Tasting Notes
Vinous 97
The 1996 Lafite-Rothschild is the strongest wine from the First Growth in that decade. This bottle, served blind and ex-chateau in Bordeaux, is so precociously backward that I estimate it to be half its age. Blackberry, cedar and graphite are here as usual, though this bottle has even more intensity than the one served at the estate in 2018. The palate is brilliantly balanced with fine tannins and very intense graphite-infused fruit; there’s just a touch more fruite on the finish. Superb.
Anticipated maturity: 2025-2065
Robert Parker 98
The 1996 Lafite-Rothschild was remarkably deep in color considering that it is now 20 years in age. The bouquet is classic Pauillac with pencil shavings and sous-bois infusing the black fruit, masculine and a little aloof, yet focused and very well delineated. The palate is very well balanced with crisp blackberry and boysenberry fruit, spicier than I recollect, a crescendo of flavors so that it seems understated at first but fans out with a sense of confidence towards the finish. I think this still has more to give so cellar it away for another 5-8 years if you can, but otherwise this is an exemplary Lafite-Rothschild that I can envisage getting better and better in bottle, if not quite as enthralling as either Mouton-Rothschild or Chateau Margaux. Tasted July 2016.
Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050
Producer Profile
Area under vines: 112 hectares
Soils: fine deep gravel, mixed with aeolian sand on a subsoil of tertiary limestone
Average age of the vines: 38 years
Production: 15,000 to 20,000 cases a year
Ageing: 18 to 20 months in 100% new barrels
Grape varieties:
- Cabernet Sauvignon 80 to 95%
- Merlot 5 to 25%
- Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot 0 to 5%
Vintage 1961: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage 1994: 99% Cabernet Sauvignon 1% Petit Verdot
Second wine: Carruades de Lafite
Average Annual Production: 20,000 to 30,000 Cases
Grape varieties:
- Cabernet Sauvignon 50-70%
- Merlot 30-50%
- Cabernet Franc 0-5%
Learn more about Château Lafite Rothschild here
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