Carruades de Lafite, Pauillac

Truly outstanding and firing on all cylinders. Cork barely soaked, decanted and aerated for 90 minutes then drank over 90. Deep ruby red, ripe and juicy. Nose of perfumed cassis, black currants, pencil lead, cigar box, ground coffee and earthy undertones. On the palate superbly refined almost like the Grand Vin in terms of finesse, delineation and structure. Medium bodied with great backbone and acidity, and a long finish with filigree tannins coated by the dark red and black fruit. …

2003 vintage

The pleasant surprises of cellaring continue with the 2003 Carruades remaining deep crimson in colour with a charming nose of dark plum, blackcurrant compote, cedar and liquorice. The palate is rich and mouth filling with both a round richness of ripe fruit from the prominent Merlot component balanced by a nice line of strict and structured Cabernet leading into a fine finish with some of the characteristic Christmas spice that has always been part of this wine. Certainly this evolution …

2003 vintage

Violet, floral notes. Sweeter red fruit, displaying the heat of the vintage, but still with balance and good structure. Tasted blind. I confess that I thought this was a Margaux (although don't feel too bad as an MW around the table concurred).

2003 vintage

A very classy and refined 2003 with no signs of roastedness or heat. Lovely, rich fruit that is melded nicely with the sweet tannins. Nice range of tobacco, cedar and plum fruits. Terrific.

2003 vintage

Similar to the last bottle. Dark ruby red hardly any signs of bricking. Cork soaked at the tip. Decanted and aerated for 90 minutes and drank over another 90 minutes or so. Nose of earth, cassis, leather, game and slight pepper. Soft on the palate, great acidity and balance mid palate, very nicely crafted, medium bodied, tannins well integrated and velvety and a decently long finish. Not overly complex but a beautiful wine to enjoy with food or on its …

2003 vintage

Deep ruby red some signs of evolution. Pristine bottle. Decanted and aerated for 90 minutes then drank over 90 minutes. Nose of earth, some animalistic hints, deep cassis, black currants, pepper and berries. Soft on the palate, builds power mid palate, nicely structured with tannins fully integrated with the spicy long cassis finish. Very nice and contrary to some reviews not past its prime in my book.

2003 vintage

decanted for an hour. beautiful aromas of earth & funk. blueberry, boysenberry and plum. integrated flavors and well balanced tannins. paired nicely with roast beef. drink up.

2003 vintage

Mature. Hints of what it once might have been. Pencil lead, cherries, earthy. Past it’s prime.

2003 vintage

Consistently delicious and immediate in its charms the 2003 Carruades is deep crimson in colour with a charming nose of dark plum, blackcurrant compote, cedar and liquorice. The palate is round and quite rich with an easygoing Merlot character balanced by some nice Christmas cake spice and cedar touches. While the wine does not linger on the palate the finish is softly balanced by some fine tannin leaving a sense of real enjoyment.

2003 vintage

paired nicely with smoked and reverse seared bone-in ribeye. lovely barnyard earthy aromas. decanted for 2+ hours and it really opened up. beautiful cherry, cedar and ripe plum. complimented the smokey meat flavors.

2003 vintage

Dull

2003 vintage

Decanted 3 hours. Beautiful soft leather color w/very good full legs. Nice round broad cherry flavor w/exceptional full finish. In Bordeaux glass continued to open to dark plums w/broad elongated finish.

2003 vintage

Wine was soft and approachable. Mint and woodsie Nice

2003 vintage

This wine has been consistent with a deep crimson red colour and a nose of dark cherry, blackcurrant and macerated plum with cedar wood touches. The palate is fleshy and rich in its fruit characters with some length clipped by a paradoxical touch of under-ripeness. Overall pretty good but I suspect best drunk soon.

2003 vintage

Drank at a French restaurant. Dark red color, modest nose. First taste is surprisingly smooth and fruity, not the typical bordeaux heaviness. Tastes include cherries, plums, even slight mint with a woody finish, but not a typical barnyard taste and no linger. Disappointed with finish but first fruity taste is nice.

2003 vintage

The joys of bottle variation ! This wine is dark crimson with some red edges. The nose has plenty of cassis, dark cherry and macerated plum but also some lovely floral characters and cedar. The palate is well structured and has the Lafite DNA with a fine long finish. This has none of the greeness or exotic character of the last bottle opened and is quite lovely tonight.

2003 vintage

épaulée 3 hrs belle robe pourpre, nez animal, légèrement goudron en bouche c'est mur mais toujours bien tenu, longue finale mentholée tres bon

2003 vintage

A bit underwhelmed...as most of the 2003s have been for me. Better the longer it was open although the finish was medium at best.

2003 vintage

Started out quite sweet on the nose, full of cassis and plum. After about an hour in the glass it took on more weight and classic Pauilliac masculinity. As it developed it increasingly challenged the 1995 Pichon Lalande that was also on offer, but the PL ultimately had a bit more complexity and depth. Nonetheless a solid Pauillac with better balance than I would have expected from such a hot year.

2003 vintage

Solid Bordeaux nose and taste profile but a bit less integrated then my previous bottle which was decanted. Lost a point or 2 b/c of this. Needs a decant or a couple of years, or may never be a superstar??? If tasted blind I would have thought it was perhaps a Graves. Dark fruit with a bit of earth. Nice overall.

2003 vintage

Nice bordeaux ! But despite the big name it stays a second wine ! Not worth the market Price !! Sell !!!!!

2003 vintage

Dark crimson with some red edges. Nose shows hot year features of cassis, dark cherry, figs and macerated plum. Early bottles tasted like Christmas cake with some nice spices and baked fruit character but now there is a jagged edge of green tannin just unbalancing the fruit. Exotic and with crowd appeal this is certainly losing some of its early charm. Drink up !

2003 vintage

See spine guy below for good summary. Better than two,years ago and a very fine Paulliac. However the Lynch Bages of the same year out shone it.

2003 vintage

Drank WC. Very 1st growth in depth, balance, density and length especially from such a hot year. Great wine. Will it gain complexity from here...... Not sure but I doubt it.

2003 vintage

Lovely bottle. Classic Pauillac. Tremendous value Bordeaux. Smooth, elegant, but powerful - this one is all there! FINALLY ready.

2003 vintage

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Carruades de Lafite, Pauillac

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