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| | Vintage | 1999 |  Label 1 of 1054 
 | | Type | Red | | Producer | Château Lafite Rothschild (web) | | Variety | Red Bordeaux Blend | | Designation | n/a | | Vineyard | n/a | | Country | France | | Region | Bordeaux | | SubRegion | Médoc | | Appellation | Pauillac | | UPC Code(s) | 018138415528, 055287997505, 087000330962, 1000000000121, 3364420017633, 3419466188103, 3700274110807, 400005047831, 400007438989, 802236000102, 9300633425111 |
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.4 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 176 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by A Glass of Red on 3/15/2024 & rated 94 points: decanted 2+ hours. very nice but not an exceptional vintage. served with grilled Veal Chops and mushroom risotto. (655 views) | | | Tasted by d.f.c on 2/9/2024 & rated 93 points: Drank this in a blind drinking party, it was the third to last one after 99 Latour, 98 Haut Brion, 99 Mouton and before 99 Margaux and 98 La Mission HB. Very distinguishable taste, light and smooth. (967 views) | | | Tasted by Rpfe on 12/25/2023 & rated 93 points: decanted 4 hours beforehand.Smooth and silky and at it's apogee.A well made and balanced wine which will continue to drink well for another 5-10 years. (1391 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 10/19/2023 & rated 93 points: Opened and decanted an hour+ before serving. Plum and black cherry with cigarbox notes. Good+ weight, very good balance when poured (less harmonious when first tasted pre-decant). (2873 views) | | | Tasted by fcxj on 10/9/2023 & rated 90 points: Austere. (2304 views) | | | Tasted by Tao on 9/20/2023 & rated 97 points: Silky smooth palate with gigantic amounts of high quality, classy, leathery dark fruits! The tannins are almost all gone but still showing some kind of youthfulness, maybe approaching the peak of early maturity! Definitely, no hurry to drink it up! (2057 views) | | | Tasted by vinolovers on 9/8/2023 & rated 90 points: Very dark coloring when poured. Fading dark fruits, supplemented with tobacco, leather, chocolate and graphite. Monolithic when first poured, it opened revealing a smooth mature Bordeaux, although it seemed as if brooding tannins still lurked in the background. (1614 views) | | | Tasted by beatles on 7/21/2023 & rated 94 points: Mature, drinking a point today, even if served a little bit too warm.. Tobacco, black berries, cigarbox, sweet, inegrated tannin, textbook style.
#BillionairesLunch#Hjorts (2348 views) | | | Tasted by docdavid on 11/20/2022 & rated 91 points: Dark ruby color floral nose
Mildly disappointed but still complex with cedar graphite and cassis
For a 95 rated wine I thought it would be richer and denser (3582 views) | | | Tasted by moorewine3 on 11/4/2022 & rated 95 points: Excellent double decanted 1 hour ahead of time and consumed with a filet mignon dinner (3091 views) | | | Tasted by dalemosier on 10/6/2022 & rated 94 points: decanted for 2 hours (3452 views) | | | Tasted by GBFan on 8/20/2022 & rated 93 points: A very nice wine, but not a great Lafite. This bottle has held up very well over 23 years. It was a pretty big Bordeaux with an attractive nose and lots of fruit. But it lacked complexity and frankly, if I had not known what it was, I would not have recognized it as Lafite. I have now had three elite Bordeaux from the 1999 vintage -- this, Latour and Palmer. The Palmer was not as big as the others but was the clear winner. (3634 views) | | | Tasted by thebonnydooner on 7/29/2022 & rated 95 points: Wonderful wine. First first growth and was not disappointed. Drank from a Reidel Grand cru bordeaux glass but did not decant. To be honest this did not move that much over the course of 4-5 hours. Medium to full bodied, nice intensity on the nose. Lots of earthy bordeaux complexity - some plum, currants, dark cherry - but the overall impression is one of supreme balance - nothing was out of whack and everything was very well integrated - tannins and acidity and fruit. This did not decline over 4-5 hours - but was drinking well from the first go. (3529 views) | | | Tasted by kassim10 on 7/8/2022 & rated 91 points: Was hoping this one wasn't past its prime, so opened it at 23 years. In retrospect it probably could have aged another 6 years. Still it was very exciting to taste one of the rare Bordeaux Premier Cru. Clearly my palate needs more training. It was definitely smooth, well balanced and enjoyable, alas not the best wine I have ever tasted. Certainly one of the most expensive ones I have ever had. (2428 views) | | | Tasted by dream on 3/30/2022 & rated 94 points: In the Lafite Vertical, this held its own and showed beautifully. This is a medium-bodied, elegant and softer styled Lafite but it's gorgeous tonight and great for near term drinking. Seductive with delicious flavors of lead pencil and sweet gravel and a flowing, silky texture. A very pretty Lafite and it's so well balance that there's no rush to drink it. 94+ (3406 views) | | | Tasted by mmkatz on 3/10/2022: Consumed with David to celebrate 21. (3012 views) | | | Tasted by dalemosier on 12/18/2021 & rated 95 points: Drank with friends at big Christmas dinner. Decanted 2 hours. Silky smooth, extremely well balanced. Best wine of 3 other great big reds (3640 views) | | | Tasted by Jon Gash on 11/16/2021 & rated 95 points: What can I say. I’ve had this bottle in my cellar for 17 years. It was very very nice. (3828 views) | | | Tasted by DrZett on 5/29/2021 & rated 94 points: Medium garnet colored with soft brownish edges. In the nose soft notes of ripe red berries and lots of truffle, forest floor and mushrooms. On the palate ripe strawberries, soft cassis, ripe red cherries, mushrooms, wet forest floor and elegant oaky notes. Medium bodied with a medium intense and for a 22 years old wine quite lively acidity. Tannins are completely integrated and leave an elegant silky touch on your tongue. Great depth and complexity - beautiful tertiary notes. Beautiful overall balance. Very long and fine finish.
A great example for a beautifully aged first growth which is showing all its elegance after 22 years.
Drink now until 2028. No need to aerate the wine in my opinion, just let it breathe in the glass and in the bottle. Not the best Lafite I had but definitely a very good one. It’s always a nice experience to try a bottle of the big five from Bordeaux. (IG) (4874 views) | | | Tasted by rinnocenzi on 4/18/2021 & rated 95 points: Great wine with great fruit and minerality. Tasting great right now (4305 views) | | | Tasted by William Kelley on 3/4/2021 & rated 93 points: The 1999 Château Lafite Rothschild is entering adolescence and beginning to show very well after an hour in the decanter. Offering up aromas of rich dark fruit mingled with cigar ash, loamy soil, cedar wood, spices and notable but not overbearing hints of the stables. Medium to full-bodied, muscular and concentrated, with lively acids and still rather youthfully assertive tannins, the 1999 is quite typical of this era chez Lafite, having recaptured the power and intensity of the estate's pre-1960 vintages but without their elegance. Where it not for the overt brettanomyces (which I suspects dries out the finish as well as muddling the aromas) I'd be inclined to score it a touch higher. (7080 views) | | | Tasted by Sean Tay on 2/17/2021 & rated 99 points: Pronounced nose intensity with notes of meat, cassis, blackfruits, wet forest, flora, high acidity, medium+ tannin, complex. Decant 90 min. (4147 views) | | | Tasted by MarshallLi on 2/7/2021 & rated 96 points: Medium ruby,medium(+) rose,red cherry,red plum,blackberry,green bell pepper,eucalyptus,ripe fruit,cloves,charred wood,wet leaves,hazelnut,dry,high acidity,smooth medium(+) tannin,low alcohol,medium(+) body,very long finish,outstanding wine,suitable for bottle ageing. Very good balance (3852 views) | | | Tasted by Costes76 on 2/6/2021 & rated 99 points: Deep ruby color. Deep brooding and complex perfumery aroma of black fruits, potpourri, wet forest floor and espresso. Dry, bright but rounded acidity, ultra velvet tannins, taste of blackberry, blackcurrant, vanilla and hint of mushroom. Full body. Great balance. Long lush finish. 99. (3160 views) | | | Tasted by popopdrops on 12/24/2020 & rated 91 points: Dekantert. Starter litt stum, men tar seg herlig sammen. Ikke åpenbart stor, men god. (2852 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Charles Curtis MW
Decanter, Château Lafite Rothschild: 1986-2010 vertical tasting (3/1/2022)
(Château Lafite Rothschild, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, A Century of Bordeaux: The Nines (Sep 2019) (9/1/2019)
(Lafite-rothschild Lafite-rothschild Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (5/24/2018)
(Ch Lafite Pauillac Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jane Anson
Decanter, Lafite 150th birthday (5/23/2018)
(Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (6/25/2009)
(Ch Lafite Pauillac Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Kapon
Vintage Tastings, An Evening of Lafite-Rothschild (8/15/2005)
(Lafite-Rothschild) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (1/1/2004)
(Ch Lafite Pauillac Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2000, IWC Issue #90
(Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (8/8/2009)
(Château Lafite Rothschild) Dark red violet color with pale meniscus; berry, menthol and plum nose; tart plum cassis and menthol palate; long finish 93+ pts. 93 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (5/13/2009)
(Château Lafite Rothschild) Gorgeous nose, mushroom, tobacco, with class; tasty, tart plum, cassis and mineral palate with savory edge; medium-plus finish 93 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (1/18/2008)
(Château Lafite Rothschild) Dark red violet color; earthy, shitake mushroom nose; tasty cassis, currant, with depth and a touch of menthol; long finish 93 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Decanter and Vinous and JancisRobinson.com and Vintage Tastings and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Château Lafite Rothschild Producer website – Read more about Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Vineyards map on weinlagen-infoRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanMédoc Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the Medoc
VdB
The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines.Pauillac Read more detailed information about Pauillac Looking full onto the river from the earliest days, with an important port activity, traces of which go back to ancient times (shipment of bronze as long ago as 2000 B.C.), Pauillac's life has always been intimately linked to the history of wine. Although port activities were at the root of its prosperity, Pauillac had to wait until the eighteenth century when Bordeaux ceased to hold its privileged position to become a wine port. The town then became the natural outlet for the wine production of neighbouring cantons before reaching its zenith in a period when the vineyards were exceptionally prosperous.
The characteristic of the Pauillac terroir is its exceptional relief: the many undulating ridges make it unique morphologically speaking. Highly favourable conditions facilitate the dissection of the layer of gravel. This thin, Garonne gravel from whose very poverty springs great richness, has an extremely effective natural drainage.
With their velvet red colour with a hint of amber, the wines from the Pauillac appellation, full-bodied and rich in tannin, are vigorous. Powerful when young, their aromas of red fruits (black-currant, raspberry) or flowers (violets, roses, irises) melt with the passing of time into a bouquet which is long in the mouth.
Rich and complex, the wines of Pauillac deserve to be laid down for a little longer.
Production conditions (Decree dated November 14, 1936)
In order to have the right to the Pauillac appellation of controlled origin, red wines must:
- come from the commune of Pauillac and from precisely defined parcels in the communes of Cissac, Saint-Julien, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Sauveur, "excluding the parcels situated on recent alluvium and sand on impermeable subsoils",
- satisfy precise production conditions : grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare). |
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