Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve: The amazing presence on the palate is unique to this vintage, and the flavors and tannins are refined: a true marvel. Latour seemed to us to be slightly more captivating at this stage. (Carruades is very elegant but too impersonal; disappointing.) 19

John Gilman: As is the case with the 2010 Carruades, the 2010 Lafite Rothschild is very impressive for its more restrained personality than the more opulent and seductive 2009. The bouquet is deep and notably ripe, but at the same time there is a sense of structure here that was not particularly evident in the ’09, as the wine soars from the glass in a very refined blend of cassis, dark berries, coffee bean, complex, gravelly soil tones, cigar smoke, tobacco leaf, and lead pencil. On the palate, the wine is deep, full-bodied, and quite powerful in profile, with a rock-solid core of fruit, flawless focus and balance, plenty of firm, well-integrated tannins, and outstanding length and grip on the quite reserved finish. This is much more classically styled than the 2009 Lafite, and while both wines are beautifully crafted, the 2010 seems, at this early stage, to be a step up in quality. A wonderful Lafite for the cellar. 2025–2100+. 19

Michael Schuster: Dense, closed, fresh ripe fruit and subtly pebbly nose; elegantly balanced, discreetly balanced, concentrated—yet not obviously so—with a gentle, fresh acidity and very fine-textured, firm, dry tannin; a lovely sweetness of fruit, delicate and pure, a flowing, juicy core, with great depth, subtlety, and reserve but without any impression of strength; long, graceful, understated, complete, with a splendidly long aftertaste; effortlessly racy, quite fat within the overall delicacy. Discreetly rich, minerally, and fine, with so much going on at a mezzo forte level. 2025–50+. 19/19.5+