Winemaker Notes
Blend: 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2023 Lafon-Rochet is a promising wine. Today, it shows terrific depth, driven by an elevated presence of Cabernet Sauvignon and a healthy dollop of Petit Verdot. Dark blue-toned fruit, lavender, licorice and dried herbs show tons of character. There's plenty of Lafon-Rochet finesse, but with an added kick of textural richness not found in the wines made during the Tesseron era. This comes together beautifully with a bit of time in the glass. –Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Wine Enthusiast
With tannins powering throughblack plum fruits and firm texture, there is plenty ofaging potential. With new wood still showing in this finewine.
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Decanter
Cool blue fruits and dark chocolate on the nose with blackcurrant and bramble fruit. Lovely fresh fragrance. Round and textured, a nice filling weight and body to this, almost chewy, juicy and lively, really in balance - very welcoming and generous and verging on charming. I like the pep to this, upbeat and fun, on the high acid side but there’s something very welcoming about it. Chalky and mineral on the finish, a powdery sensation lingers on the tongue. This will need some time to age in oak to soften it a touch and allow it to expand but this is a stylish 2023. 55% grand vin production. The estate will be certified organic as of the 2024 vintage. 3.75pH.
Barrel Sample: 93 -
James Suckling
A timid nose of blackberries, tobacco, herbal notes and thyme. The medium-bodied palate has dark fruit and firm, evenly distributed tannins, with a saline touch. Structured and attractive. A blend of 64% cabernet sauvignon, 29% merlot, 4% petit verdot and 3% cabernet franc. Better in 2028.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Generous and layered, the 2023 Lafon-Rochet offers up aromas of blackberries, cassis, incense and burning embers, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rich and enveloping palate that's gourmand and charming, concluding with a gently minty finish. Like the 2023, this represents a richer, more demonstrative style for this Saint-Estèphe property, where Christophe Congé and his team are rehabilitating the vineyards.
Barrel Sample: 91-93 -
Wine Spectator
Friendly and open-knit, with cassis and bitter plum fruit laced with iris and rose hip accents. Shows a chalk hint on the breezy finish. Cabernet Sau- vignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Deeply colored, concentrated, and distinctive, St. Estephe is the go-to for great, age-worthy and reliable Bordeaux reds. Separated from Pauillac merely by a stream, St. Estephe is the farthest northwest of the highest classed villages of the Haut Medoc and is therefore subject to the most intense maritime influence of the Atlantic.
St. Estephe soils are rich in gravel like all of the best sites of the Haut Medoc but here the formation of gravel over clay creates a cooler atmosphere for its vines compared to those in the villages farther downstream. This results in delayed ripening and wines with higher acidity compared to the other villages.
While they can seem a bit austere when young, St. Estephe reds prove to live very long in the cellar. Traitionally dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, many producers now add a significant proportion of Merlot to the blend, which will soften any sharp edges of the more tannic, Cabernet.
The St. Estephe village contains two second growths, Chateau Montrose and Cos d’Estournel.