Château Lafite Rothschild Carruades de Lafite 2025

Carruades de Lafite is the second wine of Château Lafite Rothschild, drawn from the same Pauillac estate in the northern Médoc. The vineyard sits on deep beds of gravel over clay and limestone, free draining soils that warm quickly and force the Cabernet Sauvignon vines to root deep for water, concentrating the fruit. A Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend, it follows the classic Médoc model, with Merlot adding flesh and earlier approachability to the Cabernet structure. Fermentation is followed by 18 months in 225 litre French oak barrels, where slow oxygen exchange through the staves softens the tannins and adds cedar, tobacco and cocoa to the fruit. The wine is dark and deep in the glass, with a nose of ripe redcurrant, plum and cherry over tobacco leaf and graphite. The palate is structured and savoury, carried by firm but fine grained tannins and a long, mineral finish. This is a wine built to age, and a few years in the cellar will reward patience. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant an hour ahead. It suits roast lamb, rib of beef and hard aged cheese.