(Pauillac; 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot; a final yield of 27 hl/ha; pH 3.70; 12.5% ABV; tasted with Eric Kohler at Duhart-Milon). The extremely high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend should not deceive – it's actually around the average for the last 10 years. This is staggeringly beautiful, cool and haunting as I somehow knew it would be. It captures the essence of the vintage better than any other single wine. The attack is utterly sublime, just divine, with a touch of violet alongside the intense but soft, subtle and delicate dark berry fruits. There's plungepool clarity and freshness in its shimmering depth and great concentration at the core. A wine of breathtaking potential but also one that is brilliantly accessible. Long and gently tapering on the finish with the return of those hauntingly beautiful violet notes. Un Lafite absolu! A wine that breaks my scoring system; it couldn't be anything other than 100 points. 100

(99-100 points) Intense aromas of sweet tobacco, dark cedar, cigar humidor, mushroom, roses, and wet earth follow through to a medium to full body with firm, velvety tannins and a driven, intense finish. Very structured with bones. Reminds me of Lafite from the 1980s. Unique for the vintage. 12.5% alcohol. A blend of 94% cabernet sauvignon, 5% merlot and 1% petit verdot.

(98-100 points) Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2025 Lafite Rothschild waltzes out of the glass with flamboyant notes of warm cassis, fresh black plums, and iris, giving way to nuances of star anise, fertile loam, and underbrush, with a touch of black truffles. The light-bodied palate offers an exhilarating texture of silky yet firm tannins—uniquely Lafite—plus incredible tension with a level of fruit and phenolic ripeness that is seemingly impossible at this low level of alcohol. The finish is long with lingering sparkles of mineral and floral notes.

(98-100 points) The 2025 Lafite-Rothschild was cropped at 27 hl/ha between September 2 and 20. Eric Kohler mentioned that, unlike 2022, it underwent a longer maceration than usual because, after 24 days, he felt the wine was at ease with itself and there was no excess. That comes through completely on the deliriously intoxicating nose, replete with nuanced blackberry, bilberry and estuarine scents, all beautifully defined and seamlessly integrated with the 90% new oak that is made from Lafite's own cooper. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiselled tannins. It is blessed with extraordinary harmony and it is so well balanced that you almost overlook the weight and minéralité towards the finish. Just a dab of graphite lingers on the aftertaste. This is a very succinct and refined Lafite-Rothschild that I suspect will drink earlier than the 2022, yet realised what a brilliant wine the 2025 Lafite-Rothschild is destined to become. - Neal Martin

(96-98 points) Checking in as 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot that's resting in 90% new French oak, the 2025 Château Lafite Rothschild sports a classic, deep ruby hue as well as a complex and classic nose of cassis, spicy wood, tobacco, violets, and graphite. It's quintessential Lafite on the palate as well, with its class, medium to full body, ripe, building, yet polished tannins, and nicely integrated acidity. It checks in at 12.51% alcohol with a pH of 3.65. I love its overall balance, purity, and complexity, and I suspect it's going to continue gaining weight over the course of its élevage.

(96-98 points) A dark, and rather introverted nose to this barrel sample of Lafite in the 2025 vintage. But then what’s new? The nose slowly reveals lightly mineral-dusted fruits, with time a core of desiccated griottes, dark chocolate and black pepper, all encapsulated within the fresh style of the vintage. The palate is sinewy and athletic, such a delight, with a fine-boned core of tannins which pervade the entire palate, upon which rest layers of blackcurrant, lavender and currant notes, through to a long and savoury finish. Initially reticent, ultimately this is a delicious, savoury and reserved young Lafite which is going to give a lot of pleasure if cellared for twenty years. It is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, picked from 2nd to the 20th of September. The alcohol is reported to be 12.4%. 96-98/100

Vivid purple colour in the glass. Cool blue fruit, graphite and wet stones on the nose. Succulent and juicy, ripe and lifted, with supple tannins barely noticeable – the focus is on the purity and refinement of the fruit with bright acidity and an undercurrent of cooling, fresh minty freshness with graphite and wet stones. You really get the spice and fruitiness. A bit more lively, energetic and upfront than Lafite can sometimes be. There’s finesse for sure but there’s also confidence here. Mouthwatering with a ton of flavour and layering but at the end such a finessed and refined finish with a wet stone grip. So balanced and harmonious. An amazing feat this year. Eric Kohler, technical director of Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite), calls 2025 a: ‘Vintage of happiness – a symphony of all the perfect parameters' and likened the vintage to '2020 but perhaps more delicate and less tannic. More immediate than 2020'. A yield of 27hl/ha. 16% press wine.

Deep plum in colour, not as inky as you might find in a vintage like 2O22. Gorgeous, sculpted, jumps out of the glass, showcasing the ability to remain Lafite through so many differing vintage conditions. A ton of depth and character, slate and rosebud, a sappy and highly drinkable Lafite. The last vintage in the old winery, next year will be in the new one (so more vats to do microvinification, and they expect to use Cabernet Franc again. 16% of press wine. Harvest started September 11, until September 20, even earlier than 2022. 27hl/h yields, very small for this estate, one of the smallest on record, but no doubt helped it resist the drought of the summer because these yields were small from the beginning. Eric Kohler winemaker, Eric Boissenot consultant.

(95-97 points) A blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2025 Lafite Rothschild unwinds in the glass with a deep and brooding bouquet of dark berries, violets, rose petals and pencil lead. Medium- to full-bodied, supple and layered, with suave tannins, good concentration and bright acidity, it checks in at 12.5% alcohol and an unusually low (by the standards of recent warm vintages at Lafite) pH of 3.65. Harvest began here on September 2, with the estate's old-vine Merlot beginning on September 3 and the first Cabernet Sauvignon coming in from September 11 (earlier than in 2022), and the harvest wrapped up on September 20.

(94-97 points+) Perfumed with notes of flowers, violets and red currants, this vintage of Lafite also has a finely structured, spicy taste with well integrated tannins. Lafite is always a wine that requires some bottle age in order to take on weight and the 2025 is no exception. It has a long crunchy and peppery taste with notes of leather and currants and will need 5-7 years in the bottle.