vintage, the 2016 Lafon-Rochet is positively stellar. Bright, translucent and super-expressive, the 2016 has so much to offer. Lavender, tobacco, cedar, mint and dried herbs give the 2016 striking aromatic top notes to play off the darker fru flavors. The 2016 is pure class. Don't miss it.

Decanter.com

94

par Jane Anson le 30/10/2018

WeinWisser

17,5

par Tjark Witzgall le 22/05/2017

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!

Bettane & Desseauve

95-96

par Bettane & Desseauve le 03/05/2017

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

Wine Advocate

91-93

par Neal Martin le 02/05/2017

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

par Jeff Leve le 27/04/2017

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

par Antonio Galloni le 26/04/2017

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

par Matthew Jukes le 25/04/2017

(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

par Jane Anson le 24/04/2017

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

par Jancis Robinson le 21/04/2017

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

par Roger Voss le 19/04/2017

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

par James Molesworth le 10/04/2017

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

par James Suckling le 05/04/2017

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.