2004 Carruades de Lafite
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Tasting notes
Lively and fresh. Less dense than many. Racy and very juicy. Delicate. (JR)
Critic scores
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More reviews and scores
Medium red-ruby. Plum, currant, brown spices, leather and tobacco leaf on the nose, along with some smoky oak. Distinctly firm and herbal but with a sweetly spicy quality to the flavors of cassis, lead pencil and tobacco leaf. Finishes with a fine dusting of tannins and a repeating herbal note.
Lafite’s second wine has become stronger over recent vintages as the selection for the grand vin has become Draconian under administrator Charles Chevalier. The dense ruby/purple-tinged 2004 Carruades de Lafite (48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) exhibits sweet, crunchy, savory, black cherry, and raspberry fruit along with hints of road tar, spring flowers, and a touch of minerality. Give it 1-2 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following 12-13.
(a blend of 48% cabernet sauvignon, 47% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot) Ruby-red. Highly aromatic nose of currant, lead pencil and flowers. Juicy, subtle and perfumed, with strong mineral and graphite notes. Perhaps a bit green-edged and light for this wine, but very subtle and aromatic.
About the producer
Ch. Lafite Rothschild is one of the most famous wine estates in Bordeaux and the world. One of the Left Bank’s five First Growths, the Pauillac property is renowned for producing wines of finesse and elegance that age beautifully.