Bordeaux blend
75cl * 13.0% ABV * Saint-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France
Château Lafon-Rochet used to be synonymous with slightly tight, austere wines - but no more. Saved from dereliction by neglect by the Tesseron brothers (Albert and Michel), whose family have owned the château since 1959, Château Lafon-Rochet is once again deserving of its status a fourth growth.
2017 was an interesting vintage. The world had rightly gone crazy over the '15s and '16s in Bordeaux, and while '17 was perfectly good enough, the journalistic hyperbole and superlatives had run dry. But it is a good vintage, by any normal stretch of the imagination and even if it wasn't, there are always some estates that manage to make something really very good with that they have to work with.
Jane Anson, reviewing the 2017 Lafon-Rochet for Decanter magazine named it one of her favourites of the year, saying, '... totally charming with its cassis and damson fruit, but it's the juice and friendly tension that sets it apart. Silky and enjoyable. Buy.' And who are we to argue?
Robert Parker for the Wine Advocate, says "Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Lafon-Rochet gives up subtle cassis and black cherry notes with hints of sautéed herbs, damp soil and pencil lead. Medium-bodied and slightly thin in the mouth, it has a well-played chewy texture and nice freshness, finishing with an herbal lift."
Try with a lamb, tomato and oregano ragu and prepare to rethink your stance on 2017.
Drink 2025 - 2040