| Producer | Chateau Lafite Rothschild |
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| Country | France |
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| Region | Bordeaux |
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| Subregion | Pauillac |
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| Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot |
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| Vintage | 2018 |
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| Sku | 210000020698 |
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| Size | 1.5L |
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An immensely structured wine, this is complex, concentrated and yet so contained. The wine impresses with its balance, layers of succulent black-currant fruits and effortless style. A wine for the long term, it should not be touched before 2029. Cellar Selection
Wow. The aromas are so intense and refined at the same time, offering gorgeous blackcurrant, lead-pencil and orchid character. Such purity of fruit. Sleek and finely polished with a fine cut to the tannins that provide such grace and glamor. Yet, it’s got the power and structure to age for decades. On and on. Try after 2029.
Checking in as a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot, the 2018 Château Lafite-Rothschild is one of those magical Lafites that offers an already up-front, complex, nuanced style yet has the class and balance to evolve for 40-50 years. As always, this wine is never about sheer power, and the 2018 offers a full-bodied, incredibly elegant and weightless style that carries textbook blackcurrant fruits, lead pencil shavings, green tobacco, cedarwood, and camphor aromas and flavors. I compared this wine to a more elegant version of the 2016 from barrel and I think that comparison still holds. Incredibly up-front and charming, and already drinkable with sweet tannins, it will unquestionably pick up more complexity and nuance over the coming 4-6 years. It should hit maturity around age 10 and evolve for 75 years or more given its perfect balance. This is a beautiful, quintessential Lafite that exudes elegance and charm.
This stood out during en primeur, not just for itself but also in comparison to so many estates around it. While several properties had an unusual vintage, where their personalities were subverted by the weather conditions, Lafite just continued being Lafite, a true mark of its character and its terroir. This is still of course extremely young, keeping its cards close to its chest; the power for now is hidden, waiting, and will slowly unveil. This is going to be a beautiful Lafite in the future, a brilliant wine with bilberry, slate and pencil lead character, and a eucalyptus mint wash. Drinking Window 2028 - 2050
The 2018 Lafite Rothschild is blended of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% Merlot and 0.5% Petit Verdot and has 13.3% alcohol. The Merlot was harvested September 17-24, the Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested September 25 to October 5, and the Cabernet Franc was harvested on September 24. It has a deep purple-black color and then WOW—what a nose. It comes sashaying out of the glass with bags of grace and perfume, revealing notions of lilacs, red roses, fragrant soil, cinnamon stick and Morello cherries with a core of blackcurrant cordial, fresh black plums, redcurrant jelly and tapenade plus a waft of iron ore. Medium-bodied, the palate has wonderful, tightly wound layers of black, red and blue fruits intermingled with floral, earth and mineral notions and a rock-solid frame of the most finely pixelated tannins you can possibly imagine. Anyone who wants to see what I mean when I babble about the Lafite tannins needs to try this benchmark. The finish goes on, and on, and on. If this wine doesn’t get Bordeaux lovers hearts' racing, nothing will.
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