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(Château Lafite-Rothschild) This was my last bottle of ’85 Lafite out of the cellar, as I only bought three bottles when it was released and dearly wish I had bought more, as the wine is rather more expensive today than it was back in 1987! This is an utterly brilliant year for Lafite and one of my favorite wines of the vintage, as it offers up a deep and very complex nose of cassis, sweet dark berries, a touch of fresh coconut, beautifully complex, gravelly soil tones, cigar smoke, fresh herbs and cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very refined, with a rock solid core of sappy fruit, stunning complexity, impeccable focus and balance, moderate tannins and a fairly powerful finish (particularly for Lafite from this era) that closes with great purity and grip. A brilliant synthesis of the vintage’s plush and suave personality and the inimitable elegance of Lafite. (Drink between 2012-2060)John Gilman | 96 JGThis is so beautiful now and exhibits real aged-Bordeaux character with currant-bush, tobacco and berry aromas that follow through to a medium body with firm tannins and a creamy finish. Still so together. The finish turns to cigar box, sandalwood and berry. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSLast tasted in 2018 at the Lafite 160th anniversary supper, and it is delivering just as much pleasure a few years later - this is classically true when a wine is on its plateau, particularly in good vintages, when it can hold the line for a stubbornly long time. This just contains so much of what makes Lafite Lafite - there is an effortless elegance, it is subtle but rewarding, building in layers and complexity over the palate. Now in the tertiary period where the fine tannins are fully integrated but still offering support to brambled fruits, cured leather, black spice, sage, mint and salted truffles. Baron Eric in charge, Gilbert Rokvam technical director and Yves le Canu director. The vineyard was 90ha at the time, so around 20ha smaller than today. 5% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Drinking Window 2021 - 2036.Decanter | 94 DECTasted at the château, the 1985 Lafite-Rothschild was the best example of this wine that I have tasted a dozen or so times. It has a beautiful nose that is just classic Lafite. It is still fresh yet understated, stately even, with tobacco and cedar-tinged red berry fruit. It is not a powerful bouquet, but there is something...magnetic about it. The palate is still youthful with fine tannin, like the nose, understated yet very well balanced. The acidity here is perfectly judged with an almost nonchalant finish. You almost miss its virtues - it is just so self-effacing and insouciant. Just a really lovely Lafite-Rothschild at the peak of its powers. Tasted March 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 93 RP-NMThe 1985 Lafite-Rothschild is only a modest success in the context of the vintage. Here, it is totally outclassed by the 1985 Las Cases. Light, slightly loose-knit red berry fruit on the nose is complemented by warm gravel and smoky aromas, though it lacks a bit of energy. The palate is nicely balanced, not powerful but focused, with adequate freshness. As mentioned in my previous tasting note, this has dispensed with some density in recent years, and if your expectations are modest, it remains enjoyable. Tasted at Hameau de Barbaron in Burgundy.Vinous Media | 93 VMA graceful wine with cedar, berry and cherry aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, with fine tannins and a succulent, sweet fruit finish. Delicious to drink now.--Cabernet Challenge.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

The 1986 possesses outstanding richness, a deep color, medium body, a graceful, harmonious texture, and superb length. The penetrating fragrance of cedar, chestnuts, minerals, and rich fruit is a hallmark of this wine. Powerful, dense, rich, and tannic, as well as medium to full-bodied, with awesome extraction of fruit, this Lafite has immense potential. Patience is required. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2030. Last tasted 11/94.Robert Parker | 100 RPWe are in perfectly-aged claret territory here, the most beautiful impression of a wine at its plateau. It’s perfectly ready to drink and is still generous, with a long life ahead of it. Its spicy notes, touches of pencil lead and still-concentrated cassis combine with menthol, buttery leather and that classic Médoc saline, mineral-edged flourish - this is the height of well-aged Cabernet Sauvignon. Drinking Window 2018 - 2040.Decanter | 100 DECThe 1986 Lafite-Rothschild is a great wine although over several recent encounters it is never a convincing "perfect" wine. This mirrors the bottle I tasted at the property in 2016: blackberry and graphite on the nose, gawky at first, but coalescing with time. The palate is well balanced with firm tannins, strong graphite scents unfolding with time, superb energy if not delivering quite the finesse and precision that the very best Lafite-Rothschild will bestow. This is a wine that benefits from long decanting, say five or six hours, though it never quite reaches the ethereal heights that it could have done. Tasted at the International Business & Wine First Growth Dinner at the Four Seasons.Vinous Media | 96 VMA firm, young wine. Dark ruby color. Intense aromas of blackberry and mint. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long finish. Still needs time.--Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2003.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Interestingly, a bottle of 1990 Lafite Rothschild I pulled from my cellar for a video blog on my web site was still buttoned down, tight, and even with extended decanting was not showing as much as I would have hoped. However, a bottle tasted, of all places, in Seoul, Korea in February, was only a few points short of perfection. That amazing performance motivated me to pull another bottle out of my cellar and follow it over the course of two days. Sure enough, by the second day the wine was roaring from the glass. The 1990 Lafite has turned out far better than my early assessment. While it still possesses some firmness, and performs like a late adolescent in terms of its evolution, it boasts gorgeous aromas of cedar, tobacco leaf, cassis, and lead pencil shavings. The explosive aromas are followed by a fleshy, full-bodied wine that should hit its peak in 5-8 years, and last for 25-30 more. Robert Parker | 96 RPVery serious fruit, with juicy berry, tobacco and cedar character. Slightly more body than the 1989, but they are very close in character. I would give this a little more time. ’89/’90 Bordeaux non-blind horizontal. Best after 2007. 25,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Lafite Rothschild, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) A smoky, slightly baked character to the fruit and an undercurrent of dark chocolate and ground coffee. The texture is soft, sunny, and supple, with agreeable plumpness on the finish. 1990 was another sunny year that produced a lush, ripe result for Lafite that is immediately approachable. Although it should continue to show well, it lacks the incisive character of cooler years. The growing season was easy, with warm weather throughout and a successful flowering that set a large crop. There was sufficient sun to ripen all the fruit, however, and the final result was 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 13% Cabernet Franc. (Drink between 2022-2042)Decanter | 95 DECThis bottle of 1990 Lafite-Rothschild replicates the one poured at the château several months earlier. The bouquet offers black fruit, a little dustiness, leather and light marine notes, but again, it never slips into fifth gear. It just lacks vivacity. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly hard tannin, modest fruit concentration and a monochromatic finish that feels suppressed by that summer’s warmth. To reiterate, there are Super Seconds that clearly outperform this First Growth in 1990. Tasted at Noble Rot’s “Xmas” dinner.Vinous Media | 90 VM

I pulled this lone bottle out of my cellar at the last minute to remind some Italian vintners of the great quality of the 1995 Bordeaux vintage. They seem to be finally opening up! What a red with incredible depth and finesse. Cedar, cigar box and toabaaco character with currants and fresh tobacco undertones. It’s full-bodied yet tight and dense. Precision. So refined and intense. Such freshness and beauty. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSIntense aromas of blackberries, black licorice and currants, with mineral undertones. Full-bodied, with a solid core of tannins and a long, silky finish. Still holding back, but is concentrated and powerful. The 1996 is always talked about, but I think this is superior and will be in the future.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2010. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe 1995 Lafite-Rothschild (only one-third of the harvest made it into the final blend) is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 8% Cabernet Franc. The wine was showing spectacularly well when I tasted it in November, 1997. It exhibits a dark ruby purple color, and a sweet, powdered mineral, smoky, weedy cassis-scented nose. Beautiful sweetness of fruit is present in this medium-bodied, tightly-knit, but gloriously pure, well-delineated Lafite. The 1995 is not as powerful or as massive as the 1996, but it is beautifully made with outstanding credentials, in addition to remarkable promise. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2028.Robert Parker | 95 RPDark ruby-red. Sappy, expressive aromas of cherry, plum, minerals, woodsmoke and game, plus an exotic suggestion of baked apple. Rather subtle on the attack, then quickly expands to fill the mouth. A big, deep, very rich vintage for Lafite, unusually generous at this early stage and extremely long on the aftertaste. But went into a shell with aeration, and showed a hint of tobacco leaf vegetility. Finishing notes of coconut, woodsmoke and tobacco add flavor interest.Vinous Media | 93+ VM

An elegant but muscular Lafite, really summing up the trajectory that this wine takes over decades in a good vintage. It started out in its early years with huge concentration, more in fact than in many vintages, but it is now showcasing the subtlety and infinite range of flavours and aromatics that makes Lafite such a singular wine. Expect layers of earth, cigar box, liquorice, cold ash, blackberry, cassis, pencil lead, mint leaf and crushed rock minerality. The first Lafite to be put in an anti-fraud engraved bottle. 38% of overall production in the first wine, quite low at the time although typical today. 3% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Drinking Window 2024 - 2040.Decanter | 100 DECTasted three times since bottling, the 1996 Lafite-Rothschild is unquestionably this renowned estate’s greatest wine. As I indicated last year, only 38% of the crop was deemed grand enough to be put into the final blend, which is atypically high in Cabernet Sauvignon (83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot). This massive wine may be the biggest, largest-scaled Lafite I have ever tasted. It will require many years to come around, so I suspect all of us past the age of fifty might want to give serious consideration as to whether we should be laying away multiple cases of this wine. It is also the first Lafite-Rothschild to be put into a new engraved bottle (designed to prevent fraudulent imitations). The wine exhibits a thick-looking, ruby/purple color, and a knock-out nose of lead pencil, minerals, flowers, and black currant scents. Extremely powerful and full-bodied, with remarkable complexity for such a young wine, this huge Lafite is oozing with extract and richness, yet has managed to preserve its quintessentially elegant personality. This wine is even richer than it was prior to bottling. It should unquestionably last for 40-50 years. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2050.Robert Parker | 100 RPThe 1996 Lafite-Rothschild is consistent with the bottle shown at the Hong Kong vertical. It has an intense bouquet with blackberry, cedar and a pencil box of graphite. The adjective I use whilst writing this note is that the aromas are "cool". Perhaps given its provenance, this is one of the most backward bottles of 1996 that I have tasted. There are those fine but rigid tannins that lend this Lafite such beguiling symmetry, copious cedar and graphite with vein of brine and oyster shell. I love the precision of this wine and the sappiness on the finish. At the moment, maybe more impressive than enjoyable, so if you can, cellar it for another 5 to 8 years. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild 150th anniversary dinner at the estate.Vinous Media | 97+ VMThe beauty and balance of this are phenomenal. Seamless tannins and fruit. Full body yet so balanced and refined. Sweet tobacco and berries. Minerals and cedar. A beautiful wine. The depth is superb. Drink now.James Suckling | 97 JSGorgeous aromas of currant, berries and licorice. Full-bodied, with supersilky tannins and a long, caressing finish. Still holding back. People talk about this as one of the greatest Lafites ever, but I don’t think so.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2008.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

The 1999 Lafite Rothschild sports an engraved "1999" on the bottle along with an eclipse to mark that significant historical event of August, 1999. It is a quintessential offering from Lafite Rothschild. This prodigious wine is both elegant and intensely flavored, and almost diaphanous in its layers that unfold with no heaviness. An opaque ruby/purple color is accompanied by a complex bouquet of lead pencil, graphite, cedar, creme de cassis, toast, and vanilla. It is medium-bodied, with extravagant layers of richness yet little weight, and a finish that is all sweetness, ripeness, and harmony. This extraordinary Lafite increasingly appears to be a modern day clone of the majestic 1953. A mere one-third of the crop made it into the grand vin! Anticipated maturity: 2007-2030.Robert Parker | 95 RP1999 was a more difficult vintage, but this is a classic Pauillac at 20 years old, and we should expect it stay on its plateau for the next 20-30 years. You can feel the edges of an older Cabernet beginning to creep in as cigar box and gentle tobacco notes, but there is still dense but savoury fruit on display, with real elegance and finesse to the tannins. Showing great harmony, this is where the beauty of Lafite is on display - you can find many wonderful 2009 and 2010s, but not so many wonderful ’99s. All four grapes - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc - are in the blend here, perhaps something that happens only once every ten years or so. This vintage demonstrates how Lafite doesn’t need concentration to still be something incredible. A mixed year weather-wise with a good spring followed by a rainy summer until mid-August when the sun returned. There was an excellent Indian summer, then a few drops of rain again during harvest, which sped things up. These challenges, says Baron Eric, meant that they forgot about it for a good 15 years, as the wine was extremely closed, but around three years ago it started to open back up. This is ready to be enjoyed. Drinking Window 2018 - 2030.Decanter | 94 DECDelivers wonderful dark chocolate, with raspberry and currant undertones. Full-bodied, featuring soft, silky tannins and a long finish. Very tight still. Needs time. Very layered and holding back.--’89/’99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Best after 2012. 22,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSWinemaker Eric Kohler recalled the 1999 Lafite-Rothschild as being born in a "sad summer." Personally, I have liked this First Growth since I first tasted it in barrel. Now 20 years old, it is beginning to show a little bricking on the rim. The bouquet is clean and detailed, with black currant, raspberry, melted tar and cedar developing in the glass (but less of the allspice that I observed in previous bottles). The palate is medium-bodied and maybe more compact than expected, possibly due to this being ex-cellar. While not a concentrated Lafite-Rothschild, it is very harmonious and elegant, brushed with a subtle pepperiness toward the finish and a tang of dried orange peel on the aftertaste. Delightful. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the estate.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The nose is fresh, bright, and dense. With aromas of violets, minerals, spices, cool stones, mint, dark fruits, and plum skins, this is beautiful. Very much still a baby right now, it needs much more time. This is a wine for the next generation. Finesse and elegance, truly a wine that makes you contemplate life. This is not about power, there is really nothing like it. 93% Cabernet Sauvignon. Do not even think about touching this for another ten years, 2020. 15+25+25+35. Find the wineJames Suckling | 100 JSPerhaps of all the first growths in the totally un-classic 2000, this retains most of the classic Bordeaux. It is certainly almost black in color, while the new wood flavors are very present. But it shows an impressive restraint, leaving the power of the wine to be revealed over the years rather than immediately. This could well be the longest-lived of the Pauillac first growths.Wine Enthusiast | 99 WESince I gave this wine a perfect score, I suppose some could see this as a downgrade. I found everything still there for a perfect rating, but I was just struck by how tight and backward the wine was. A blend of 93.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot, the wine still has a dark ruby/purple color and an extraordinarily youthful nose of graphite, black currants, sweet, unsmoked cigar tobacco, and flowers. The wine is rich, medium to full-bodied, but has that ethereal elegance and purity that is always Lafite. I originally predicted that it would first reach maturity in 2011, but I would push that back by 5-7 years now, although it has 50-60 years of life in front of it. Owners of this beauty are probably best advised to forget it for 5 years. Tasted next to a 1996 several days after the 2000 tasting, the 1996, which is a perfect wine, was far closer to full maturity than the 2000.Robert Parker | 98+ RPThe 2000 Lafite-Rothschild is utterly sublime. Delicate, sensual and wonderfully nuanced, the 2000 is majestic. The purity of the fruit is simply striking.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGThis is remarkably young, with a deep well of succulent black currant, fig and blackberry fruit notes that feel 10 years younger than most peers, carried by wave upon wave of velvety tannins. Despite the density and heft, there’s glorious length and finesse too, with alluring black tea, smoldering charcoal and warm paving stone notes just starting to emerge. Awesome wine.--Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Best from 2018 through 2043. 16,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSA baby, still barely evolved at 20 years old, perhaps the slowest out of the block of all Five Firsts at this point in their lives. Savoury black fruits, elegant yet concentrated, extremely Cabernet and extremely 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 owner Baron Éric de Rothschild, CEO Christophe Salin and estate director Charles Chevallier. Drinking Window 2020 - 2045.Decanter | 98 DECNo written review provided. | 95 W&S

The 2003 Lafite Rothschild comes as close to perfection as any of the great Lafites made over the past three decades (1982, 1986, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010). This sensational effort came in at 12.7% natural alcohol, it is made in the style of one of this estate’s great classics, the 1959. Composed of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it exhibits a dense ruby/purple color to the rim along with a luxurious bouquet of cedarwood, lead pencil shaving, white chocolate, cocoa and cassis. Fat, rich, opulent and full-bodied with low acidity and stunning seductiveness and complexity, this noble wine possesses a bountiful, generous, heady style. It is just coming into its plateau of maturity where it should hold for 20-25 years. This is one of the candidates for the wine of the vintage – make no mistake about that.These are two great successes in this vintage that have aged well and surprised me by their intensity and overall complexity.Robert Parker | 100 RPSpicy and rich, with a tobacco and berry character on the nose and palate I love the nose. Full bodied, with soft velvety tannins that give you so much. This goes on and on. Sexy and exciting right now, but leave this for five or six years.James Suckling | 98 JSThis is a splendid wine. Yes, it is more powerful than the usual aristocratic Lafites, but it still manages to retain a special air of great elegance and presence. The fruits are black, the tannins immensely powerful, the flavors are of black figs, dates, cocoa. At the end, there is a vibrant acidity that shows through, which promises a great life for this great wine.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2003 Lafite-Rothschild famously shrugged off the merciless heat of that infamous summer when the temperature at the estate nudge 42° Celsius. It has a lovely bouquet of black plum, pressed iris, a touch of glycerin and (for Lafite) exotic scents of blood orange. The palate is powerful and intense as you would expect. There is great depth and volume with glossy black fruit laced with orange zest, smoke and melted tar. You can almost feel the summer in this Lafite-Rothschild but unlike many of its peers, it has requisite acidity to maintain freshness and avoid cloyingness on the finish. Whilst not my pick of modern-day Lafites, I have to doff my cap because it was and still is, one of the finest Left Banks of the vintage. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild 150th anniversary dinner at the estate.Vinous Media | 96 VMSubtle, complex aromas of berries, licorice and currants. Full-bodied, with well-integrated tannins and a long finish. Very well-integrated wine. Lovely stuff. Wonderful length and finesse. Best after 2012. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

Yes, there is power to this wine. But more than that, it exudes authority; a dense and solid wine with an impressive presence and texture. It has a velvet mouthfeel: the tannins are dusty and mineral, alongside fruit flavors of ripe black plums and dark figs, leavened with fresh acidity. The potential, of course, is there: 20 years if you can wait.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThis beautiful, stunningly dense purple-colored effort (includes about 90% Cabernet Sauvignon) offers up precise notes of graphite, black cherries, cassis, scorched earth, and minerals. Medium to full-bodied with fabulous fruit, impressive richness, refreshing acidity, and sweet tannin, this beauty should be approachable in 4-5 years, and last for three decades. As Lafite Rothschilds go, this is somewhat of a sleeper vintage.Robert Parker | 95 RPThe most aristocratic of the Pauillac premier crus in this vintage, Lafite captures the pure black-currant flavor of fine cabernet sauvignon. Though oak blocks the aroma for now, a river of fruit runs through the taste into a long, expansive finish. The wine is layered and palate coating, its luscious fruit tamed by firm, mineral tannin. Elegant.Diageo Château & Estate Wines, NYWine & Spirits | 95 W&SMedium ruby-red. Scented nose offers plum, mocha, licorice, graphite, flowers and tobacco. Suave, silky and fine-grained, with lovely inner-mouth aromatic character and energy. Perfumed flavors of redcurrant, minerals and cedar. Finishes very long and firm, with terrific grip for this mostly gentle vintage.Vinous Media | 93 VMIntense aromas of currant, coffee, toasty oak and sweet tobacco follow through to a full-bodied palate, with velvety tannins, great mouthfeel and a long finish. A refined Lafite. Best after 2012. 22,080 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

An incredible nose, so subtle with red fruits, mint, minerals, and all sorts of flowers give way to Cohiba cigar tobacco. The palate has such freshness and density, with perfectly polished tannins. Slightly leathery, like a wonderful Hermes bag. What a wine, please leave this for another ten years. Pull the cork in 2020. 10% Merlot. Find the wineJames Suckling | 100 JSA wine worthy of superlatives, the 2005 Lafite showed incredible concentration yet a superb balance. The lovely blackcurrant and plum fruit shows a fragrant floral edge, hints of oak spice, and a firm, earthy underpinning. The texture is superbly elegant, with a lovely freshness and a lilting, silky finish, yet it does not lack a tannic grip, and the finish is satisfyingly long. Near perfection. A blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot with just a drop of Petit Verdot, aged in new casks. (Drink between 2021-2040)Decanter | 99 DECThis wine is initially dense, almost thick enough to be cut with a knife. But then it becomes apparent that this is beautifully integrated and balanced, bringing together power, with the hallmark Lafite style and poise. In the end, you have a wine that promises an impressive aging potential along with delicious black currant fruits, acidity and a layer of striking tannins. Imported by Domaines Barons de Rothschild and multiple U.S. importers.Wine Enthusiast | 99 WELafite is the most elegant of the firsts in 2005; it also may be the most romantic. The wine’s heady scent of new oak rises in harmony with the succulent red fruit. Then the tannins come on with a gentle roar, layering the perception of flavors in subtle shadings. There’s not a trace of the hyperintensity that so many young 2005s wear as if required for their longevity. The stones of Lafite grow something more numinous than that, a wine with the power to strike an emotional chord through taste. This will be one of the longest lived wines of 2005. Diageo Château & Estate Wines, NYWine & Spirits | 98 W&SDelivers blackberry, dried porcini, tobacco and licorice aromas. Full-bodied, with layers of velvety tannins and loads of dark chocolate, cigar box, currant, berry and mineral. The finish is long, with a coffee, almost meaty, aftertaste. Very beautiful and balanced. Best after 2013.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThe 2005 Lafite-Rothschild is a gorgeous wine, but it is also very young. Readers lucky enough to own it will find a very classic, gracious Lafite-Rothschild that still needs a few years to be at its best. Bright red-toned fruit, crushed rocks, mint and licorice open first, followed by darker aromas and flavors that develop as the wine gains volume with air. Tasted next to its peers, Lafite is so typical of itself and less marked by the year. And that is one of the signs of a truly great terroir. Lafite-Rothschild is not as showy as many other wines in this vintage, but it is so true to its own identity, and that is the highest compliment I can pay it. The 2005 is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, done in 100% new oak, which is not at all noticeable. At the time, the Cabernet percentage was quite high, but that has now become the norm. Tasted two times.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGWhile the 2005 is another brilliantly classic Lafite Rothschild, for my taste, it comes in slightly behind their extraordinarily opulent 2003 as well as the dramatically powerful 2000. A blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Merlot, the 2005 boasts a dark ruby/purple color in addition to that exceptional Lafite perfume of graphite, spring flowers, crushed rocks, and sweet black cherry and black currant fruit that exudes class and nobility. The wine is medium-bodied with extremely high levels of tannin in addition to sensational purity, length, and overall harmony. However, it is exceptionally backward, and even more tannic than either the 1995 or 1996. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050+.Robert Parker | 96+ RP

This is what the Medoc is all about. The freshness and delicacy of this wine in combination with its serious concentration and firm core are totally stunning. Time has already worked its magic and this is already delicious, but has decades in front of it. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019).James Suckling | 100 JS(Château Lafite Rothschild, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) This wine is stunningly impressive but almost the opposite of the 2010 vintage. The year offered a warm, wet spring followed by a hot, dry summer and cool nights in September, giving a riper, more generous impression. A bit of smoke and spice on the initial attack with a ripe, plummy fruit character that is more black than red and a supple, dense richness on the palate that lingers sumptuously on the finish. This vintage will drink sooner than the 2010, yet should easily last as long. The finished wine is a blend of 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and a half-percent of Petit Verdot. Picking began in mid-September for the Merlot and early October for the Cabernet, with 45% of the fruit going into the grand vin. (Drink between 2032-2082)Decanter | 99 DECThe main reason the 2009 Lafite Rothschild did not receive a perfect score is because the wine has closed down slightly, but it is unquestionably another profound Lafite, their greatest wine since the amazing 2003. Among the most powerful Lafites ever made (it came in at 13.59% alcohol), the final blend was 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot. The selection was incredibly severe with only 45% of the crop being utilized. A tight, but potentially gorgeous nose of graphite, black currants, licorice and camphor is followed by a full-bodied wine revealing the classic elegance, purity and delineated style of Lafite. It is phenomenally concentrated with softer tannins than the 2005, the 2003’s voluptuous, broad, juicy personality, and low acidity. There are several vintages that I thought were a replay of their colossal 1959, most notably 1982 and 2003, but 2009 is also one to keep an eye on. It is still extremely youthful and seems slightly more backward than I would have guessed based on the barrel tastings, but it needs 10-15 years of bottle age, and should last for 50+.Robert Parker | 99+ RPThis is stunning for its ability to take massively endowed fig, currant paste and crushed plum fruit flavors and harness them with ultrasuave freshly roasted espresso, black tea and ganache notes. A seductive style, long and velvety, with the dense core of black fruit and smoldering iron just waiting and waiting. Best from 2020 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThe 2009 Lafite-Rothschild is quite high-toned and expressive on the nose, perhaps the most ostentatious of the top flight 2009s with upfront black cherry and boysenberry fruit, lavish new oak and touches of violet. The palate is sleek and satin-like in feel with copious dark cherry and boysenberry fruit, fig and dates, almost honeyed in texture towards the precocious finish that has an opulent bent, almost hedonistic, unusual for this First Growth. But it is kinda irresistible. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VMA powerful expression of Cabernet Sauvignon, solid in structure. The wine is rich and concentrated, very textured. Great spice go with just enough fresh acidity, in this big wine.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE(Château Lafite-Rothschild) The 2009 Lafite-Rothschild is a beautifully crafted wine that is all poise and seduction. This is the world’s ultimate luxury wine these days, and while the style has changed rather dramatically from the great Lafites of the decade of the 1980s, there is little here to complain about, as everything is done as perfectly as is humanly possible. The bouquet is deep and stunning, as it soars from the glass in a blaze of cassis, blackberries, coffee, tobacco smoke, a great base of gravelly soil tones and a generous coating of nutty, smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, very suave and utterly complex, with a great core of pure fruit, moderate, refined tannins and stunning length and grip on the utterly seamless and completely seductive finish. This wine is crafted like a truly great Swiss watch, and consequently it offers up unprecedented accessibility at a very young age for those that will not be able to defer gratification, but it is so poised and beautifully balanced that it will also have no difficulty aging for many, many decades. Whether one prefers the old style of Lafite that took decades to really blossom or this new style that is the ultimate in seduction from the start is really just a matter of personal taste. There is certainly nothing in the makeup of the 2009 that is anything but exemplary in nature, and this is a beautiful wine. (Drink between 2020-2075).John Gilman | 93-95 JG

Inky colour, more so than in many years of Lafite, imprinted by the vintage. It is at this level, in these type of years, where you see why these terroirs have stood out for centuries. We are in a crowded field of excellence in Pauillac in 2010, and yet still the First Growths manage to deliver an extra heartbeat of brilliance. This is still extremely closed, and I have no hesitation in saying that when Lafite is planning its 250th anniversary celebrations that this will be one of the wines that it chooses, just as we all marvelled at the 1893 in the summer of 2018. Blocks of liquorice and black chocolate come through alongside the tannins, standing guard to ensure the fruits don’t escape before they are ready to do so. There are vintages where Lafite is sculpted, liquid elegance (like 2017, speaking of one I have recently tasted), and where it stands out against the vintage, and then there are other years when it epitomises why the vintage is so good, and that is where we are here. It has less obvious muscles than the Latour but every bit of the strength. Drinking Window 2025 - 2050.Decanter | 100 DECDeep garnet in color, the 2010 Lafite Rothschild is a little mute on the nose at this stage, opening to reveal warm blackcurrants, baked plums and boysenberry scents with hints of chocolate mint, violets, cedar chest and pencil lead. Full-bodied, rich and densely packed with perfumed black fruit layers, it has a rock-solid backbone of fantastically ripe, grainy tannins and beautiful freshness, finishing very long and minerally. Still very youthful!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPAlmost black in color, this stunning wine is gorgeous, rich and dense. It’s grand and powerful, with a strong sense of its own importance. The beautiful tannins and the fragrant black currant fruits are palpable. It’s a great wine, with huge potential.Wine Enthusiast | 100 WEThis is shy and not giving its all at the moment. Yet it is full and intense with a tightly intertwined tannic and fruit structure. Ethereal blackberry, currant, cedar, and nutty flavors. Dried flowers too. Cedar jewel box smell comes out with time. Great finish. So, so long and harmonious. Try in 2018.James Suckling | 99 JSRather tight, with an alluring whiff of cocoa that lures you in before disappearing into the core of steeped plum, roasted fig and blackberry coulis notes. Sandalwood, black tea and loam elements fill in on the long and expansive finish. This seems to be lying in wait for what could be a very long time in the cellar before unfurling fully. Best from 2018 through 2045. 15,833 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WS(Château Lafite Rothschild) As is the case with the 2010 Carruades, the 2010 Lafite Rothschild is very impressive for its more restrained personality out of the blocks than the more opulent and seductive 2009. The bouquet is deep and notably ripe, but at the same time there is a sense of structure here that was not particularly evident in the ’09, as the wine soars from the glass in a very refined blend of cassis, dark berries, coffee bean, complex, gravelly soil tones, cigar smoke, tobacco leaf and lead pencil. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite powerful in profile, with a rock solid core of fruit, flawless focus and balance, plenty of firm, well-integrated tannins and outstanding length and grip on the quite reserved finish. This is much more classically styled than the 2009 Lafite, and while both wines are beautifully crafted, the 2010 seems at this early stage to be a step up in quality. A wonderful Lafite for the cellar. (Drink between 2025-2100).John Gilman | 96 JGThe 2010 Lafite-Rothschild has more vivacious bouquet than expected with veins of blue fruit and iodine tincturing the black fruit. It is well defined if just missing the audacity of the Latour. The palate is approachable on the entry with fine grain tannins. It feels a touch more mature than the other First Growths, though the pliant and poised finish has a sensuality uncommon in Lafite. Superb. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 96 VM

On another level and one of the greatest young Bordeaux I’ve ever tasted, the 2016 Lafite-Rothschild is composed of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot raised in new oak. It takes the classic elegance and class of Lafite and turns the dial up to 11, offering a massive, heavenly array of blackcurrants, cedar pencil, graphite, tobacco, and incense aromas and flavors that soar from the glass. Deep, full-bodied, and flawlessly constructed, with perfectly integrated fruit, acidity, and tannins, this is legendary stuff all the way. It will be drinkable in 7-8 years and keep for 50-75 years or more. Along with Mouton, it’s the wine of the vintage from the Médoc. Hats off to director Eric Kohler.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDWhat I love about the 2016 Lafite is that the sweetness of the fruit comes through even at this early stage. Sweet, ripe blackberry and cassis pulse through the palate behind the tight construction of tension and classicism given by high acidity and plenty of tannins. It has ripeness and a sense of promise but, as is often the case with a young Lafite, it’s not giving a lot away and we can expect it to age for many decades perfectly comfortably. Extremely accomplished, one to cherish. Matured in 100% new oak. Drinking Window 2028 - 2040.Decanter | 100 DECIncredible aromas of crushed berries, sweet tobacco and wet earth. So perfumed and gorgeous. Hot stones and cement, too. Full-bodied, dense and powerful with lots of intense tannins and a never ending finish. Juicy and flavorful. A muscular Lafite, not seen for a long time. Classssssss! Try after 2025.James Suckling | 100 JSThe 2016 Lafite Rothschild is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot, with 15% of the press wine contributing to the blend this year. Deep purple-black in color, it slowly reveals the most gorgeous perfume of kirsch, lilacs, black raspberries and warm blackcurrants with underlying nuances of cigar box, rose hip tea, cloves, licorice and pencil lead plus a waft of garrigue. Medium-bodied and built like a brick house with a firm yet beautifully ripe, finely pixelated tannic backbone and seamless freshness supporting the amazing intensity of black fruits and floral layers, it finishes very long and provocatively perfumed.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPThe 2016 Lafite-Rothschild is a total stunner. Seamless, racy and voluptuous in the glass, the 2016 is even better from bottle than it was from barrel. Once again, I am blown away by the inner sweetness and purity of the fruit. The 2016 is, rich, concentrated and yet also light on its feet, in the way only Lafite can be. Dramatic and ample the 2016 Lafite is a beautifully resonant, super-expressive wine endowed with regal beauty and tremendous overall balance. It will drink well for many years and decades.Antonio Galloni | 99 AGAlmost entirely Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine beautifully sums up the density and the richness of this variety in Pauillac. It is impressive, made even more so in this vintage by the ripeness of the tannins, the beautiful, plush fruit and enormous promise. Drink this wine from 2026. Its aging potential is enormous.Wine Enthusiast | 99 WEThis offers the best of both sides of Pauillac, with a deep, deep well of dark currant, fig, blackberry and black cherry paste flavors forming a lush side while a series of I-beams made of graphite and iron provide the rigid structure. The two sides meld, pulling in extra sweet tobacco, smoldering cast iron, juniper and savory notes on the finish, leaving a mouthwatering feel. A real stunner. Best from 2025 through 2045. 16,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WS