AJ | Dark, dense black-red. Fresh, sweet-green aromas: the lively St Estephe promise in popular guise. Very comely and enticing, and without the severity which some vintage of Lafon-Rochet can have. Dense, searching, ambitious and driven on the palate, with remarkable concentration and intensity; a darker style than the aromas led us to expect. Is there enough fruit to back it up this thrust and concentration? Time will tell, but it is ambitious, and a very impressive and striking wine.Drink Dates: 2024 - 2034. 92
MS | Dense, fairly closed, faintly noble-herbal behind the muted blackcurrant Cabernet, and with the clear, subtle gravel element to smell too; medium full, fresh, finely tannic, beautifully balanced; rich and refined, very fine in its tannin texture, freshly ripe but typically claret ‘dry’ in flavour, close grained and complex, particularly finely wrought St Estèphe, long to taste and with lovely, gravel-scented length to finish. A most successful, complete Lafon Rochet of considerable class and great harmony, which will be very rewarding in the long run. Splendid St Estèphe. Drink Dates: 2030 - 2050+. 93