Lafite Rothschild

2003 Carruades de Lafite. Displaying a deep dark garnet red, this wine carried notes of ripe dark berries and blackcurrants, better on the palate than nose, with a dash of cedar and raisins that tapered to a dominant graphite character towards its short finish, becoming quite seamless and fragrant over time. Compared with the venerated premier cru, this second wine is rather understated in structure, giving way to a softer, more slender and feminine character that is entirely consistent with Lafite, just missing in outright opulence and voluptuousness although there’s certainly no lack of concentration nor quality of fruit. Tasted January 2015.

2003 Carruades de Lafite. Mature crimson. Superb lift of haw, dark plums, complex red fruits and peaches amid an attractive earthiness. Medium weight. Still fresh and fleshy, imbued with delightful lithe agility and warmth on an earthy base, slightly peaty. Impeccably balanced and proportioned. Carries the breed and class of Lafite Rothschild. Excellent. Tasted November 2021.

1969 Château Lafite Rothschild. Displaying an almost pinot tint, this Lafite is still imbued with excellent fullness in spite of its rounded mellowed softness, yielding a lovely lifted pungency from its core of aged plummy fruit and sweet melted tannins. Wonderful! Tasted July 2019.

1976 Château Lafite Rothschild. Decanted from an imperial bottling! Displaying a deep garnet core in spite of its 43 years, this wine exuded an astounding bouquet of dark berries, mulberries, black cherries and currants with a suggestion of  very fine graphite elements that was most alluring, matched by a lovely feminine suppleness filled with abundant peaches and tangerines on a rich cedary floor. Still laced with gorgeous acidity that has the legs to carry on for many more years, just missing in the last ounce of profundity. This wine was drinking so well that I must have drunk almost a bottle’s worth. Outstanding! Tasted September 2019.

1982 Château Lafite Rothschild. Opaque brownish red, exuding a glowing distilled complex of dark berries, currants, cassis, soy and dried mushrooms, superbly focused in its effusive deep velvety fragrance while the medium-bodied palate is beautifully open with supple subtle Pauillac nuances, laced with sublime acidity that conferred understated verve. Elegantly poised with great harmony and feminine refinement. Truly the quintessential Lafite. Tasted September 2020.

1982 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep crimson. Seductive glow of mature red fruits and currants along with a lovely floral fragrance underscored by a distinct tone of iron filings. Softly rounded, displaying excellent presence and fine acidity amid a tinge of capsicum, developing wonderful suppleness with a tremendous tone of sur-maturite in the glass. Beautifully proportioned and elegant. Quite the quintessential feminine Lafite, to the point where some may wonder what the fuss is all about, which is to miss the point that great wines don’t need any attention. Superb. Tasted December 2020.

1983 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep garnet, basking in an effusive glow of mature dark berries, capsicum, mushrooms and cigar box with a teasing elusiveness. The medium palate is soft and fleshy, imbued with a supple intensity of plummy tones laced with sleek acidity, receding a little in fruit over time but still holding on with moderate presence before tapering to a quiet finish. Tasted April 2023.

1985 Château Lafite Rothschild. Dark dusty red at its core, glowing with cedar, cassis and cinnamon, slightly sweet, amidst the classic Pauillac signature of dried leaves, tobacco and cigar box. Highly harmonious and homogenous, seamless yet complex, still retaining its structure with  superb definition all the way to its lasting finish. Supremely confident and elegant. A complete wine, caught at its peak and will hold on for years to come. Tasted March 2011.

1985 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep crimson. Effusive in green capsicum and the hallowed glow of distilled red fruits. Rather fleshy. Softly rounded and open, gently layered with inviting characters of haw and camphor laid on austere earthy minerals, displaying great harmony and length though it remained rather subdued on the whole. Tasted September 2020.

1985 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep crimson. This wine exudes a gentle earthiness, its supple autumnal fruit still fleshy and layered, tinged with a distinct note of capsicum. Very smooth, elegant and placid with melted tannins. Absolutely harmonious, evoking a relaxed charm entirely consistent with its thirty-nine years without any sign of fading. The very epitome of a mature claret. Tasted January 2024.

1986 Château Lafite Rothschild, poured from magnum. From its infinite depth arose a beautiful hallowed glow of rich dark berries, black fruits and dark cherries that led to deep delicious flavours on a palate infused with dark feminine charm amidst the classic Pauillac dryness, fleshy with crisp acidity, blossoming well in the glass with dark luxuriant plummy tones. Has the legs for another few more decades. Tasted December 2017.

1986 Château Lafite Rothschild. Poured from magnum. Deep crimson core, exuding a jazzy funkiness with characters of varnish, rose petals and truffles that morphed into a superb glow of mature claret. Fleshy and still wonderfully fresh, lighting the palate with structured precision and sharp definition before settling down with a distinct feminine grace, just a tad short at its finish. Slightly past its prime, though still highly pleasurable. Tasted September 2022.

1989 Château Lafite Rothschild. Ephemeral nose of sweet anise-seed tertiary characters coupled with just the right balance of red and black fruit. Absolutely seductive. Medium-bodied, displaying flirtatious tannins seamlessly integrated with the fruit amidst cedar and anise-seed while the acid pirouetted at the tip of the tongue, finishing with moderate length. Elegance defined. Tasted June 2006.

1989 Château Lafite Rothschild. Very dark-red, tasting remarkably youthful, a wine of large proportions but immensely complex and layered. Solid in the middle, becoming softer and more yielding later, developing more notes of cherries, eventually becoming quite Burgundy-like. Tasted October 2010.

1989 Château Lafite Rothschild. Moderate bouquet of red plums, dark cherries and some attractive earthy pungency. On the palate, the Lafite is much deeper and richer with an abundance of dark currants and delicious ripe fruit, medium-full, velvety in texture, laced with sweet unobtrusive tannins. Distinctly feminine, displaying more of balanced fragrance and proportion rather than outright heft. This is the best 1989 Lafite I’ve had, and it is still far from peaking. Tasted November 2014.

1989 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep ruby. Superb bouquet of alluring rosy hues, distinctly feminine. Still intense and pretty full in spite of its thirty-three years, fleshy and generously layered with gorgeous fruit that is still wonderfully fresh, developing velvety textures with overtones of haw and some capsicum, tinged with a spicy trace at its moderate finish. Utterly seamless and radiant. Very lovely. Tasted December 2022.

1989 Château Lafite Rothschild. Crimson. Open with a highly refined glow of raspberries, mulberries and violets whilst the medium palate shows a tinge of mandarins as well, distinctly more ferrous and minerally, imparting a somewhat subdued and austere feel even though it is fairly integral and well proportioned. However, compared with a previous tasting just over a year ago, this wine appears to have lost some of its lustre. Put in its place by the 1990. Tasted January 2024.

1990 Château Lafite Rothschild. Glowing deep ruby. Still shut at the first pour, probably the result of it not being decanted although one could discern floral notes and red fruits amidst the depths of darker fruits, waiting to burst forth. When it finally did open up after another hour of persistent coaxing in the glass, it was a quintessential Lafite that greeted the senses – feminine, full of elegance and immaculate composure, absolutely harmonious with understated power beneath, rising towards a lifted, long lasting finish. One is left with the feeling that it would have been even better had it been decanted, but it still stood heads and shoulders above all the other 1990 clarets that came before it. Such is the power and allure of Lafite Rothschild in a great year. Tasted July 2014 at a 1990 Pauillac horizontal.

1990 Château Lafite Rothschild. When freshly popped this wine was tannic, angular and stern. But by the time we tasted it hours later, it had transformed totally into a mature, soft and gentle claret offering an abundance of earthy pungency on the nose matched with an enchanting depth of dark currants and mature red fruits on the palate with recessed unobtrusive tannins that are perceived rather than felt, conjuring up a sombre burnished tone. For sure, some of the classic dry Pauillac signature is evident, but this wine succeeded in flummoxing every experienced wine aficionado who tasted it. Not quite the quintessential Lafite on this occasion but outstanding, nevertheless. Tasted October 2014.

1990 Château Lafite Rothschild. Distinctly feminine, displaying a wonderful perfumed fragrance and lifted aromas of rose petals, red fruits, red plums and blueberries, rounded with added notes of white pepper and mild earthy pungency on the palate without much of the Pauillac dryness, brimming with elegant intensity, understated power and great persistence throughout its length with no hint of the wine having hit its peak. A quintessential Lafite, like a woman whose beauty is apparent, yet unfathomable. Tasted October 2015.

1990 Château Lafite Rothschild. This stalwart of the Left Bank boasts a great exuberance of complex aromas that leapt from the glass, carrying glorious streaks of raspberries, blueberries and dark currants tinged with earthy minerals that exuded further notes of red fruits and plums, thoroughly sensuous with its velvety tone, sublime acidity, superb vigour and quiet intensity, rounded with sophisticated tannins. An absolute cool beauty that still appears to have decades of life ahead. Totally absorbing. Tasted August 2017.

1990 Château Lafite Rothschild. This wine opens with aromas of dark berries, mulberries and dark currants with a soft feminine fragrance, eminently elegant as it opened up with a deeper mentholic vein, still displaying very good presence and fine acidity, gaining further intensity with more velvety textures as it sat in the glass, just a tad short as it finished with a gentle ferrous trace. Quite the quintessential Lafite, still holding well even though its cork had turned too friable. Tasted March 2019.

1990 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep purple with only slightest hint of evolution. Enticing complex bouquet, a hallowed deep glow of ripe red plums, soy and black cherries with a hint of smouldering ember. Beautifully open with velvety textures amid sublime acidity, seamlessly layered, exuding great charm and feminine elegance as it stretched out with superb definition and intensity. Just like an earlier bottle from the same case tasted in March 2019, this wine has been caught at its peak and will last. Outstanding. Tasted June 2019.

1990 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep garnet red. Superb earthy pungency on the nose, most alluring, leading to a well-defined palate of dark fruits tinged with capsicum. Structured with lovely proportions. Still imbued with gentle youthful intensity cushioned with velvety sexy tannins, glowing with an intense core of tangerines towards the end of dinner. Excellent. Tasted December 2020.

1990 Château Lafite Rothschild. Displaying a translucent crimson, this seminal vintage of Lafite exudes a feminine exuberance from the hallowed glow of complex currants and layers of glorious supple fruit caught at optimal maturity, still holding on without any hint of fading. Medium-full, boasting superb mouthfeel from the lush density of fruit, sublime acidity and finely honed tannins that exert controlled intensity and lithe agility. Utterly integral with exemplary balance and impeccable proportions. A complete wine with an added dimension of flair and confidence. Tasted January 2024.

1996 Château Lafite Rothschild, poured from double magnum. Deep bouquet expressing great earthiness with a mild attractive pungency, almost tarry. The palate is imbued with a great tone of dark currants and black fruits supported by a highly minerally base with sublime acidity that imparts brilliant intensity, attack and precision, fleshing out with superb detail and power though turning stern again as the lengthy finish returns to its minerally roots. Outstanding but far from ready. Tasted December 2017 at FICOFI’s Les Palais des Grand Crus in Paris.

1996 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep, darkish characters dominate, a little stern and backward initially before fleshing out with more fruit to the fore, morphing into a velvety expanse with structured silky tannins, the fruit caught at optimal maturity, still wonderfully ripe and vibrant. Very beautifully integrated with seamless layers of cool suave understated verve throughout its entire length, each sip revealing fresh enticing detail, culminating in a tinge of menthol at its finish. Truly a complete wine. Tasted January 2024.

1997 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep purplish core, exuding a wonderful deep dark rosy fragrance with a trace of funkiness matched by a lovely rounded warmth on the mature palate, revealing very fine inner detail with subtle glowing intensity. It softened considerably after some time, perfectly balanced as it morphed into the quintessential feminine elegance so characteristic of Lafite even in this so-called “off” year, finishing with modest length. Excellent. Tasted September 2022.

1998 Château Lafite Rothschild. This wine proffered a nose of ripe blueberries, dark cherries, black fruits and dark currants that is distinctly feminine in its alluring restraint. Equally gentle upon its entry, soft, beautifully rounded and supple with highly understated gentle verve. Utterly seamless with lithesome charm, exuding a mild floral fragrance with a dash of capsicum and spice. Caught at its peak. Tasted October 2021.

1999 Château Lafite Rothschild. Good colour, exuding a gentle glow of red plums. Medium-bodied and fleshy with pointed acidity that conferred lovely freshness, but this still cannot disguise its relative lack of the quintessential Lafite charm and  velvetiness, a tad short as well. Underwhelming. Tasted June 2019.

1999 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep ruby. Well developed bouquet of red plums and dark cherries with some bright spots, fairly effusive. Good concentration and fullness of fruit that imparted lovely tensile acidity and mouthfeel, fleshing out with surprisingly good power amid darker undertones of mahogany tinged with mushrooms, truffles and wild berries on a floor of iron filings and earth, its subtle recessed tannins never in the way. Rounded with elegant expanse, finishing with glowing intensity and refinement. Far better than a previous tasting in June 2019 at FICOFI’s Bordeaux promenade. Tasted April 2020.

2001 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep garnet red. Delicious bouquet of red currants, cherries and dark roses that is simply quite lovely. Absolutely harmonious with superb freshness and supple intensity, subtly structured and fleshy. Developed greater depth with more of the smoky Pauillac tobacco character coming on, turning a bit cooler darker and more introspective over time. Drinking very well but may not have peaked. Tasted September 2020.

2002 Château Lafite Rothschild. Intense brooding nose arising from the deep garnet red, very reluctant, almost sullen though there is no mistaking the rich fruit and dark berries that lay beneath. Gradually, like the proverbial flower that greets the morning sun, it began to bloom. Slowly but surely, the rose-scented fragrance began emerging, matching the sweet blackberries and a deeper vein of raspberries  laced with the minerality of creosote. Initially medium-full, a tight masculine Lafite, but it kept developing in the glass, gaining more breadth and weight but, at the same time, becoming more relaxed and softer, and eventually by the final pour, a bit of the quintessential feminity came through within the velvety texture. Obviously drunk way before its maturity, but the lesson learnt was that an off-vintage Lafite can still impress. Tasted May 2010.

2002 Château Lafite Rothschild. Impenetrable deep dark red, stuffed with ripe dark berries, redcurrants and characters of soy, highly lifted. Good saturation of dark cherries and warm ripe fruit with open chewy tannins, exuding lovely feminine charm. Having emerged from its brooding shell, this wine is much more engaging now than a previous bottle from the same batch tasted in 2010. Tasted December 2017.

2002 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep garnet. Surprisingly restrained with just a hint of reductive earthiness. The fleshy palate is nicely open with a distinct note of soy and green capsicum laid on dusty tannins, showing great balance and lovely integration though it doesn’t quite plumb the depths. Nevertheless, its pedigree still comes through. Probably at its best. One is truly drinking the vintage. Tasted January 2024.

2003 Château Lafite Rothschild. More reticent on the nose than Latour with subdued red fruits amidst mild plummy tones. Dryish on the palate with fine concentration of raspberries and dark roses with traces of vanilla, more structured than Latour (surprising!), finishing with good length though one discerns some awkwardness in integration. Tasted April 2017.

2003 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep garnet red. Very deep intense bouquet of black fruits and dark currants. Superbly ripe. Darkly delicious. Open with lovely suppleness, exuding a youthful intensity that carried a certain feminine fullness and warmth with some early secondary characters coming on over time. Highly harmonious, just a tad short which is probably a result of the very hot vintage. Tasted March 2020.

2003 Château Lafite Rothschild. Bright purplish rim, exuding a restrained deep fragrance with early tertiary characters amid some earthy pungency. Medium-bodied. Surprisingly soft, imbued with a mild minerally presence within its slick supple velvety textures, yielding fine transparency and linearity throughout its moderate length. Distinctly feminine. Almost the quintessential Lafite. Tasted August 2022.

2003 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep crimson. The impression on the nose is that of a very modern style, a gentle predominance of red fruit and currants underpinned by a pungent earthiness glossed with a distinct note of varnish whilst the element of glycerin continued on to a weighty concentrated palate laid with warm velvety textures, very ripe and richly layered, imparting overtones of incense. It reminded me very much about the style of Stephan von Neipperg. Tasted August 2023.

2004 Château Lafite Rothschild. Superb lift of detailed red fruits framed within pliant structured tannins. Softly rounded and fleshy, revealing fine depth and layering, its refined acidity and fleeting intensity conferring a distinct feminine character, just ever so slightly pointed, finishing well with traces of capsicum. Quite the classic Lafite without the plushness of the best vintages. Tasted December 2020.

2008 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep crimson. Classic Left Bank on the nose, though there is a hint of early secondary development, yielding dried wood, twigs, cedar and some earthiness. Medium-full, dominated by excellent depth of dark cherries punctuated with brilliant graphite from its ferrous mid-palate. Wonderfully fresh and lithe, glowing with superb balance. Highly successful. This vintage is specially embossed with the Chinese character 八 in red (for luck) on the bottle. Tasted December 2022.

2012 Château Lafite Rothschild. Deep crimson. This wine opens with an effusive sexy pungency in contrast to the masculine palate, a little stern in spite of the soft contours and understated tannins. Impeccably balanced, the deep swathes of currants and raspberries with a tinge of crushed fruit exerting a controlled subtle intensity. Came together very well, developing a bit of juicy succulence though this has yet to show real complexity. Tasted January 2024.