Château Lafite Rothschild, Carruades De Lafite, 2025
Château Lafite Rothschild, Carruades De Lafite, 2025
- 75cl
- 12.6%
- Red Still
- Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot
- Organic
Please note, en primeur wines are not available for delivery until they arrive in the UK
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Est. delivery in 2028
Carruades de Lafite is the second wine of Château Lafite Rothschild, crafted from younger vines and parcels - a chance to taste the Lafite style without the grand vin price tag, but which captures the elegance and mineral precision that makes Lafite legendary, and with more immediate charm and approachability.
The Lafite vineyards sit on deep Günzian gravel over limestone and clay subsoils on the Pauillac plateau, with excellent drainage and heat retention. The estate spans 112 hectares with vines averaging 39 years old, planted on gentle slopes that catch morning sun while avoiding the harshest afternoon heat. This terroir, combined with the maritime influence of the Gironde estuary, creates the ideal conditions for slow, even ripening that produces Lafite's signature elegance and mineral precision.
Pauillac is the most prestigious commune in the Médoc, home to three of Bordeaux's five First Growths including Lafite, Latour, and Mouton Rothschild. The appellation demands a minimum 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, with wines typically showing more structure and longevity than neighbouring Saint-Estèphe or Saint-Julien. Pauillac's deep gravel soils and proximity to the Gironde create wines of exceptional power and aging potential, though Lafite represents the more elegant, refined end of the Pauillac spectrum.
The 2025 Bordeaux vintage emerged from one of the most demanding growing seasons in recent memory — the earliest budbreak since 1989, June temperatures second only to 2003 since records began, and an unusually early harvest beginning in August for the whites. Conditions that should have produced heavy, overripe wines. They didn't. Decanter's Georgie Hindle, who tasted close to 200 wines ahead of the formal campaign, describes "exceptional concentration, aromatic purity and a freshness that contradicts the record-breaking heat.
The early critical consensus places 2025 stylistically between the precision of 2020 and the structure of 2016, with the brightness of 2023 — a combination that suggests a very serious vintage indeed. Yields are dramatically low, the smallest crop since 1991, with production across the Gironde running around 15% below the five-year average. The quality is here. There simply isn't very much of it.
What the critics say:
" Dark ruby garnet, violet reflections, delicate edge brightening. Nuances of heart cherries, fine blackberry confit, orange zest, subtle herbal spice, mineral undertones. Juicy, red cherries, delicate hints of currants, fine tannins, salty finish, delicate and persistent, a seductive food companion."
"A tight and linear red with red currant, sweet tobacco and cedar aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, fine and creamy tannins. Bright finish. Extremely fine texture for the second wine of Lafite. Typical character of Carruades. A blend of 55% cabernet sauvignon, 34% merlot, 9% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot."
"Upfront and instantly so welcoming and friendly and fun, bright, lively, full on acidity kicks off the expression – so lifted with the focus on the pure fruit. Salty undercurrent that gives such an incredible contrast to the ripe strawberry fruit. But this is also lacking no richness – it’s got muscles, power, concentration and such capacity to age. Fabulous. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend."
OUR GROWERS
Château Lafite Rothschild
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