A red wine from Saint-Estèphe with a perfectly integrated structure
Château Lafon-Rochet is a 4ème cru classé red wine produced in the Saint-Estèphe appellation. The 45-hectare vineyard, aged 40 years on average, is planted on soil made of deep gravel and gravel on clay. The wine is aged for 16 to 18 months on average in French oak barrels (50% new). The blend of the 2009 vintage contains 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc.
The Château Lafon-Rochet 2009 develops a complex nose, combining woody aromas with fragrances of red fruits, black currants and blueberries. The entire wine is superbly integrated, with a great harmony between the tannic, woody, fruity and sweet elements. A consistent and gourmand wine, with a nice tannic structure and a long finish that shows great complexity. To be consumed between 2030-2035 (tasted in 2015 by the estate).
This wine seems to be one of the few that has not yet recovered from bottling. In a somewhat monolithic, latched-down style, it has plenty of stuffing, lots of structure and an impressive dark ruby/purple color, but it is very hard to coax from the glass. It is a rather classic St.-Estephe made by the Tesseron family, with its distinctive blood orange label, but this wine seems to beg for another 5-7 years of bottle age. The final blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc has some impressive fruit, but the wine just seems slightly more clipped and narrow than I remember it from barrel. Hopefully, time will mellow out this impression. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2035.