France

Cabernet Sauvignon

Merlot

Cabernet Franc

Petit Verdot

Chateau Lafite Rothschild

Chateau Lafite Rothschild Premier Cru Classe Pauillac

Bordeaux

Pauillac

The tannins remain evident, fully in tact, and overall this 1986 is young, profound, full of spiced herbs and freshly turned-over earth. It needs time in the bottle or carafe, because although there is more evident charm in the 1985 on first opening, this is the vintage of the pair that will be around for the longest. Dense black fruits abound, along with cigar box, black tea and slate. In its youth it was described as tannic, solid, almost austere, and it is astonishing how it has kept that character over the decades. There are still nuaces here that will be revealed over the decades to come, so be sure to give it time to unwind if you are opening any time over the next decade. 45hl/h yield. The famous Ricardo Bofill circular cellar was under construction at this point.

Inside Bordeaux

Deep garnet-purple colored. Has a very perfumed nose of violets, red cherries, and iris, leading to a core of cassis, pencil lead, wild sage, and iron ore with a touch of fertile loam. The light-bodied palate is very light on its feet, issuing a lacy network of elegant red berry and mineral flavors, framed by ripe, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and perfumed.

by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

The 2023 Lafite Rothschild is deep garnet-purple in color. After a little swirling, wonderfully pure notes of boysenberries, wild blueberries, and blackcurrants emerge from the glass, followed by hints of violets, dark chocolate, licorice, and fertile loam with a hint of black truffle. The light to medium-bodied palate delivers electric sparks of vibrant black berry and mineral flavors framed by super-ripe, fine-grained tannins and great tension, finishing long and shimmery. A wine that is so, so cerebral, this is a vintage well played by Lafite. The blend is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, with pH 3.76, and an alcohol of just 12.9%.

Composed of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2022 Lafite Rothschild is deep garnet-purple in color. The nose is almost impenetrable to start, needing a lot of shaking to wake up delicate scents of crushed red and black currants, raspberry leaves, warm plums, and boysenberries, followed by hints of crushed rocks, damp earth, lilacs, and Jasmine tea, with just a hint of orange peel. The palate is classic great Lafite, featuring incredibly tightly knit layers of black fruits, minerals, and floral notes bound with a rock-solid structure of exquisitely fine, very firm tannins and bold freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. This is an intellectual triumph, but don't think about touching it for 10-15 years. pH 3.85.

A blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2021 Lafite Rothschild has a deep garnet-purple color. Notes of ripe blackcurrants, Morello cherries, and fresh redcurrants prance from the glass, followed by perfumed wafts of lilacs, jasmine tea, fallen leaves, and aniseed, with a waft of rose bud tea. The light-bodied palate vibrates with electric black and red berry flavors, matched by the typically super-fine-grained Lafite tannins and a racy backbone, finishing long and fragrant. This is very pretty.

Exotic and ripe nose, almost sweet fruit with prune, cassis, raspberry, chocolate, violet and a gentle toast underneath. Very dense and powerful palate without heaviness, classically built yet with another dimension of ripeness and purity, chewy and very powdery tannin paired with layers of unctuous dark fruit, a hint of some oak derived butterscotch and roasted coffee notes with a bright fresh backbone and a great persistency.

Sommelier

There is a sense of discretion to this Lafite, full of pencil lead, crayon, chalk-textured minerality, clear grain and grip to the tannins that lets everything unfold slowly and calmly, no drama and yet a slow-building sense of power. Enjoyable precision and chiseling to the spiced cassis and bilberry fruits, this feels supremely Lafite in its balance and finesse. The tight structure relaxes in the glass, adding a layer of creaminess to the blackberry and loganberry fruit. A large majority of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, and it takes up its dominant role with grace. Brilliant quality. Harvest September 19 to October 7. Lafite always takes its time to show its full potential, and this could easily be a 100 point wine at the 10 year-plus window.

Silky and powerful, carefully delineated cassis and blueberry fruits, along with slate and liqourice. The tannins are in evidence but already showing a creaminess that cradles the fruit through the mid palate. I said this during En Primeur and during the first round of in bottle tastings, but this wine is remarkable for remaining so balanced and steady in a vintage that saw many neighbouring estates affected by the dry summer. Here instead you get floral aromatics with hints of raspberry leaf and honeysuckle, along with the classic graphite smoke. Muscular with coiled power, undoubtedly it will close down over the next five years, and then need a good decade to open back up. 3.75pH. 40hl/ha yield. 40% of the production went into the grand vin. Tannin index 74IPT. Retasted at an estate vertical July 2021.

Beautiful purity with layered aromas of cassis, tobacco, bright dark fruit, a gravelly minerality with just a little hint of oak underneath. Very dense dark fruit flavours with an abundance of very fine tannin adding lift and length, big concentration balanced by a bright acidity. Very grippy, nuanced and long finish with splendid purity of fruit.

A softly fragrant Lafite that is delicate and finessed, hiding its concentration under a slow build through the palate. Fragrant, lace like tannins, cassis, bilberry, crayon, cigar box, showcases the way to weave through this ripe vintage while holding on to signature nuance. This is a Lafite that will grow into gulpable drinkability with another decade in bottle, and is already gorgeous, pure estate signature. If you are looking for a 2015 that is exuberant and overripe, look elsewhere.

Fine swirls of gunsmoke on the first nose, totally enticing, very much in control, with mouthwatering salinity, fine tannic structure that initially masks the build up of power and concentration, with an expansion through the mid palate of raspberry, cassis, rose petals and tobacco leaf. One of those sapid, mouthwatering, moreish Lafites that beg to be drunk, but are deceptive because will continue to develop over the next decade, then hold on for another two or three. It's delicious, not the most luscious 2014, but elegant and on point.

The 2013 Lafite Rothschild is medium garnet in color. Scents of cassis, raspberry pie, and redcurrant preserves waft from the glass, followed by suggestions of graphite, black olives, crushed rocks, and bay leaves. The medium-bodied palate features impressive tension, with tight-knit red berry and herbal layers and a grainy, only slightly chewy texture, finishing with good length.

The 2012 Lafite Rothschild is medium to deep garnet colored. It struts its stuff with very spicy, exotic notes and wafts of incense over a core of creme de cassis, stewed plums, and fruitcake, plus a licorice and tar undercurrent. The medium-bodied palate delivered bags of perfumed black fruits with a velvety texture and bags of freshness, finishing long and fragrant.

Perfectly captures the Lafite mix of delivering concentration wrapped up with delicacy and slow-build construction, with the tannins showing a scraping, chalky minerality at first and then widening out through the mid palate to reveal a creamier edge. Cut herbs, liquorice, fennel, cassis, bilberry, loganberry, cigar box, incense. More closed than the 2009, as you would expect, but this is right up there with the greatest wines of the vintage, and one that you will be able to pick out of a cellar in 30 years time without the slightest worry. Brilliant. 100% new oak for ageing, from their own DBR Lafite cooperage. And once again, having this wine among the rest of the lineup during a comparative tasting is so instructive in terms of understanding the extra depths that you get from Lafite.

Aromatics curl right out of the glass, with restrained cassis interlaced with sweeter spiced berry fruits, crayon, eucalyptus, wet rocks, peony and classically chiselled tannins. Still young, but already totally delicious. Shows so clearly that balance and understatement don't get in the way of intensity and concentration. Unusual to taste Lafite in a lineup with the other wines of the appellation, making it exceptionally enjoyable to confirm the standout quality of the 2009 vintage here. On a different tier, and one with many decades ahead. 100% new oak.

Waves of saffron, truffle, black tea and earth set the pace for a remarkably balanced and aromatically-complex wine. This is still a baby at 17 years old, but has reached the level of Lafite character when all is elegance and finesse - the perfect example of how in Bordeaux they don't need excess to deliver something extraordinary. As things relax, you get a luscious, more concentrated core of cassis and bilberry fruit, with cedar, charcoal, violet, raspberry leaf and slate. Fine tannins hold it all in place, you could give this a long carafe to drink now, but the real magic needs another decade or so. Charles Chevallier technical director, and this was the last year with Emile Peynaud as consultant, before Jacques Boissenot took over in 2006. A pair of scales was chosen to decorate the bottle neck to reflect the balance of the vintage.

Elegant rød frukt, solbær, krydder, en del fat. Lær og skinn både i nese og munn. Lang og kjempekonsentrert. Veldig, veldig god. Nesten litt burgundisk i stilen mtp rød frukt og eleganse, men bra bitt.

Expert

A baby, still barely evolved at 21 years old, perhaps the slowest out of the block of all Five Firsts in this vintage. A high Cabernet Sauvingon year, one of the highest on record, and although you had to be patient, it's clear that the 2000 vintage deserved the plaudits it received on release. The texture is velvety, seductive, with obvious width, and it remains extremely young . I would strongly recommend opening the 2001 over this (not a vintage that I specfically tasted in this vertical, but on recent examples) or certainly the 1996. If you drink this now you are missing out on the extra layer of naunce that is undoubtedly hidden underneath, although you'll already enjoy cassis puree, savoury black fruits, elegant yet concentrated with precision, heft and finely-sculpted tannins, signature Cabernet Sauvignon and signature Lafite. The power comes slowly, expanding through the palate to show graphite, pencil shavings, cigar smoke, all with firm acidities and a fantastic grip. 46% of the overall crop went into this wine in the 2000 vintage. A brilliant example of the success at Lafite under the longtime triumvirate of then-owner Baron Éric de Rothschild, CEO Christophe Salin and estate director Charles Chevallier. Last tasted July 2020. 100% new oak.

Dufter av blåbær, plomme, sigarkasse, lær, jord, jodd, sopp og med luft medisinskap, blyantspisser og trøffel. Delikat rød og blå frukt i munnen noe vanilje og lær. Høy konsentrasjon, lang og svært strukturert med en ettersmak som sitter lenge og fast med både frukt og tørrstoff. 

Dyp rød farge med brunlig kant. Cedertre, svale røde bær og urter på duft og smak. Rik utviklet og modnet 1996 årgang. Wow faktor. Lang ettersmak. 130 flasker tilgjengelig i Norge.l

Dette er en helt utrolig vin. 
Ved åpning eksploderte den i duft av bær. 
Dekantert i 2,5t. 

Avslepne tanniner og en konsistens som kan minne om en godt mixet smoothie. 
Her viser første-cruen muskler og minner meg om hvorfor dette er noen av verdens dyreste og flotteste viner. 

Vokser i munnen og smaken sitter i lang tid etter svelget. En helt utrolig vin

Amatør

Skriver WOW bare… neida

Her havner vi på en topp 3 vinopplevelse i mitt tilfelle. 
Her kommer jeg tilbake til det som kicket i gang vininteressen min for fullt, en Cheval blanc 1995 fra en kasse av 6stk. 
Når væsken har konsistens som fløte og lengden ikke gir seg, da har man truffet det man leter etter. 

En ufattelig parfyme av bær, bær og mere bær. En utrolig ung vin som viser lite tegn til alderdom og flexer muskler helt til siste slurk Dette var en utrolig opplevelse. Får kanskje aldri smake denne igjen men fy søren

Her lar jeg etiketten gjøre resten av snakkingen. 

WOW

Served from magnum, tasting delicous right now. I've had this vintage a few times recently and it is not the most blockbuster Lafite, but has such an effortless charm that it feels absolutey signature. Tobacco, rose petals, suble charred cedar and grilled cocoa, with loganberry and raspberry fruit. Does that Lafite trick where it is utterly gulpable and so enjoyable, and it just subtly keeps on delivering new moments of complexity and understated power.

Hest, stall, tobakk, tørket plomme/sviske. Litt «cowboy» på lukt, og er nok dessverre over. God kompleksitet, lengde og konsentrasjon, men er lite frukt igjen. 

«Kjølig» vin mot andre bdx i 85. Raffinert, elegant og «nobel». Lær, blyant og «grus».

Ruby red with an orange rim. Leather, tobacco, blackcurrant, figs and minerals. Fresh acidity. Vibrant and playful with tobacco, cedar wood, dates, leather and exotic spice. Layered. Integrated supple tannins and perfect balance. Very very long.

As is often the case with Lafite, this was the most reserved of the five 1855 1st Growths on opening, showing rose petals and finessed red fruits. It then performed a sleight of hand in the glass, slowly but surely building in concentration and pleasure, layering tobacco, slate, smoked earth, sweet blackberry puree, pencil lead, oyster shell and mint leaf. I last tasted it two years ago, and it has barely budged since, suggesting that there remains many decades ahead. Effortlessly drinkable, a vintage that more than lives up to the legend. Estate director Jean Crété recorded that it was aged in 'primarily new oak', although was not more specific than that (somewhere north of 70-80% is likely). 40hl/h yield, around 10% higher than average, with harvest beginning on September 16, the same date as in 1976. Baron Eric de Rothschild owner, and this was the last year with Emile Peynaud as consultant. Charles Chevallier would also join the following year, in 1983, as deputy technical director.

The 1978 gathers force over the palate, and this is a gorgeous Lafite that is still full of pleasure. Showcases elegant, finessed tannins, with fragrant tobacco leaf, tumeric, smoke, black tea, wild strawberry and raspberry - basically a window into why this wine manages to hold such a grip on the imagination through its mix of concentration and elegance. Salivating, a wine to stretch out with over a long conversation, taking your time, enjoying the subtley and the freshness. Fully in its tertiary window, but it will stay on this easy-going plateau for another few decades. Low yields of 22.85hl/h, after a mixed summer but excellent late harvest, with the grapes coming in from October 2. New oak was inching upwards at this point from the 30% earlier in the 1970s, probably at this point somewhere around 50%.

fra en kald norsk kjeller - årgangens vin i Bordeaux - imponerende eksotisk og krydret frukt med pen fruktsødme i kombinasjon med slottets stramme og presise stil (94)

Dominated by animal, soy, peat and earth aromatics. The fruit character is open and warm, a little jammy and younger in expression than the 1970 but with less finesse, and will benefit from an hour in a carafe before drinking to soften things up. This was a hot and dry year, and the tannins were plentiful right from the start, full of promise but they took a few decades to soften. They are still a touch dry, although there is plenty of fruit and as it opens there is a clear blast of mint leaf that ensures freshness. I have tasted a number of 1975s recently, and they often make me wonder how many people will have ever opened them at the exactly right moment - most would have either been waiting for the tannins to soften or caught them on the way down. This still has a lot to enjoy, and remains on the plateau for drinking. The first year with Jean Crété as Estate Manager - and a difficult year globally after the oil crisis of the early 1970s (over in London Michael Broadbent held an auction of ex-chateau Lafite vintages from 1945 to 1971 to inject some momentum into the market). 17hl/h yield.

Lys brun farge. Nesten som en rose… nydelig lukt av plomme/sviske, lær, mugg/kjeller, våt skogbunn og sopp. Syrlig smak av kirsebær. Bringebær, jordbær, sopp og skogbunn. Dette er fløyel! Myk og elegant.

WSET 3

Gentle russet colour, softly spoken aromatics. This was one of the best vintages of the 1970s (and high yielding, so you have a fairly good chance of still finding bottles), and at 51 years old shows just how moreish Lafite becomes with age. Aromatics major on campfire, brushed leather, wild strawberries, touches of soy, oyster shell salinity with brambled autumn fruits, earth and softly spun tannins. At this point, if you are opening it there is no need to decant, but you can expect it to stay at this balanced, finessed and harmonious level for another decade at least. At this point the maceration would have been a relatively short 15-20 days in large sized oak casks, with longer barrel ageing than today (around 30% new, and even then from barrels made by their own estate cooperage). Harvest began October 2. It was seen as excellent quality at the time (and little did they know only one other vintage in this whole decade would rival it).

The bottle we had in Hong Kong was corked, but I tracked down a second bottle from a reliable source in Bordeaux, and this famously impressive Lafite lived up to billing. It's quite different in character from the 1966 Latour, the tannins finer, the focus more on wild strawberry, rosehip and white tea, with campfire smoke, with long-drawn-out waves of crushed roses. Captures the quiet joy of a mature Lafite, with a mouthwatering send off, and I'd bet on it remaining on this plateau for a while longer. Baron Élie de Rothschild was running the estate at the time, as he has been since 1946, a late harvest starting on October 6.

Served blind. Two bottles, first one elegant but a little soft, second one just delicious, delivering one of the best examples of this wine that I have ever drunk. Soft, silky, melted tannins, fragrant, floral, almost Burgundian in its lacework tannins. Rose petals, soot, campfire, autumnal fruits, so easy to drink, so much energy, this is an elegant, gorgeous and generous Lafite. Unusually, the 1961 vintage was 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. There is almost no stock of this worldwide, certainly not with the provenance that we had, from the château cellars, and with the renowned bottle variation, we were extremely lucky to enjoy such a wonderful example of a legendary wine.

lær, tørr skogbunn, delikat, frisk, balansert, usedvanlig lang, burgundersk eleganse, kongevin (98)

Lukt: vanilje, lær
Smak: vanilje, lær, initielt mye mørke bær, fortsatt endel tanniner,

Burgundersk elegant - syrlig - steinete - bringebær - ulik de «andre» i denne årgangen - sublim mineralsk finish

The 1947 Château Lafite (tasted from double magnum) is cloudy and very pale brick colored. Evocative scents of dried roses, powdered cinnamon, caramel, and cloves spring from the glass, leading to a fleeting core of sassafras, aniseed, dried cherries, and rusty nails. The light to medium-bodied palate offers powdery soft tannins and crisp acidity to support the delicate baking spice and earthy flavors, finishing on a perfumed rose bud tea note. Very pretty!

En tidligere rekorket flaske på Restaurant und Hotel Schwarzer Adler var noe sliten - denne utviklet seg positivt med luft - kjølig, stram og skarpskåren. Mørk frukt, lær og blyant. Fortsatt strukturert. (96)

Category	Red wine
Vinmonopolet no.
Producer	Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Vintages	1986
Country	France, Bordeaux, Pauillac
Bottle	75 cl

Alcohol	%
Acid	%
Sugar	g/l

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