Lafon Rochet Saint Estephe 2015

This Saint-Estèphe, which is marked by its rounded, delicately fruity substance with an abundance of refinement, offers remarkable value for money. Deep in color, with cedar wood, spice, blackberry and gravel scents, this medium/full bodied, tannic, masculine wine requires time before the ample tannins soften and everything comes together. Reviews:

93PTS, James Suckling

Very perfumed with blackberries, blueberries and cloves. Dried lavender as well. Full body and linear and refined tannins. Pretty spices come together with the clean fruit at the end. Hard not to drink now but two or three years of bottle age will pull it together. Drink in 2020.

RP92, Robert Parker

The 2015 Lafon Rochet is a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, picked between 25 September and 9 October. Matured in 40% to 50% new oak from eight coopers including Stockinger since last year, it has a dense blackberry and boysenberry scented bouquet that is a little more voluptuous than its peers. The palate is again quite dense with "stocky" tannin, obdurate and a little hard at the moment, structured and clearly a Lafon-Rochet that is built for the long-term. It will need several years to just lose its brutishness.