David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

On the nose, ripe; blackberries, sweet & sour dark cherries, cooked cherries & strawberries & hues of blueberries. Black tea, cola, soft baking spices; vanilla, light clove & cinnamon. Crushed rocks, stones, limestone, turned, moist black earth, tobacco leaf, saddle-wood, soft leather, dry & fresh dark red florals.

The body is medium edging toward full. The tannins pretty well resolved. The ripe fruits show the hot, ripe vintage. Blackberries, sweet & sour dark cherries, cooked cherries & strawberries & hues of blueberries black tea, cola, soft baking spices; vanilla, light clove & cinnamon. Crushed rocks, stones, limestone, tobacco with ash, some graphite, soft medium dark spice, turned, forest floor, powdery but edgy minerals, saddle-wood, soft leather, dry & fresh dark red florals with some violets on the finish.

This showed better with Ribeye. The Ribeye brought out a fuller, richer wine with even more complexity. 9.35-9.4 with the Ribeye. It just missed 9.2 on its own. It’s big brother the 03 “Lafite” is 💯 point Parker wine.

Photos of; Chateau Lafite, their oak vat fermenters, Estate wine and their magnificent barrel room.

Interesting history and producers notes...Lafite Rothschild has a long and interesting history dating back to 1234, even though the property was not in the Bordeaux wine business at that time.

It is has been largely believed that vines were already planted on their terroir. The owner of the estate at the time, Gombaud de Lafite left his mark, his name. Almost 1,000 years after he owned it, the Chateau is still named after him! The vines were probably in existence at Lafite for over a century, it was not until around 1680, the majority of vineyards of what we know of as Lafite Rothschild today were created. This is because on the 1680 estate manifest, there are six mentions of their Bordeaux vineyards. Jacques de Segur, earns credit for cultivating the vineyard as I wrote in my Colon Segur post last weekend. In 1695, Alexandre de Segur married Marie-Therese de Clauzel, heiress to Chateau Latour. So to dovetail that write up, within a generation, the Segur family married into two of the greatest Bordeaux vineyards, Chateau Lafite and Chateau Latour! When their son, Nicolas-Alexandre passed away, Chateau Lafite and Chateau Latour were separated.

In 1797, Chateau Lafite was sold again. In the deed of sale, Chateau Lafite was described as a Premier Cru of Medoc. This is one of the earliest mentions of what we know of today as Lafite Rothschild producing wines of what would later be classified as an 1855 First Growth.

At that time, of Lafite were managed by the Goudal family. The Goudal family were wine historians and were able to read accurate records and details of the viticulture and marketing plans for Chateau Lafite in the estates formative years. The Goudal family gets the credit for creating the cellar and saving many of the oldest bottles that remain in the cold, dark cellars, including their oldest bottle, the 1797 Lafite!

The start of the famous Rothschild family begins in 1744, with the birth of Amschel Meyer. Amschel Meyer began creating his fortune while working as a merchant at “Zum Roten Schild,” which eventually became the family name of Rothschild.

In 1798 his sons were sent to various cities to create their fortunes. Needless to say, his sons all prospered as did their children in turn. This eventually led to them wanting to own a Chateau in Bordeaux. So in 1853, Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, an English member of the Rothschild family, purchased Chateau Brane-Mouton. As was the custom of the day, the new owner renamed it using his name and Chateau Mouton Rothschild was born.

This was followed in 1868, when James Rothschild, another member of the family purchased Chateau Lafite, which was now a coveted First Growth.

On 8 August, 1868, Baron James d’Rothschild purchased Chateau Lafite, which was sold at a public auction in Paris. It’s assumed, he bought the property for family competitive reasons looking to one up his brother, the owner of Mouton Rothschild. At that time, Mouton Rothschild was only a Second Growth at the time. But, that does not paint the entire picture. The 1855 Classification had not taken on the importance associated with it the we see it today. Plus, buying Lafite was a reasonable investment as the vineyard sold for about 8 times its earning potential.

The actual Chateau is one of the older structures in Bordeaux, as part of the building dates back to the later part of the 16th century. In 1868, the vineyard took up 135 hectares, of which 74 hectares were cultivated with vines. Production was much smaller in those days than it is today as it was between 4,000 and 5,000 cases.

Just three months after the purchase, Baron James d’Rothschild passed away and Chateau Lafite Rothschild became the joint property of his three sons; Alphonse Rothschild, Gustave Rothschild & Edmond Rothschild. Since 1868, Chateau Lafite Rothschild has remained in the hands of the of Rothschild family. The new owners renamed the estate Chateau Lafite Rothschild.

Jumping ahead to the modern age, in 1962, the Rothschild family added to their holdings when they purchased Chateau Duhart-Milon, a Fourth Growth vineyard also located in Pauillac. It was owned by the Casteja family for more than a century, Chateau Duhart Milon suffered from neglect and was in a awful condition. By the time Duhart Milon was obtained by the Rothschild family, the vineyard was down to only 17 hectare which required extensive renovations.

Baron Eric Rothschild, nephew of Baron Elie Rothschild, took over the management of Lafite Rothschild in 1974. Baron Eric Rothschild was part of the fifth Rothschild generation to inherit Chateau Lafite Rothschild. In 1984, the Rothschild family added to their holdings in Bordeaux with the purchase of Chateau Rieussec in Sauternes.

1987 was a difficult vintage, but because that was the year Lafite celebrated the inauguration of their wine new cellar, they had a lot to be excited about.

The new cellars were built under the supervision of Catalan architect Ricartdo Bofill, is both underground and circular, with a vault supported by 16 columns, giving the structure a majestic architectural style. The cellar holds 2,200 barrels, which is about 55,000 cases of wine. The construction took two years to finish and was completed in 1988.

Domaines Baron Rothschild became one of the first Bordeaux properties to invest in South America when they purchased Vina Los Vascos from a Chilean family. The owners of Lafite Rothschild continued expanding their holdings with the purchase of Chateau lEvangile in Pomerol from the Ducasse family, who owned the property for almost 100 years.

The wine making at Chateau Lafite Rothschild was managed by Charles Chevallier, who began his position in 1994. Charles Chevallier was replaced by Eric Kohler in January 2016. 2017 saw another change at the estate when Jean Guillaume Prats replaced Christopher Salin as the President of Domaines Baron Rothschild.

Perhaps, it’s the most refined of the First Growth. The wine, like all First Growth’s takes decades to mature. It has remarkable staying powers. Bottles of 1870 Lafite Rothschild discovered in the Glamis castle remain profound at more than 140 years of age! It is consider by many Master Sommeliers to be the best wine in the world.

Chateau Lafite Rothschild is one of the earliest major Bordeaux estates to bottle their own wine. In 1890, they bottled a large portion of the wine and again in 1906. Part of the estate bottling was due to requests from Negociants who were willing to pay more for Chateau bottled wines. Also, bottling was primarily done to combat piracy. At the time, it was known that merchants in some countries, like Russia were bottling cheap wine and placing labels from Lafite Rothschild on the bottles. The Koch’s famous Jefferson bottles were not the first attempt at counterfeiting.

Prior to 1996, some would say the property had its share of ups and downs. The 1960’s and 1970’s were not great for Chateau Lafite Rothschild. But since 1996, Lafite Rothschild has been producing some of the best wine in their history!

Sadly, only the wealthy can afford to purchase it. Price aside, there is no denying the level of quality. In 2003 Lafite Rothschild produced a wine that is possibly unequaled by the estate at any time in their long history. Hence, my purchase of their 03 second wine. 2009, 2010 and 2016 are not far behind.

Starting in about 2008, Lafite Rothschild became the most collectible wine from Bordeaux. Prices exploded due to demand from China as Chinese businessmen bought them as gifts or bribes depending on you look at it.

The reason this started was Lafite Rothschild paid for product placement on the number one rated Chinese soap opera on television. Characters in that show were pictured enjoying life with Lafite Rothschild and since then demand went through the roof as did priced.

However, Issac Newton had it right when he declared “What goes up, must come down.” Prices for Lafite Rothschild plummeted after 2011. By the difficult 2013, prices were finally starting to hold firm, but many of the vintages that were setting price records on a daily basis had lost close to 50% of their value.

Starting with the 2012 vintage, Chateau Lafite Rothschild began instituting anti-counterfeiting measures. From 2012 forward, to help fight, rampant counterfeiting, the estate places a seal of authenticity on the capsules of both Lafite Rothschild and Carruades de Lafite. The seal features a unique, numbered code that can be checked on their website, to verify if the wine is real.

The 112 hectare vineyard of Chateau Lafite Rothschild is planted to 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. This shows a slight change in the vineyard.

While Cabernet Sauvignon remained at 70%, today there is slightly more Merlot, less Cabernet Franc and the Petit Verdot has been added since the mid 1990’s.

Located in the far north of the Pauillac appellation, only the small, Jalle de Breuil stream separates the vineyards from St. Estephe. You could divide the vineyards of Chateau Lafite Rothschild into three sections with 100 separate parcels in all. The estate has close to 50 hectares of vines located close to the Chateau, on both sides of the D2, which offers gentle rises in elevations of up to 27 meters. They also have about 50 hectares vines planted on the plateau in the Carruades sector, where they have two blocks of vines, one of which is inside the vineyard of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. It is interesting to note that even though the parcels in the Carruades sector give their name to the second wine of the estate, those vines are almost always placed in the Grand Vin.

There are also vines adjacent to, and interspersed with the vineyards of Chateau Duhart Milon. The property also consists of a smaller, 4.5 hectare parcel of vines located in the Saint Estephe appellation, “La Caillava”. The vines in St. Estephe are situated not that far from Cos d Estournel, which are located on a larger a parcel known as Blanquet. The vines in Saint Estephe are allowed to be placed into the wine of Chateau Lafite Rothschild because those vines were used to produce Lafite in 1885, at the time of the classification. The vineyards are close to their famous neighbor Mouton Rothschild.

Located just south of the Chateau, the best terroir of Lafite Rothschild has a thick layer of gravel with sand, clay, marl and limestone in the soils with rolling, gravel slopes. The gravel can be as deep as 4 meters in some parcels.
It is important to note that even though their vineyards are in the far north of Pauillac, most of the soil is pure gravel, rocks and stones. With more than 50% of the soil consisting of gravel, that is a large part of the reason Lafite Rothschild has such elegant, feminine textures and that coveted sensation of minerality.

On average, the vines are close to 40 years of age. However, Chateau Lafite Rothschild has much older vines. In fact, they have some vines that are more than 100 years of age planted in the La Graviere section. That small parcel of Merlot vines dates back to 1886. Less than 1% of the vines are that old.
Additionally, they have a small section of Cabernet Sauvignon that dates back to 1922! Other old vines range from 50 to 90 years of age! They also maintain some of the oldest Petit Verdot vines in the Medoc that was planted in the early 1930’s.

At Chateau Lafite Rothschild, between 1% to 1.5% of the vineyard is replanted every year. Vines less than 20 years of age are never included in the Grand Vin.

The vineyard of Chateau Lafite Rothschild is planted to a vine density that ranges from 7,500 to 8,500 vines per hectare. Only organic fertilizers are used in the vineyards of Lafite Rothschild.

During harvest, the goal is not to pick at the maximum level of ripeness. Instead, they are seeking a blend of grapes at differing levels of maturity, which gives the wine its unique textures, freshness, aromatic complexities and elegant sensations.

Lafite Rothschild is the largest of the First Growth vineyards with close to 112 hectares of vines. A large portion of the estate is taken up with stunningly, beautiful landscaping, lakes, trees and parkland.

At one point in time, Chateau Lafite Rothschild produced a dry white, Bordeaux wine that was sold as Vin de Chateau Lafite. The wine was produced from a large percentage of Semillon, blended with a small amount of Sauvignon Blanc. The last vintage for their white wine was 1960. The wine was sold as a generic AOC Bordeaux blanc with a simple, scripted label, black and white label.

Lafite vinification takes place in 66 vats that are a combination of 29 wood vats, 20 stainless steel tanks and 17 concrete vats that range in size from as small as 45 hectoliters up to 123 hectoliters in the concrete and as large as 270 hectoliters for the wood. The wide range of vat sizes coupled with different materials allow Chateau Lafite Rothschild to vinify depending on the needs of each specific parcel and grape variety. The stainless steel tanks and oak vats are used for Cabernet Sauvignon. The Merlot is vinified in the concrete tanks. Malolactic fermentation occurs in smaller, stainless steel tanks that vary in size from 25 hectoliters up to 60 hectoliters. At this point, Chateau Lafite Rothschild does not yet use gravity to move the fruit and juice in the cellar. It’s a good bet that a remodel is coming soon.

The average annual production of Chateau Lafite Rothschild ranges from 15,000 to 20,000 cases of wine per year, depending on the vintage. They of course make this second wine, Carruades de Lafite, which due to the name and association with the Grand Cru, has also become extremely collectible. Carruades de Lafite takes its name from a specific section of their vineyard that is located near Mouton Rothschild. Carruades is actually one of the older second wines in Bordeaux, as it was first produced in the mid 1850’s. About 100 years later during the mid 1960s, the estate reintroduced their second wine naming it Moulin de Carruades. The name was changed again in the 1980’s to Carruades de Lafite.

There is also a third wine which is sold as an AOC Pauillac that is produced from declassified fruit from Lafite Rothschild and Duhart-Milon.

The blend for Chateau Lafite Rothschild changes with each vintage depending on the character and quality of the vintage. Generally speaking, the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend ranges from 80% to 95%. Merlot is usually 5% to 20%. Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot usually varies from 0 to 5%.

— 6 years ago

Mark Freund

9.2

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm still battling a head cold so my tasting powers are sub-optimal...having said that, I liked the restraint, balance and texture of this wine. Should age gracefully. — 9 years ago

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

9.6

So, so, so good. Exactly the right amount of RS and screaming acid. 200-pound barbell on a tightrope. Oozes Chenin-y power: baked apples, beeswax, salt, honeysuckle, aged cheddar, and crushed white stone. Pinguets at the hight of his powers in a stellar vintage. Hope there are more in the pipeline like this. Demi-sec is my favorite style from the house and probably the most age-able table-wine style, as the Molleux are too sweet for anything but cheese, in general. Drink from now until the end of time. — 9 years ago

Drew Matich

9.3

This '04 is at the peak of its powers. — 10 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

My final bottle of 6 I bought on release and the best. Deep crimson in colour - quite dark for 19 years of age. Notes of violets and all the classic Cabernet descriptors of Bay leaf and cassis. On the palate a beautiful mature Cabernet blend at the peak of its powers. Really enjoyed this. Jancis Robinson MW compared this to Margaux. A tradition of female Wine making with Di Cullen as Winemaker from 1971 until 1989 when daughter Vanya took over and continues to this day. Consistently one of Margaret River’s better Cabernets. — 6 years ago

Pat A

9.5

Smells like fruit, tastes like dirt, long aftertaste. Love it for $23. Paired with Cas Soulet. But wine over powers food. — 7 years ago

Aaron Means

9.1

Super funky and delicious. Like Beaujolais and Priorat combined their powers for super human domination! — 7 years ago

Mike Lev

8.9

The vanilla over powers an otherwise fascinating and happy experience. — 7 years ago

Phil Ashton

9.2

BTW @Marc Stubblefield I notice these wines are now in NYC. Perhaps you could use your super-powers to get them to CA... — 8 years ago

Jesse Lowenstein

8.9

Decent showing, a nuance of jam that almost over powers the fruit and earth notes. — 8 years ago

Chris DeBarr

9.5

My first encounter with Walter Scott's Pinot Noir's under Michael Alberty's provenance at Storyteller. All 2014s. Temperance Hill was lean, austere, still a tightly wound chrysalis brooding with tobacco & sandalwood. The Clos de Oiseaux has released more fragrance, and had moved beyond the meditative sandalwood phase toward dark cherry and oolong tea, wishing for time to cure and unfurl its powers. Dumb Ox is that brilliant, precocious child: transparently true & deep, expressing fruit and earth effortlessly. Makes me think of all the places all of these very fine Pinots will go with time and some hard-earned peace, but we took the Dumb Ox! — 8 years ago

Elizabeth McGee

9.2

Nice, smooth, full flavor, cherries. — 8 years ago

with James

Sue Mohle

9.9

Could Washington state make any better wines? — 9 years ago

Kevin Fitzpatrick

9.2

This is the real Irish whiskey. Yum — 9 years ago

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

9.6

This wine is still one of the most off-the-wall delicious California wines I've ever had. I am required to order it any time I see it on a wine list because it basically doesn't exist. At 10.9% alcohol, you'd expect something wan and featherweight, but the 6+ months (I think) of skin contact have yielded a thought-provoking wine of profound character. Ganevat's sous voile wines come to mind in terms of vibrancy, but there's something much more friendly about it. The aromas center on this exotic tangerine and yuzu pithiness, backed up by floral jasmine, camomile, and white tea notes. There's a bit of tannin and a mildly acetic quality that reminds me of really great champagne vinegar. The acid kicks and powers a very long finish. There's something ineffable and polychromatic about this wine that defies definition. It's such a particular (possibly unrepeatable) marriage of people, vintage, grape variety and place. Full of frisson if you're ready to listen. Bravo, @Steve Matthiasson and Jill! — 9 years ago

Jeff Sidwell

Owner Bon! Gourmet

8.9

Tannin loaded — 10 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.2

From a restaurant list. Medium gold, heavy in the glass. The nose grabs your attention right away. Apricot, some peach, some stones, and a bit of honey. Rich in the mouth and with air the acidity powers up over a couple of hours. Some bruised apple and warm apricot notes developed. Overall, nice showing. — 6 years ago

Pauline Gibert

9.2

The dense garnet color reveals at sight the great potential of the wine. The nose offers intense aromas of ripe cherry and plum. Hints of tree moss and silky tannins makes the mouth complex, full bodied and rich. Opulent and elegant this great wine is ready to drink now or within 2 years but it has already gave all its secret powers. — 6 years ago

Tobin Trevarthen

9.5

Oh yeah. As Austin Powers would say - schwingggg. — 7 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.4

2011 vintage. At Au Fils du Zinc in Chablis. Fabian recommended this bottle over the more famed Les Clos 2011 as he thought it would be drinking better. And boy he was right. A very big wine, I would recommend serving it ever so slightly colder than normal to restrain the power in this wine. Medium golden hue. The wine has crushed rock chalkiness, honey blossom and plenty of ripe peach notes. On the palate, this wine explodes with power and ripeness, medium plus body and a very broad mid palate that coats your tongue. The acidity makes your lips smack and powers the very long citrus finish. Hugely impressive compared with my expectations. Really enjoyable particularly with the cheese I had for dessert. Drink now - doubt it can get much better from here. — 7 years ago

Richard Sohn

9.4

Ultimate example of Irish single pot still. Full bodied, sherried, oily. — 7 years ago

Shawn Thompson

9.0

Tropical fruit on the nose - ripe papaya candied. The palate was bright citrus on the approach followed by lingering floral finish. Little bit more acidic and lighter than we were expecting. — 8 years ago

Peter Heidt

9.0

Big fan of Powers and this doesn't disappoint... Bold with lingering red fruit... Pairing my steak perfectly... Colombia next stop... — 8 years ago

James Pendergrass

9.5

Full body with loads of dark berry fruit. Opaque in color. Elegant, structured and balanced. No one component over powers the other. An amazing bottle of wine. — 8 years ago

with Peter

Derek Stadnicki

9.0

Vanilla, raspberry, tar and smoke. Really nice syrah that is light and approachable but still offers some complexity. Would go nice with game birds or possibly grilled lamb — 8 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.2

Light gold. Bright in the glass. Initial nose like rich heavy CA Chardonnay which seems to be the vintage trait. But then with air it gains complexity and the nose narrows to river stone and honeysuckle. In the mouth its not Chablis like at first but then the acidity powers on with an hour of air. Great finish. Moving from primary to secondary notes at age 10. Good now. Can't wait to see where it goes in the future. — 9 years ago

Jim Reed

Fine Wine Room Manager Harbor View Wines and Liquors

9.5

Big and ripe, but pure with lots of currants. Love that the oak treatment compliments rather than over-powers. Really nice stuff — 9 years ago

Bill Bender

8.9

Clear light red in a pilsener glass, nose is bubbling cherry pie, tart crisp apple taste, not too sour. The sweetness over powers as you go along. Recommend a 4oz pour. — 9 years ago

Scott Frank

9.2

When 13s are on, they're on. Ripeness/acidity powers activate. — 9 years ago

Karyn Fricke

9.3

Deep red color, soft tannins, fruity nicely balanced. — 9 years ago