The 2019 Carruades de Lafite is a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, harvested from the 19th of September to the 7th of October. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it comes skipping out of the glass with bright, fresh notions of wild blueberries, ripe plums and redcurrant jelly plus hints of cinnamon stick, cumin seed, oolong tea and violets with a waft of black olives. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers loads of rich, ripe, spicy flavors with a soft texture of nicely rounded tannins and with the freshness in the background, finishing on a lingering allspice note. In a word: Yum!

The Merlot in the 2019 grand vin is a “new wine” of Merlot for Lafite, according to technical director Eric Kohler. “Before, we only had three tanks of Merlot to choose from,” he explained. “Often, it was the same choice. Now, we have identified three plots of Merlot to co-vinify. The amounts were too little to be vinified separately, so they used to go into the blends. This makes a new Merlot lot for us. This year, this Merlot blend was just perfect for the grand vin. This addition of the new Merlot helped keep the balance.”

Regarding the 2019 vintage of Lafite’s very popular second wine: “This is the first time we used this much Cabernet Sauvignon in the Carruades blend,” Kohler told me. "Usually it is more like 55% Cabernet with more Merlot. It is even more like Lafite this year!”

92-94 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, June 2020.