CHÂTEAU LAFITE
2018 1er Cru Classé Pauillac
| Grapes | Cab Sauv, Merlot, Petit Verdot |
| Colour | Red |
| Origin | France, Bordeaux |
| Sub-district | Haut Médoc |
| Village | Pauillac |
| Classification | 1er Cru Classé |
| ABV | 13% |
91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% Merlot, 0.5% Petit Verdot. If Mouton wins for pleasure, Lafite is the first growth of choice for sophistication in 2018. Immaculate dark fruit sits in effortless suspension among perfectly ripe, creamy tannins. That signature streak of Lafite minerality provides definition and drive. The finish is astonishingly long and so pure it belongs on a lapidarist's table. There's no question this is a brilliant Lafite that will go on and on. Drinking range: 2030 - 2050 L&S (Apr 2019)
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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. Drinking range: 2028 - 2050 Rating: 98 Jane Anson, Decanter (Oct 2021)
The 2018 Lafite-Rothschild comes in an embossed bottle to celebrate 150 years of ownership by the de Rothschild family. Typical of this First Growth, there is nothing gaudy or showy on the nose; instead, sensual, almost placid aromas of tobacco and pencil-shaving-tinged black fruit unfold gently in the glass. Less extroverted than the 2018 Mouton, this is sophisticated and cerebral. As I found before, it only gains vigor after 60 minutes. The palate is beautifully balanced with finely chiseled tannins, pure black fruit and those traits of cracked black pepper and sage extant. I once thought it might challenge the 2016 with bottle age, and though I feel that the 2018 is not quite at that level, it is certainly a wine befitting the anniversary. Lafite-Rothschild, masterfully proving how less is more. Drinking range: 2025 - 2060 Rating: 96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2021)
The 2018 Lafite-Rothschild is a stunning wine. Silky and floral, the 2018 offers all the signatures of the Grand Vin, but amplified by the radiance of the year. In the glass, Lafite is rich and exotic, yet it also retains tremendous vibrancy. The interplay of Merlot picked early and Cabernet Sauvignon harvested late makes for wine of extraordinary dimension, complexity and class. Graphite, dark red fruit, spice and leather linger on the huge finish. Magnificent! Drinking range: 2028 - 2068 Rating: 98 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Mar 2021)
Château Lafite
1855 classification - Premier Grand Cru Classé The long history of Château Lafite includes a period in the 17th and 18th century when it was owned by the Ségur family, who also at the time owned Latour and who's name lives on at Calon-Ségur and Phelan-Ségur. By the time of the 1855 classification which rightly recognised the reputation of Lafite, the estate was under a complicated ownership arrangement which inevitably unravelled, and Lafite was sold to Baron James de Rothschild, largely it would seem to keep uo with his cousin Nathaniel Rothschild who had recently purchased Brane-Mouton (later to become Mouton Rothschild). He died a couple of months later, but his descendents own the estate to this day. Baron Eric, who took control during the 1970's, returned Lafite to its rightful place at the top of the Bordeaux hierarchy with a programme of investment, improvement and modernisation. There are 103ha of land under vine at Lafite, facing Cos d'Estournel across the Jalle du Breuil which marks the border between Pauillac and Saint Estèphe. Indeed, Lafite own a small parcel of vines over the border in Saint Estèphe. Just over 70% is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon with 25% Merlot and smaller portions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Vines for the grand vin average around 40 years old with none less than 10. Wines are aged in barrels from their own cooperage for aound 18 months. The second wine is Carruades de Lafite which usually features a higher proportion of Merlot in the cuvée.
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RELATED PRODUCTS
2019 CHÂTEAU BATAILLEY 5ème Cru Classé Pauillac
Bordeaux France 13% Red
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot. Half-bottles
Some oriental spice adds an enticing hook to the pretty aromatic nose. Laden with cigar-box notes and pretty, deep red fruit. Gets darker and more cooked on the palate, but holds its own. Rich and ripe and warming - b
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