CARROLL

美酒推薦

Chateau Lafon-Rochet    4級拉豐侯酒堡

Chateau Lafon-Rochet是法國波爾多左岸的頂級酒莊，其歷史可以追溯到16世紀初；在波爾多1855年的分級中，被遴選為第四級頂級酒莊。它座落在St-Estèphe村的西南角，和Cos d'Estournel 、Lafite-Rothschild是鄰居。本酒莊自1960年代至今一直是干邑白蘭地酒商Tesseron家族的產業，本家族同時也擁有五級酒莊Chateau Pontet-Canet。然而這兩個酒莊都要到1994年開始才由年輕一代的經營者努力提升產品品質，迄今十多年來酒質都有了驚人的長遠進步，這從酒評家Robert Parker給予每個年份的評分和評語也可以看出來。

Lafon-Rochet有45公頃葡萄園；“Rochet”源於法文的岩石這個字“Roche”，所以我們可以得知其葡萄園是富含岩石、排水良好的的土壤。園中種植了54% Cabernet-Sauvignon、13% Merlot，其他為5 % Cabernet Franc和2 % Petit Verdot，平均樹齡35歲以上。人工採收葡萄，並經過兩道篩選程序；在發酵前會先進行24-72小時的低溫前浸皮處理，發酵後在次年三月做最後調配，然後在橡木桶中熟成1年半左右(採用50-60%的新桶)。

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.