Decanted both wine at 1 hour, Lafite nose is impressive, with notes of flora, mushroom, spices, toast, charr wood. While Latour have notes of forest floor, spices, smoke, toast, slight barnyard.
After 2 hours of decanting. Lafite remain the same. However Latour open up and the slight barnyard had dissipated. And personally felt Latour is the better between two.
Both wine still have long years ahead, can keep.
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Charming, elegant soft, silky, and fresh, this was quite a nice surprise. The fruits are ripe, refined, sweet, and vibrant. Medium-bodied, with a true sense of class and regal character, this is all about its charming style. No decanting needed, just pop pour and enjoy. Drink from 2024-2034.
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A celebration of 1983: From 3L. This wasn't showing much and felt backwards throughout the night with some fruit and leather flavors on the nose. A bit thin and not that interesting on the palate. Medium finish. By far the least impressive Bordeaux tonight.
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Igjen en vakker Lafite med sin noble, sentimentale og elegante stil. Nesten hvitvins aktig syrefriskhet i munn. I sin egen klasse når det gjelder kompleksitet, ingenting som spriker, alt står i balanse. Vinen viser klare toner av solbær, luksus tobakk, balsamiske toner og hint av kjøtt. Drikker flott nå.
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Very strange VA on this bottle, the first of 12 I have opened. Hoped it would blow over with time but it did not. Not drinkable. Very hopeful this is an isolated issue.
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Wonderful pencil shaving aromas here, earhty elements as well with tobacco and mushrooms. The palate was on the drying side already, so better drink this up if you have a bottle left. Aromas 96, palate 94
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Best bottle (Restaurant Lion's, Stuttgart): *** brief notes for my memory, no detailed tasting notes. Wines tasted blind if not noted otherwise *** Decanted a few hours before. Clear, deep tawny-garnet color. Clean, deep, fine, elegant nose of an aged BDX with fine tobacco and leather, but also some harsh green notes. On the palate very elegant, good balance, elegant, rather feminine. Some green pepper, hints of red fruit. Good acidity. Lacks a bit of complexity and pressure on the palate. Drink now. 90-91 I was so surprised to see, what it was. Thanks’ to the noble donor!
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Drinking well, geosmin initially on the nose, still a little closed. Seems a little lite on the palette. Just opened. Cork saturated. Left bank nose and palette, still needs to open up more. *2nd night cherry on the palette, nose is not showing much.
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purple, leather, animal, game, velvet. Medium body. I could taste ocean, sea water in the finish. after aeration, it's getting more salty, earthy with more dried grass.
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From an OWC of 3. A slight touch of funk for the first poured but quickly blew away. Very fresh and complex, just entering the maturity and in the perfect spot to drink. Dried and fresh flowers, sweet tobacco, light capsicum and cedar with a lot of small berries. It is intense and deep, but never powerful, as what I'm expecting from Lafite -> Elegance. Layer and layer of flavours, silky smooth on the palate with excellent freshness and very satisfying mid palate depth and length. A great matured Claret.
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Stored well for 30 years, cork just beginning to go soft in the last inch. An elegant wine with tobacco, vanilla, and cherries on the nose. Smooth, maybe a little light and drinking well.
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Coronavirus Denial; 3/1/2020-5/31/2020: Pure black cherry from glass to nose to palate, notes of tobacco and exotic spice underneath. Very feminine, light and elegant, just a bit hot through the finish. Barely enough structure remains to keep this lively. This bottle was enjoyable with food, but past its prime.
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Stored in a cold cellar since release. Cork very tight. Fill just below cork.Perfect condition. Restrained bouquet. Deep colour with some red. Needed plenty of air to open out. Good depth of flavour with excellent balance Still some tannin. However lacks finesse and elegance. No real complexity in fact rather one dimensional. At least 10 years of life ahead but seems unlikely it will improve though to predict the future of claret is always hazardous!
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Aromas of wet clay and graphite with plum. So pure and clean and precise. Pitch perfect, this bottle was served by a generous friend who had purchased it on release. This was one of the best, if not the best, Lafite I can recall.
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The 1983 Lafite Rothschild is drinking nicely today, offering an eloquent graphite and earth of Pauillac. Good richness with mild tobacco and a smudge of green notes. Detectable heat from the rich blooded plums and prunes. Fleshy red fruits, pencil lead. Medium bodied with graceful smoke and elegant cigar box of a textbook Lafite. However, the fruits are one dimensional with a muddled black tea note. (89/100)
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We were worried for a little while that the bottle was flawed.
Decanted. Cork was intact but saturated 3/4. Capsule was missing.
Smelled a bit funky and faintly moldy at first in a questionable way. I even asked the Somm to take a taste just to confirm. She felt it might be sleeping. It blew off after about an hour in decanter. It opened up and both nose and palate became more enjoyable, however, not for what either of us expected, and given what probably was retail price. It was drinkable, in an old tired wine way, fruit, tannins, acidity still there, subdued. It tasted a bit tired but not dead yet. Pleasant enough finish. Huge difference from when it was first open Fun to try and enjoy from a memory standpoint more than a mind blowing wine experience.
This bottle was pulled out of an auction lot and the capsule was missing so very possible something external happened along the way to affect quality and eligibility for sale. It was stored in a wine fridge for a bunch of years. Label was ripped up. I tried a 1990 a few years ago and it was quite special. This was not anywhere near that experience, but could also be the vintage. I did visit the chateau and a memory I will never forget so adding this empty to my collection!
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The wine looks garnet colored. It smells like blackberry, blueberry, black currant (cassis), forest floor, toast, coffee, cedar, vanilla, black pepper and cinnamon.
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A musty nose which blows off, and initially quite austere before it relaxes and evolves in the glass. I would imagine this wine would have been hugely frustrating to drink it is youth, but it has been worth the wait. Another beautifully fine-boned Lafite, with a seamless palate and impeccable balance and gravitas, with graphite lead pencils, berries and wafting smoke. You begin to understand the magic of Lafite is how it evolves in the glass. Another glorious bottle
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to remove the more than 30 years old cork was a heavy task; plum red, no brick; not much nose, some herbs; very smooth on the palate, interesting fruit; very pleasurable, drink now; decanted for one hour
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Lovely nose of black currants, lead pencil and woodsmoke. Rather lean but really improved with air and food and showed classic Lafite flavors of liquid lead pencil, cedar and dark berries. Finishes with beautiful Bordeaux flavors of graphite minerals and roasted nuts. Quite mature with slightly astringent tannins and medium-complexity but still delicious old silky Bordeaux that’s a joy to drink with charred Denver-cut steaks. The high-toned character suggests this needs to be drunk and will soon decline. Out of a perfect Magnum.
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What a treat. Classic vintage Bordeaux. Medium ruby/garnet color. Major rim variation. Very earthy and old world nose. Faint to mild nose of dark fruits and flowers. Low tannin/acid. Low to medium alcohol. Long finish. Paired perfectly with filet mignon. Beyond peak. Ready to drink. Agree with the CT window for drinking. Probably not more than 2-3 years in bottle left. Wonderful experience.
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No lightening or browning at the edges, red purple true and clear. What a magnificent wine confirming 1983 as a vintage with legs and class. This bottle rich and balanced mouth feel is a remarkable Lafite hopping over the 85, 88,01,02,99, and 04. Blackberry, black plums, cassis, cedar, and cherries, merge with smooth and silky balanced tannins, subtle smoke wafting from the fall forest, sweet cigar, and garden herbs. A wonderful surprise as we savored my last bottle of this special wine.
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Lafite Vertical: From magnum. The vintage I was most looking forward to. A lovely wine, that showed as classic Lafite. Yes it's softer and lighter than it once was, but overall this is a wine you could sit and sip all afternoon.
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Medium to dark garnet. Expressive, complex and elegant nose of barnyard, graphite, cedar, leather and cherries. Medium-bodied with soft tannins and perfect balance. Long aftertaste. Surprisingly good, exceeded my expectations given the reputation of the vintage. At peak right now. Thankfully, lesser vintages reach their peak within a human's life span, unlike great vintages that need ages to get there.
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Translucent garnet colored. Graceful mature nose with barnyard notes which became less obvious as time went by. Silky tannins, very fine texture, understated flavors. An immensely drinkable claret at the peek of its maturity.
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Bordeaux 1983 Horizontal; 8/4/2014-6/11/2019: Superb cork for a change. Gave this a four hour decant, which turned out to be a very good move. Initially it was very reticent, but with time it filled out beautifully.
Showing its age somewhat- translucent with a little bricking. On the nose blackberries, tobacco, soy sauce, plums, damp earth, molasses, graphite. A saline component which freshens things up a bit. A tinge of bonfire and even eucalyptus. Plenty going on, but not a powerhouse.
Like the '53 though, this is remarkably sweet and rich in the mouth. It's not a heavy wine, so in the end it's nicely poised despite the sweetness. Tannins are fully resolved, but perhaps drying out a little. Finishes with a subtle kiss of acidity which lingers for perhaps a fraction less time than I would like.
Overall though this is a class act, but it needs drinking now. I will be tasting the other four Premiers Crus over the next few months, so it will be interesting to see how they compare.
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Chateau Lafite Rothschild - 20 year vertical blind tasting (Fribourg): Tasted blind. Medium-dark ruby. Nose of red fruit, cherries and herbs de Provence. Quite ripe on the palate, then followed by some barnyard. Unfortunately this developed more and more a TCA note as it sat in the glass, so rating was withheld in the end. Group rank # 19/20. Readiness: Mature.
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Cepages Bordeaux Tasting (North End Grill; New York City): Drank at our Cepage bordeaux tasting alongside an 83 Mouton and 86 Leo Barton. None were decanted, though this wine could have used it. Lots of cedar & lead pencil both on the nose and palate. Still decent fruit level, but more dominated by tertiary elements. Chalky tannins, and lighter bodied than I would have thought. Also, at first, it seemed a bit green or stemmy (cab franc influence), but as it sat in glass, it opened and changed, and became noticeably more approachable, demonstrating wonderful complexity, balance and elegance. Quite an interesting wine that, after it had opened and sat in glass for some time, showed why this is such a great chateaux. Note I bought this wine at auction long ago and it held up pretty well in the cellar, though was a bit short on fruit.
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Somewhat subdued nose of tertiary stony wet soil, drying cranberries, and medicinal notes of echinacea and menthol. Palate is drying out quite a bit with stewed red berries. Tertiary notes of ceramic, rust, and iron intermittent. Tannins are friendly but the mouthfeel overall is a little tough and astringent. Tired and tight relative to the '70 & '75 enjoyed in the flight.
Youthful and mature...Is the best way to describe this experience with this wine...Its like when summer and fall meet in one day... Clear maturity showing antiqued red berries, pencil shavings,with jubilant vigor! Still fresh and long...I believe that this is where storage condition are key..
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Opened two hours before dinner. Cork was quite damp and a bit crumbly even though stored in temperature-controlled cellar since purchase in 1985. Notes of cedar and cassis, although restrained.
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red with slightly more orangy rim. medium to high intensity of complex aromas of oak, flower petals, high acidity, somered fruits, length is a bit limited, disappointing on palate.
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Bordeaux dinner - first growths, blancs and d'Yquem. Bottle, fill and cork all good. This was breathing for about 8 hours before dinner. A very substantial wine - cedar, red fruits, earth. Seems quite young. Should last a few more decades and will likely improve.
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This is always a wine to make me ponder... It is definitely always dry and cedar-like. But then pretty iron imbued red fruit comes out... I never relish it but I always like to drink the wine. It is a "handsome', intellectual wine. One that I would never seek out on its own, but one that I don't mind drinking from my cellar, or would use in a LR vertical.
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Probably should not have opened this yet. While it was very elegant, and well balanced, it was still tightly wound and not showing what it probably will someday. My last bottle is going into long term storage and try it again in 10-15 years. I think it's going to be wonderful when it comes out in full bloom.
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With the prices Chateau Lafite Rothschild fetches these days, it's a wine I seldom see at tastings anymore. This is a beautiful example of a 30 year old Lafite, with its cedar chest, tobacco, stone, cassis and cranberry filled nose. Medium bodied, with a finesse to the tannins and silky texture to the fruit, this is what Pauillac is all about.
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This was as good as could reasonably be expected...maybe a bit better. (Opened and decanted for one hour, then returned to bottle for 2+ hours before drinking.) When first opened, the wine showed quite linear, with an iron streak running through it. As it took on air, the wine gained volume, and the structure softened very nicely. The acid was ever-present, but the tannins were nicely in the background, giving this wine a resolved feeling. Cool red fruit, pencil shavings, and nice mineral notes merged very well. Well into secondary nuances...primary long gone. Mouthfeel was elegant - nice purity. This could probably hold, but I don't think one could expect improvement at this point.
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No formal notes. The was opened and decanted for one hour, then returned to bottle for 2+ hours before drinking. Beautiful and feminine compared to the '83 LLC. Soft and silky on the palate with just a bit of powdery tannins left. Nice acidity with solid length. Like the LLC, this is very classic, yet shows much more of a silky and velvety profile. This is drinking perfectly right now. Outstanding.
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Start with a beautiful scent of flower. The first is nothing. After second sip, feel the powerful in this bottle. Well balanced. A bit salty. Good finished.
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Parfymert, klassisk blyantkvess og sedertre. Deilig søtlig frukt. Mer røde frukter fremfor solbær. Luktene kommer lag på lag, og skifter mellom hver gang jeg løfter glasset.
Finkornede moderate tanniner og bra syre. Tanninene fremstår som superelegante, og er med på å gi vinen en helt fantastisk munnfølelse. Dette er Julia Roberts på flaske. Smal og elegant i munnen, veldig lang.
Etter en kort stund i glasset kommer det inn tydelig grus og mineraler, frukten er enda (om ikke mer) parfymert. Litt hvit pepper i finishen. For meg er dette en gjerne drikk nå vin, men holder selvsagt mye lengre. Etter ca 15-20 min i glasset tydelig gult tørt høy.
Trekk for manglende konsentrasjon (litt høy avkastning?) og litt ”spinkel”.
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SN and AN drank this at the Oval room on a beautiful Satyurday night, sitting outdoors. We started with incredibly delicious asparagus soup - paired with 1997 Latour Corrtn Charlemagne, followed by an awesome shrimp dish that we shared. The Corton was quite mature and slightly carmelized, but very delicious,. Steve then had duck and AN had truffle pasta (STeve wins for best order) with the Lafite. The bottle was perfect and the wine inside it au pointe. It was elegant, old world earthy with some fruit, and soft tannins.
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First impression prior to a decant was a bit muted. After a 5 hour decant it came to life. A wonderful nose, I had a hard time pulling my nose out of the glass to drink. It was smooth as silk, cherries and blackberries on the palate. No rough edges, the tannins seemed to drop out. I enjoyed the first enough I decided to pop the second.
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Nose: sweet flowers, leather, cigar box, and lots of fruit amber in color taste: smooth, complex, with various layers of old Bordeaux qualities. Slight port like with the sweetness. Very tasty and good, not muted like some younger Bordeaux I've had
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good purpur; nose of cherry and fruit; on the palate very dominant acids, shallow even watery; doesn't improve later after decanting, on the palate realy sour, absolutely no tannins, backbone is missing completely; a huge disappointment; bottle looked perfect, bottom neck, very nice cork.
Chateau Lafite-Rothschild 1983 ... a Chateau with this reputation must have better corks. This cork was really bad. Too much money going down the drain. Shame on you Eric! Shame on you!! I had great expectations on this bottle!
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Deep garnet. Mature nose with intense aromas of black forest fruit, loads of cedar, ink, licorice, dried tomatoes and saltiness. Even hints of ...iodine. Nice fine texture on the palate, still tannic with bitter finish. Fine wine but not what I'd expect from a first growth, slightly off aromas of tomato, saltiness and iodine would be welcome by another wine but not from Lafite.
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No formal notes. Satisfying nose of dark fruit and cassis, rich and concentrated on the palate but slightly lean as compared with 1990 Latour, Angelus and Clinet which followed! Still a very good wine.
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Mmm, this is fantastic. Such amazing aromatics combining graphite, cigar smoke, fresh herbs, leather, cassis and red fruits into one incredible scent - I could have kept smelling this through most of the evening if it didn't taste as great with a sense of power and finesse in the mouth and fantastic length.
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somewhat disappointing; this is a solid, fully ripe, classic Paulliac, but compared to the 1996 Duhart-Milon (Rothschild) which I had in parallel this is much less expressive; certainly not worth the price it is currently traded.
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It becomes one of me favorite vintage for Lafite. The 1983 is not much in Lafite aroma because of its fruity scent but it's very beautiful combination. Compares with 1986, that's too much fruity scent overloaded.
1983, The medium to full-bodied, good balance, beautiful texture, well-made, mild-blowing palate.
And the 96/100 score comes from the affect of its sensational long finished. Deep in the heart, killing me softly with its movement, tender and tempting.
2.30 hours passed by...hints of strong medical aroma, then becomes mild cassis intermixed with fruit and tea leaf...such a dramatic layers.
After 3.30 hours, it's getting more structure seem like a little bit too young so, next time, we better finish it within 3 hours.
Drink beautifully now - 2025..............................96-97/100................................
Dedicated to Angelica K. ( Her Birthyear Wine )
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Decanted at 4:45 for sediment, tasted, rebottled and set aside for dinner (approx 4.5 hours at cellar temp). Initial reaction was massive relief. The cork had been forced a quarter inch into the bottle by a curious friend the night before, moving up my schedule for drinking this one. Cork was unsalvageable and had to be forced (though it didn't require much) into the bottle. Deep garnet, no mentionable bricking, modest sediment, fine grained tannins and plum. Saddle leather and smoke. Around 10 (1 hour after pouring) raspberry and leather, asian spice, cedar and cigar box. Really gorgeous color, again no real bricking. Wet earth, strawberry and iron. Eventually rose petals and a deepening raspberry with hints of cocoa and pencil shavings.
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Hans Kruger Classic (Suite 100): From magnum. Still quite youthful. Sweet fruit, cherry and cassis as well as pain grille, and sweet oak. Lots of pencil lead as it opens up. Very dusty, huge tannins up front. Coffee and chocolate covered cherries, tobaco, and earth. Almost a dirty finish with dusty tannins and toasty wood. Interesting how youthful this shows from magnum, yet has a lot of complexity already. Nicely balanced.
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WIMPS Bordeaux offline - table 1 (The Ledbury, Notting Hill, London): Stunning complex nose - focussed tea tree oil then coconut husk notes set to a gentle fruit background. Palate doesn't quite match seeming relatively light. Fades after a while to become more classic pencil nose. Palate fills out a little with time. Don't quite know what to make of this ultimately. Very tasty though.
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Now mind you, I don't have much to base this off of, as I have never had a Lafite before, but I have to say, this was really good, especially for a so called off-vintage. We weren't really expecting much but this really surprised us. Popped the cork and it was in absolute perfect condition, to the point where I wondered if this was recorked at the winery. It was absolutely perfect. Dark garnett center leading to a pinkish color around the rim. Nose of Leather, farm and lead pencil (so many people say this, and I could smell it, but I didn't really say anything until my wife said that she should smell it, as I didn't want to influence her in any way.) Just a wonderful wine all around, still somehwat powerful, and it evolved beautifully over the next two hours to include unsmoked cigar and slight cedar on the nose. Tannins were very well integrated and the finish was long. Good wine.
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I was shocked to see that this vintage is averaging over $400 at auction. I had this from a perfectly stored bottle which was bought on release by my father. Upon opening, we thought the wine was shot. Nose and taste of vinegar. We decided to just leave it alone for a few hours. When we came back to it, we were pleasantly surprised. A dark garnet fading to a nice ruby rim. Notes of saddle leather and strong lead pencil shavings. dark fruits abound. The tannins were still pretty prevelant. 20+ second finish. My first taste of Lafite, and the lead pencil descriptors are dead on. A wonderful bottle, but not worth $400+ IMO.
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Skinner Spring Auction Reception (Boston, MA): Dark garnet color. Nose of dark fruits, lead pencil. Palate of blackberries, stewed cassis, spice, minerals. Soft tannins. Nice but not spectacular.
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A superb looking bottle with a very high fill received as a gift today. Very ripe, open nose of lead pencil, dark olives and sweet dark fruits. Medium to full-bodied with distinct flavors of lead pencil, slate, dark black rasberries and smoky earth. The finish is lengthy and complex with black minerals along with tar and graphite-laden tannins. This vintage seems to be maturing slowly and I would expect it to still improve over the next 10 years or so. Has all the classic flavors of Lafite but possesses a slightly green note and lacks some of the elegance and finesse typical of this stupendous vineyard. Still a joy to drink.
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Unbelievably bright fruit on the nose. Cedar, tobacco, and graphite/pencil lead on the palate. This is fully mature, but I don't think there's any need to rush to drink these. Should hold for several more years. Excellent bottle.
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Bordeaux on the Hudson (Peter Pratt's Inn): An good, structured wine that was somewhat outclassed by its company. The gentle nose of graphite and cedar showed a bit of underlying cassis that took some coaxing to unearth. There was an underlying power to the palate with interesting mature flavors, but it really crossed the line into lean territory. What fruit it did show was thrown off by a little sour cherry element that sort of killed it for me. A little more sweetness to the fruit would have made this a complete wine. It was interesting sensually and elegant as hell, yet just a hint underripe and slightly astringent on the finish. With other wines, you'd excuse the lack of perfection, but nobody remembers who came in tenth at the Olympics.
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The wine was closed and uninteresting upon opening. After an hour, it began to open and display earthy tones with modest fruit. All in all, a bit of a disappointment. Based on this bottle, I would drink up sooner rather than later.
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Quite a lovely and charming Lafite. Notes of mint predominate while the wine displays a notably earthy core. Finish shows quite powdery tannins. Perfectly mature now and ready to drink.
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Dinner with England, Manlin, and Others (Brad's House): Decanted about one hour, and then delayed another hour until dinner. This wine smelled great from the moment the cork was pulled. The nose showed a penetrating smoke and some earthiness. The color was a concentrated dark red. The attack showed nice red fruit, but the mid-palate and the finish fell flat. Further time in the decanter did not seem to improve this defect. A very nice wine, but not the match for this company.
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Sniffing this doesn't reveal much of anything, but some of the characteristics that typically manifest themselves in the aroma of Lafite have amalgamated into the flavors here. Mild cigar-box flavors complement delicate fruit encompassing cherries and apples. The theme here is delicacy as the first immediate sensation on tasting is the buttery-smooth texture. The tannin becomes more assertive with air, but so does the tobacco; the first sip was the most fine, but I think the last sip was best. :(
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Drank from bottle. It really didn't need decanting time to open up, and I was concerned that it might decline with a lot of air.
Ruby colored, and totally clear. Really nice nose of cherries and some raspberry. Lots of fruit left in this baby, and a bit tannic as well. On the palate, very smooth and silky, though a bit lighter in body than I would have expected. Relatively low acidity. Decent finish, but not really long by any means.
I think now is probably a good time to drink this, but it could go for at least a few more years. I definitely don't feel bad about cracking it open now, even though it's the only bottle I have (and my only '83 dry red wine).
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A disappointment. At first it just seemed very tight with promise. But fruits never really came to the forefront; none of the lead pencil stuff. It died in the glass, came back again, but was mostly left with tannins. I doubt this will improve with cellaring.
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1982-83-89 Bordeaux at Masa's in San Francisco: Slightly darker in color than the Cheval Blanc, this shows a volatile nose of cassis, leather, spice, and even a touch of mint. The nose seems to decline a bit after 15 or so minutes, but then regains some of its power with more time. In the mouth, quite elegant and delineated, but medium bodied at best, with drying tannins emerging clearly on the finish. I don't see this having sufficient fruit to overcome those dry tannins, so I would drink up now. Least impressive of the flight.
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Bright dark ruby. Sweet cherries on the nose. Initially the wine showed some sweet fruit on the palate but the fruit faded and the tannins dominated. I would consume these soon because I don’t think there is enough fruit to out live the astringent tannins.
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This flight suffered after the big Pinot flight. The Lafite had a great old Bordeaux nose, forest floor, leather and lead pencil. Though the wine was very good on the palate it seem to lack the necessary concentration that you would expect from Lafite.
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Dinner at Lampreia (Seattle, WA, USA): Double-decanted on my way to Lampreia. Loads of spicy cedar, cassis, and violet. Mmm, I think this is going to be fun...
Explosive and complex aromatics moving from earth, iron, cedar, blood and truffle towards violet and lead pencil. Gorgeous! On the palate this is surprisingly sweet with red fruit, then getting more pliant and approachable and showing a darker profile with black fruit, graphite and spice-cake. From the start the finish was remarkably long at glorious. At times this showed more structure with tooth-coating tannins that still have time ahead to resolve, but after 3 hours of air this relented and turned to pure silk.
This was definitely in the 93-94 point neighborhood, a glorious bottle to enjoy over the course of a long and relaxed meal and far more enjoyable than a bottle tasted less than a month ago.
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STG - woopin it up at Roys (Roys Crib): I saved this wine for over an hour to seen how it opened up. It was very floral when opened, showing violet and some soft red fruits. After sitting in the glass for a while it opened up wonderfully. There was still a floral element but it took on more of a masculine tone. The fruits became darker, with more graphite and minerals showing up. Lovely wine.
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Year end SG Dinner #2 (House of Hersh): The nose showed brown sugar, herbs, heather, and baking spices. The palate was sweet with losts of acid. Very closed. This really needed some air.
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Seattle Tasting Group 'End of Year Dinner' #2 (Sammamish, WA, USA): This was one of the only wines that wasn’t pre-decanted, and I think it suffered a bit for it. The nose was spicy with cinnamon that slowly grew to take on more of a Cheval Blanc Asian spice character and then an intriguing hint of violets as this sat longer in the glass. Alas, the palate didn’t follow through on the exotic and giving nose showing very tight and even astringent, opening reluctantly with time to show some mint. For me it never really did give as much as I hoped for, although it was clearly an outstanding wine that was holding back. I started at 88 points but moved up to 90.
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Deep ruby in color with an explosive perfume made from cedar wood, lead pencil, black fruit, olives, herbs and smoke. Full bodied with a great mouth feel. Elegant layers of ripe, rich, black and red fruits bathe your palate and please your senses. This is probably close to full maturity. However while it can be enjoyed today, there is no hurry to open it as it will easily last another 15 or more years
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NobleRottersSydney - France v Aust (Darling Mills, Glebe): Hmmm – Chateau Le Feet, as somebody remarked. Something is wrong here. This wine is very musty indeed. For a while I though our visiting expert was going to defend it (on the grounds of tannin structure, etc) but this must surely have been suffering TCA or oxidation or a combination of the two. It’s my first Lafite, and I can’t believe it’s built it’s reputation on wines like this. A musty nose & no palate – what a bummer.
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At Singer & Foy survey of '83 Bordeaux. Lovely dark ruby color. Substantial. Finely scented, delicate bouquet. Nice. Big, strong wine, very tannic. Largely closed. Oaky. More bouquet than anything. Needs a lot more time. 5-11-14-7: 87/100.
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3/2/2024 - Sean Tay Likes this wine: 96 Points
Drank it along side 1983 Latour.
Decanted both wine at 1 hour, Lafite nose is impressive, with notes of flora, mushroom, spices, toast, charr wood. While Latour have notes of forest floor, spices, smoke, toast, slight barnyard.
After 2 hours of decanting. Lafite remain the same. However Latour open up and the slight barnyard had dissipated. And personally felt Latour is the better between two.
Both wine still have long years ahead, can keep.
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2/11/2024 - LWI wrote: flawed
Middag og noen Bordeaux 80-tall: Corked
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2/4/2024 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
Charming, elegant soft, silky, and fresh, this was quite a nice surprise. The fruits are ripe, refined, sweet, and vibrant. Medium-bodied, with a true sense of class and regal character, this is all about its charming style. No decanting needed, just pop pour and enjoy. Drink from 2024-2034.
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12/12/2023 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points
Salon Ficofi Paris walkabout tasting and dinner, no detailed tasting notes. From Jero, cedar wood, farmyard, relatively light. Mature, drink up.
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9/23/2023 - BradE wrote:
From 375ml. A very good showing. Wish I had more.
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8/19/2023 - glou.sf wrote: 90 Points
A celebration of 1983: From 3L. This wasn't showing much and felt backwards throughout the night with some fruit and leather flavors on the nose. A bit thin and not that interesting on the palate. Medium finish. By far the least impressive Bordeaux tonight.
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6/13/2023 - ove_stammrud wrote:
Igjen en vakker Lafite med sin noble, sentimentale og elegante stil. Nesten hvitvins aktig syrefriskhet i munn. I sin egen klasse når det gjelder kompleksitet, ingenting som spriker, alt står i balanse. Vinen viser klare toner av solbær, luksus tobakk, balsamiske toner og hint av kjøtt. Drikker flott nå.
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5/11/2023 - bbq_grandcru wrote: flawed
Very strange VA on this bottle, the first of 12 I have opened. Hoped it would blow over with time but it did not. Not drinkable. Very hopeful this is an isolated issue.
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4/14/2023 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Good showing tonight, seems like this actually could benefit from more age - tannins came across as a bit thick.
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12/10/2022 - Eric wrote:
ESTG Year-End Tasting (Newcastle, WA): Red fruit, lead pencil, fairly locked up, not generous, classically Lafite, mineral, reserved.
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9/17/2022 - steinersing wrote: 95 Points
Aged gracefully with some graphite, mushrooms and still good persistence. Even decanted it held over two hours
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9/17/2022 - Collector1855 wrote: 95 Points
Wonderful pencil shaving aromas here, earhty elements as well with tobacco and mushrooms. The palate was on the drying side already, so better drink this up if you have a bottle left. Aromas 96, palate 94
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7/8/2022 - engelwein Likes this wine: 91 Points
Farbe leicht helles Rot - Ziegelrot. In der Nase subtil, feiner Bordeaux-Geruch. Im Mund etwas Säure (negativ!) , etwas Früchte. Recht frisch!
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5/25/2022 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 94 Points
Another stellar showing of what an aged first growth should look like. Again, the flavor profile and finish were on target.
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11/5/2021 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine: 91 Points
Best bottle (Restaurant Lion's, Stuttgart): *** brief notes for my memory, no detailed tasting notes. Wines tasted blind if not noted otherwise ***
Decanted a few hours before. Clear, deep tawny-garnet color. Clean, deep, fine, elegant nose of an aged BDX with fine tobacco and leather, but also some harsh green notes.
On the palate very elegant, good balance, elegant, rather feminine. Some green pepper, hints of red fruit. Good acidity. Lacks a bit of complexity and pressure on the palate. Drink now. 90-91
I was so surprised to see, what it was. Thanks’ to the noble donor!
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10/30/2021 - 559Cheers Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drinking well, geosmin initially on the nose, still a little closed. Seems a little lite on the palette. Just opened. Cork saturated. Left bank nose and palette, still needs to open up more.
*2nd night cherry on the palette, nose is not showing much.
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7/27/2021 - vetty wrote: 94 Points
purple, leather, animal, game, velvet. Medium body. I could taste ocean, sea water in the finish. after aeration, it's getting more salty, earthy with more dried grass.
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2/22/2021 - Sleepy Dave wrote:
From an OWC of 3. A slight touch of funk for the first poured but quickly blew away. Very fresh and complex, just entering the maturity and in the perfect spot to drink. Dried and fresh flowers, sweet tobacco, light capsicum and cedar with a lot of small berries. It is intense and deep, but never powerful, as what I'm expecting from Lafite -> Elegance. Layer and layer of flavours, silky smooth on the palate with excellent freshness and very satisfying mid palate depth and length. A great matured Claret.
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2/17/2021 - doug374 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Stored well for 30 years, cork just beginning to go soft in the last inch. An elegant wine with tobacco, vanilla, and cherries on the nose. Smooth, maybe a little light and drinking well.
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3/16/2020 - petitblanc wrote: 91 Points
Coronavirus Denial; 3/1/2020-5/31/2020: Pure black cherry from glass to nose to palate, notes of tobacco and exotic spice underneath. Very feminine, light and elegant, just a bit hot through the finish. Barely enough structure remains to keep this lively. This bottle was enjoyable with food, but past its prime.
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3/3/2020 - Thoughtful Likes this wine: 92 Points
Stored in a cold cellar since release. Cork very tight. Fill just below cork.Perfect condition. Restrained bouquet. Deep colour with some red.
Needed plenty of air to open out. Good depth of flavour with excellent balance Still some tannin. However lacks finesse and elegance. No real complexity in fact rather one dimensional. At least 10 years of life ahead but seems unlikely it will improve though to predict the future of claret is always hazardous!
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12/13/2019 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Aromas of wet clay and graphite with plum. So pure and clean and precise. Pitch perfect, this bottle was served by a generous friend who had purchased it on release. This was one of the best, if not the best, Lafite I can recall.
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12/10/2019 - hprphf wrote: 92 Points
Acker BYO 2019 (Tribecal Grill): Darker and younger, but also very thin. Good array of classic Pauillac notes. 92
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11/12/2019 - hprphf wrote: flawed
Lafite Dinner 2019 (Blue Hill): Slightly oxidized, fruit gone, wet cupboard, void midpalate and maderized taste. Flawed.
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9/7/2019 - Jammy Wine wrote: 89 Points
The 1983 Lafite Rothschild is drinking nicely today, offering an eloquent graphite and earth of Pauillac. Good richness with mild tobacco and a smudge of green notes. Detectable heat from the rich blooded plums and prunes. Fleshy red fruits, pencil lead. Medium bodied with graceful smoke and elegant cigar box of a textbook Lafite. However, the fruits are one dimensional with a muddled black tea note. (89/100)
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9/4/2019 - RayOB wrote: 93 Points
Drank in London
Rich and tannic
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8/28/2019 - StasMedvedev.lv Likes this wine: 95 Points
Château Lafite Rothschild vertical 1958-1994 (Moscow): 🏅Rating 95/100 (4,5⭐)
Showing better than '81, medium body. Classic. Definitely at its peak and might even gain a bit more tertiary complexity within a few years
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8/21/2019 - orange boy wrote: 97 Points
Amazing balanced wine, perfect Bordeaux
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3/8/2019 - Ellen5181 wrote:
We were worried for a little while that the bottle was flawed.
Decanted. Cork was intact but saturated 3/4. Capsule was missing.
Smelled a bit funky and faintly moldy at first in a questionable way. I even asked the Somm to take a taste just to confirm. She felt it might be sleeping. It blew off after about an hour in decanter. It opened up and both nose and palate became more enjoyable, however, not for what either of us expected, and given what probably was retail price. It was drinkable, in an old tired wine way, fruit, tannins, acidity still there, subdued. It tasted a bit tired but not dead yet. Pleasant enough finish. Huge difference from when it was first open Fun to try and enjoy from a memory standpoint more than a mind blowing wine experience.
This bottle was pulled out of an auction lot and the capsule was missing so very possible something external happened along the way to affect quality and eligibility for sale. It was stored in a wine fridge for a bunch of years. Label was ripped up. I tried a 1990 a few years ago and it was quite special. This was not anywhere near that experience, but could also be the vintage. I did visit the chateau and a memory I will never forget so adding this empty to my collection!
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12/1/2018 - Sean Tay wrote:
The wine looks garnet colored. It smells like blackberry, blueberry, black currant (cassis), forest floor, toast, coffee, cedar, vanilla, black pepper and cinnamon.
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6/3/2018 - obmoen wrote: 96 Points
Kjølig nese, krydder, solbær. Kjølig i munn, saftig, tanninene drar på seg med luft og kommer først i Finnish. God balanse. Lang.
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4/19/2018 - joedv8s Likes this wine:
Made 60% mark up on this trophy in the 3 years I owned it.
Wish I had another !!!
Chinese buyer.
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3/1/2018 - Comte Flaneur wrote: 97 Points
A musty nose which blows off, and initially quite austere before it relaxes and evolves in the glass. I would imagine this wine would have been hugely frustrating to drink it is youth, but it has been worth the wait. Another beautifully fine-boned Lafite, with a seamless palate and impeccable balance and gravitas, with graphite lead pencils, berries and wafting smoke. You begin to understand the magic of Lafite is how it evolves in the glass. Another glorious bottle
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1/28/2018 - mariow wrote: 90 Points
to remove the more than 30 years old cork was a heavy task; plum red, no brick; not much nose, some herbs; very smooth on the palate, interesting fruit; very pleasurable, drink now; decanted for one hour
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12/10/2017 - dream Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lovely nose of black currants, lead pencil and woodsmoke. Rather lean but really improved with air and food and showed classic Lafite flavors of liquid lead pencil, cedar and dark berries. Finishes with beautiful Bordeaux flavors of graphite minerals and roasted nuts. Quite mature with slightly astringent tannins and medium-complexity but still delicious old silky Bordeaux that’s a joy to drink with charred Denver-cut steaks. The high-toned character suggests this needs to be drunk and will soon decline. Out of a perfect Magnum.
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10/8/2017 - Mark H. LeQuire wrote: 95 Points
What a treat. Classic vintage Bordeaux. Medium ruby/garnet color. Major rim variation. Very earthy and old world nose. Faint to mild nose of dark fruits and flowers. Low tannin/acid. Low to medium alcohol. Long finish. Paired perfectly with filet mignon. Beyond peak. Ready to drink. Agree with the CT window for drinking. Probably not more than 2-3 years in bottle left. Wonderful experience.
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6/10/2017 - gsquireh Likes this wine: 96 Points
No lightening or browning at the edges, red purple true and clear. What a magnificent wine confirming 1983 as a vintage with legs and class. This bottle rich and balanced mouth feel is a remarkable Lafite hopping over the 85, 88,01,02,99, and 04. Blackberry, black plums, cassis, cedar, and cherries, merge with smooth and silky balanced tannins, subtle smoke wafting from the fall forest, sweet cigar, and garden herbs. A wonderful surprise as we savored my last bottle of this special wine.
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12/12/2016 - BradE wrote:
Lafite Vertical: From magnum. The vintage I was most looking forward to. A lovely wine, that showed as classic Lafite. Yes it's softer and lighter than it once was, but overall this is a wine you could sit and sip all afternoon.
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9/2/2016 - Yiannis Likes this wine: 95 Points
Medium to dark garnet. Expressive, complex and elegant nose of barnyard, graphite, cedar, leather and cherries. Medium-bodied with soft tannins and perfect balance. Long aftertaste. Surprisingly good, exceeded my expectations given the reputation of the vintage. At peak right now. Thankfully, lesser vintages reach their peak within a human's life span, unlike great vintages that need ages to get there.
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9/1/2016 - Stefanos T. Likes this wine: 96 Points
Translucent garnet colored.
Graceful mature nose with barnyard notes which became less obvious as time went by.
Silky tannins, very fine texture, understated flavors.
An immensely drinkable claret at the peek of its maturity.
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6/11/2016 - NewFrenchClaret Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bordeaux 1983 Horizontal; 8/4/2014-6/11/2019: Superb cork for a change. Gave this a four hour decant, which turned out to be a very good move. Initially it was very reticent, but with time it filled out beautifully.
Showing its age somewhat- translucent with a little bricking. On the nose blackberries, tobacco, soy sauce, plums, damp earth, molasses, graphite. A saline component which freshens things up a bit. A tinge of bonfire and even eucalyptus. Plenty going on, but not a powerhouse.
Like the '53 though, this is remarkably sweet and rich in the mouth. It's not a heavy wine, so in the end it's nicely poised despite the sweetness. Tannins are fully resolved, but perhaps drying out a little. Finishes with a subtle kiss of acidity which lingers for perhaps a fraction less time than I would like.
Overall though this is a class act, but it needs drinking now. I will be tasting the other four Premiers Crus over the next few months, so it will be interesting to see how they compare.
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3/15/2016 - Collector1855 wrote: flawed
Chateau Lafite Rothschild - 20 year vertical blind tasting (Fribourg): Tasted blind. Medium-dark ruby. Nose of red fruit, cherries and herbs de Provence. Quite ripe on the palate, then followed by some barnyard. Unfortunately this developed more and more a TCA note as it sat in the glass, so rating was withheld in the end. Group rank # 19/20. Readiness: Mature.
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12/17/2015 - cephomer Likes this wine: 92 Points
Cepages Bordeaux Tasting (North End Grill; New York City): Drank at our Cepage bordeaux tasting alongside an 83 Mouton and 86 Leo Barton. None were decanted, though this wine could have used it. Lots of cedar & lead pencil both on the nose and palate. Still decent fruit level, but more dominated by tertiary elements. Chalky tannins, and lighter bodied than I would have thought. Also, at first, it seemed a bit green or stemmy (cab franc influence), but as it sat in glass, it opened and changed, and became noticeably more approachable, demonstrating wonderful complexity, balance and elegance. Quite an interesting wine that, after it had opened and sat in glass for some time, showed why this is such a great chateaux. Note I bought this wine at auction long ago and it held up pretty well in the cellar, though was a bit short on fruit.
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11/14/2015 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 91 Points
Somewhat subdued nose of tertiary stony wet soil, drying cranberries, and medicinal notes of echinacea and menthol. Palate is drying out quite a bit with stewed red berries. Tertiary notes of ceramic, rust, and iron intermittent. Tannins are friendly but the mouthfeel overall is a little tough and astringent. Tired and tight relative to the '70 & '75 enjoyed in the flight.
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3/2/2015 - Purple Tooth wrote: 93 Points
Youthful and mature...Is the best way to describe this experience with this wine...Its like when summer and fall meet in one day...
Clear maturity showing antiqued red berries, pencil shavings,with jubilant vigor! Still fresh and long...I believe that this is where storage condition are key..
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12/31/2014 - M DU VIN wrote: 91 Points
Opened two hours before dinner. Cork was quite damp and a bit crumbly even though stored in temperature-controlled cellar since purchase in 1985. Notes of cedar and cassis, although restrained.
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11/25/2014 - fcxj wrote: 94 Points
Ficofi, Jeroboam
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11/23/2014 - lorddh Does not like this wine: 87 Points
red with slightly more orangy rim. medium to high intensity of complex aromas of oak, flower petals,
high acidity, somered fruits, length is a bit limited, disappointing on palate.
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10/13/2014 - vindictive wrote:
Bordeaux dinner - first growths, blancs and d'Yquem. Bottle, fill and cork all good. This was breathing for about 8 hours before dinner. A very substantial wine - cedar, red fruits, earth. Seems quite young. Should last a few more decades and will likely improve.
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7/31/2014 - jusuf Does not like this wine: 81 Points
Absolutely disappointing. Smells like nothing and tastes extremely plain.
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6/14/2014 - Charlie Carnes Likes this wine:
This is always a wine to make me ponder... It is definitely always dry and cedar-like. But then pretty iron imbued red fruit comes out... I never relish it but I always like to drink the wine. It is a "handsome', intellectual wine. One that I would never seek out on its own, but one that I don't mind drinking from my cellar, or would use in a LR vertical.
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3/22/2014 - Coffeecup wrote: 91 Points
Intact cork. Wine stored properly since it was bought at its market introduction.
Nice nose. Medium finish. Some fruit. Tannins well tapered. Improved as the evening progressed.
A great experience.
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1/27/2014 - Pcrage wrote: flawed
Corked.
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12/6/2013 - Edclr wrote: 88 Points
Probably should not have opened this yet. While it was very elegant, and well balanced, it was still tightly wound and not showing what it probably will someday. My last bottle is going into long term storage and try it again in 10-15 years. I think it's going to be wonderful when it comes out in full bloom.
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9/30/2013 - BradE wrote:
This really didn't do much for me. Not sure if it was provenance or what, but I didn't really like it. Others found it more appealing.
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8/15/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
With the prices Chateau Lafite Rothschild fetches these days, it's a wine I seldom see at tastings anymore. This is a beautiful example of a 30 year old Lafite, with its cedar chest, tobacco, stone, cassis and cranberry filled nose. Medium bodied, with a finesse to the tannins and silky texture to the fruit, this is what Pauillac is all about.
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5/20/2013 - Blair Curtis wrote: 93 Points
This was as good as could reasonably be expected...maybe a bit better. (Opened and decanted for one hour, then returned to bottle for 2+ hours before drinking.) When first opened, the wine showed quite linear, with an iron streak running through it. As it took on air, the wine gained volume, and the structure softened very nicely. The acid was ever-present, but the tannins were nicely in the background, giving this wine a resolved feeling. Cool red fruit, pencil shavings, and nice mineral notes merged very well. Well into secondary nuances...primary long gone. Mouthfeel was elegant - nice purity. This could probably hold, but I don't think one could expect improvement at this point.
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5/18/2013 - godx wrote: 93 Points
No formal notes. The was opened and decanted for one hour, then returned to bottle for 2+ hours before drinking. Beautiful and feminine compared to the '83 LLC. Soft and silky on the palate with just a bit of powdery tannins left. Nice acidity with solid length. Like the LLC, this is very classic, yet shows much more of a silky and velvety profile. This is drinking perfectly right now. Outstanding.
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4/23/2013 - neng Likes this wine: 94 Points
Start with a beautiful scent of flower. The first is nothing. After second sip, feel the powerful in this bottle. Well balanced. A bit salty. Good finished.
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6/8/2011 - Cinsault86 wrote: 94 Points
Fyll: Nedre hals
Mørk på fargen
Parfymert, klassisk blyantkvess og sedertre. Deilig søtlig frukt. Mer røde frukter fremfor solbær. Luktene kommer lag på lag, og skifter mellom hver gang jeg løfter glasset.
Finkornede moderate tanniner og bra syre. Tanninene fremstår som superelegante, og er med på å gi vinen en helt fantastisk munnfølelse. Dette er Julia Roberts på flaske.
Smal og elegant i munnen, veldig lang.
Etter en kort stund i glasset kommer det inn tydelig grus og mineraler, frukten er enda (om ikke mer) parfymert. Litt hvit pepper i finishen.
For meg er dette en gjerne drikk nå vin, men holder selvsagt mye lengre. Etter ca 15-20 min i glasset tydelig gult tørt høy.
Trekk for manglende konsentrasjon (litt høy avkastning?) og litt ”spinkel”.
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5/21/2011 - Old Claret wrote:
SN and AN drank this at the Oval room on a beautiful Satyurday night, sitting outdoors. We started with incredibly delicious asparagus soup - paired with 1997 Latour Corrtn Charlemagne, followed by an awesome shrimp dish that we shared. The Corton was quite mature and slightly carmelized, but very delicious,. Steve then had duck and AN had truffle pasta (STeve wins for best order) with the Lafite. The bottle was perfect and the wine inside it au pointe. It was elegant, old world earthy with some fruit, and soft tannins.
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4/16/2011 - Old Claret wrote: 94 Points
lovely
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1/15/2011 - condita1@gmail.com wrote:
First impression prior to a decant was a bit muted. After a 5 hour decant it came to life. A wonderful nose, I had a hard time pulling my nose out of the glass to drink. It was smooth as silk, cherries and blackberries on the palate. No rough edges, the tannins seemed to drop out. I enjoyed the first enough I decided to pop the second.
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1/3/2011 - ms808 wrote: 92 Points
Nose: sweet flowers, leather, cigar box, and lots of fruit
amber in color
taste: smooth, complex, with various layers of old Bordeaux qualities. Slight port like with the sweetness. Very tasty and good, not muted like some younger Bordeaux I've had
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1/2/2011 - mariow wrote: 77 Points
good purpur; nose of cherry and fruit; on the palate very dominant acids, shallow even watery; doesn't improve later after decanting, on the palate realy sour, absolutely no tannins, backbone is missing completely; a huge disappointment; bottle looked perfect, bottom neck, very nice cork.
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12/29/2010 - Tenuta Stefan wrote: flawed
Chateau Lafite-Rothschild 1983 ... a Chateau with this reputation must have better corks. This cork was really bad.
Too much money going down the drain. Shame on you Eric! Shame on you!!
I had great expectations on this bottle!
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9/23/2010 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Magnum Madness (New York, NY): Very disappointing. Uninteresting.
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8/17/2010 - Stefanos T. Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep garnet.
Mature nose with intense aromas of black forest fruit, loads of cedar, ink, licorice, dried tomatoes and saltiness. Even hints of ...iodine. Nice fine texture on the palate, still tannic with bitter finish. Fine wine but not what I'd expect from a first growth, slightly off aromas of tomato, saltiness and iodine would be welcome by another wine but not from Lafite.
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3/18/2010 - Doc Martin wrote: flawed
flawed bottle :(
This was my first attempt at a Lafite. Port on the nose.
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3/3/2010 - Whistler wrote: 92 Points
HK Crown Cellars Pre-auction tasting
No formal notes. Satisfying nose of dark fruit and cassis, rich and concentrated on the palate but slightly lean as compared with 1990 Latour, Angelus and Clinet which followed! Still a very good wine.
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1/24/2010 - indiscriminate palate wrote:
Charity Lafite Dinner (Holyoke, MA): Double-decanted one hour prior to serving. Intense nose! Big and young. Tobacco, musk, red and black fruit.
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1/21/2010 - salil wrote: 95 Points
Mmm, this is fantastic. Such amazing aromatics combining graphite, cigar smoke, fresh herbs, leather, cassis and red fruits into one incredible scent - I could have kept smelling this through most of the evening if it didn't taste as great with a sense of power and finesse in the mouth and fantastic length.
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10/28/2009 - rwstorer wrote: 90 Points
Dark red in color this was opened but not decanted for 4 hours. This has a closed nose and was extremely tannic and closed.
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10/26/2009 - reddry wrote: 89 Points
somewhat disappointing; this is a solid, fully ripe, classic Paulliac, but compared to the 1996 Duhart-Milon (Rothschild) which I had in parallel this is much less expressive; certainly not worth the price it is currently traded.
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8/16/2009 - davetricity wrote:
did not have any fruit but was good
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2/28/2009 - noppakit s. wrote: 96 Points
It becomes one of me favorite vintage for Lafite. The 1983 is not much in Lafite aroma because of its fruity scent but it's very beautiful combination. Compares with 1986, that's too much fruity scent overloaded.
1983, The medium to full-bodied, good balance, beautiful texture, well-made, mild-blowing palate.
And the 96/100 score comes from the affect of its sensational long finished. Deep in the heart, killing me softly with its movement, tender and tempting.
2.30 hours passed by...hints of strong medical aroma, then becomes mild cassis intermixed with fruit and tea leaf...such a dramatic layers.
After 3.30 hours, it's getting more structure seem like a little bit too young so, next time, we better finish it within 3 hours.
Drink beautifully now - 2025..............................96-97/100................................
Dedicated to Angelica K. ( Her Birthyear Wine )
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2/2/2009 - W.Simons wrote:
Decanted at 4:45 for sediment, tasted, rebottled and set aside for dinner (approx 4.5 hours at cellar temp). Initial reaction was massive relief. The cork had been forced a quarter inch into the bottle by a curious friend the night before, moving up my schedule for drinking this one. Cork was unsalvageable and had to be forced (though it didn't require much) into the bottle. Deep garnet, no mentionable bricking, modest sediment, fine grained tannins and plum. Saddle leather and smoke. Around 10 (1 hour after pouring) raspberry and leather, asian spice, cedar and cigar box. Really gorgeous color, again no real bricking. Wet earth, strawberry and iron. Eventually rose petals and a deepening raspberry with hints of cocoa and pencil shavings.
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12/12/2008 - curtr wrote:
Decant for atleast 2 hrs. Lean in the early period.
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12/1/2008 - jjclips2 wrote: 94 Points
Hans Kruger Classic (Suite 100): From magnum. Still quite youthful. Sweet fruit, cherry and cassis as well as pain grille, and sweet oak. Lots of pencil lead as it opens up. Very dusty, huge tannins up front. Coffee and chocolate covered cherries, tobaco, and earth. Almost a dirty finish with dusty tannins and toasty wood. Interesting how youthful this shows from magnum, yet has a lot of complexity already. Nicely balanced.
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11/12/2008 - winecowboy wrote: 95 Points
Lead, graphite shavings and Pauillac perfume. Blackcurrants, cassis and coffee invade the senses. Well balanced and harmonious.
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10/29/2008 - Rupert wrote: 94 Points
Horizontal tasting of 1983 bordeaux (Institute of Directors, London): After the exuberant Mouton and Pichon Lalande, this seemed quite dry and reserved although it was in fact rich and ripe by any normal standards, blackcurrant and mint - very classic, very elegant
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7/30/2008 - king-bing wrote:
WIMPS Bordeaux offline - table 1 (The Ledbury, Notting Hill, London): Stunning complex nose - focussed tea tree oil then coconut husk notes set to a gentle fruit background. Palate doesn't quite match seeming relatively light. Fades after a while to become more classic pencil nose. Palate fills out a little with time. Don't quite know what to make of this ultimately. Very tasty though.
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5/29/2008 - yonster24 wrote: 92 Points
Now mind you, I don't have much to base this off of, as I have never had a Lafite before, but I have to say, this was really good, especially for a so called off-vintage. We weren't really expecting much but this really surprised us. Popped the cork and it was in absolute perfect condition, to the point where I wondered if this was recorked at the winery. It was absolutely perfect. Dark garnett center leading to a pinkish color around the rim. Nose of Leather, farm and lead pencil (so many people say this, and I could smell it, but I didn't really say anything until my wife said that she should smell it, as I didn't want to influence her in any way.) Just a wonderful wine all around, still somehwat powerful, and it evolved beautifully over the next two hours to include unsmoked cigar and slight cedar on the nose. Tannins were very well integrated and the finish was long. Good wine.
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5/27/2008 - hiltondg wrote: 91 Points
I was shocked to see that this vintage is averaging over $400 at auction. I had this from a perfectly stored bottle which was bought on release by my father. Upon opening, we thought the wine was shot. Nose and taste of vinegar. We decided to just leave it alone for a few hours. When we came back to it, we were pleasantly surprised. A dark garnet fading to a nice ruby rim. Notes of saddle leather and strong lead pencil shavings. dark fruits abound. The tannins were still pretty prevelant. 20+ second finish. My first taste of Lafite, and the lead pencil descriptors are dead on. A wonderful bottle, but not worth $400+ IMO.
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3/13/2008 - cgrimes wrote: 91 Points
Skinner Spring Auction Reception (Boston, MA): Dark garnet color. Nose of dark fruits, lead pencil. Palate of blackberries, stewed cassis, spice, minerals. Soft tannins. Nice but not spectacular.
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1/2/2008 - dream wrote: 92 Points
A superb looking bottle with a very high fill received as a gift today. Very ripe, open nose of lead pencil, dark olives and sweet dark fruits. Medium to full-bodied with distinct flavors of lead pencil, slate, dark black rasberries and smoky earth. The finish is lengthy and complex with black minerals along with tar and graphite-laden tannins. This vintage seems to be maturing slowly and I would expect it to still improve over the next 10 years or so. Has all the classic flavors of Lafite but possesses a slightly green note and lacks some of the elegance and finesse typical of this stupendous vineyard. Still a joy to drink.
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12/17/2007 - plitton wrote: 89 Points
Olives, cedar and cocoa nose. A delicious nose to enjoy all night. On the palate it was very disappointing. Tight, short experience and shallow.
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5/5/2007 - M-driver wrote:
Unbelievably bright fruit on the nose. Cedar, tobacco, and graphite/pencil lead on the palate. This is fully mature, but I don't think there's any need to rush to drink these. Should hold for several more years. Excellent bottle.
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1/28/2007 - bsherwin wrote:
Bordeaux on the Hudson (Peter Pratt's Inn): An good, structured wine that was somewhat outclassed by its company. The gentle nose of graphite and cedar showed a bit of underlying cassis that took some coaxing to unearth. There was an underlying power to the palate with interesting mature flavors, but it really crossed the line into lean territory. What fruit it did show was thrown off by a little sour cherry element that sort of killed it for me. A little more sweetness to the fruit would have made this a complete wine. It was interesting sensually and elegant as hell, yet just a hint underripe and slightly astringent on the finish. With other wines, you'd excuse the lack of perfection, but nobody remembers who came in tenth at the Olympics.
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8/10/2006 - M DU VIN wrote: 90 Points
The wine was closed and uninteresting upon opening. After an hour, it began to open and display earthy tones with modest fruit. All in all, a bit of a disappointment. Based on this bottle, I would drink up sooner rather than later.
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6/12/2006 - D. Fulton wrote: 91 Points
Quite a lovely and charming Lafite. Notes of mint predominate while the wine displays a notably earthy core. Finish shows quite powdery tannins. Perfectly mature now and ready to drink.
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4/27/2006 - Rupert wrote:
Lots of small tastes of some very grand wines (Royal Academy, London): Lean and tannic, classic claret, not as distinctive as last year's bottle [90]
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4/25/2006 - MRichman wrote:
Lafite Rothschild vertical (DB Bistro Moderne, NYC): Quite herbal with some tough tannins. Fruit well behind but juicy, perhaps overly. Some candy & soy.
B+
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4/25/2006 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 91 Points
Dinner with England, Manlin, and Others (Brad's House): Decanted about one hour, and then delayed another hour until dinner. This wine smelled great from the moment the cork was pulled. The nose showed a penetrating smoke and some earthiness. The color was a concentrated dark red. The attack showed nice red fruit, but the mid-palate and the finish fell flat. Further time in the decanter did not seem to improve this defect. A very nice wine, but not the match for this company.
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3/14/2006 - CamWheeler wrote: 90 Points
Sydney 1st Growth Bordeaux/Grand Cru Burgundy Dinner (Marque Restaurant): A tight, closed nose of assorted herbs, graphite, cedar a bit of meat and a whiff of hospital hallway. Palate is elegant and is not unbalanced in any way but is also lacking in interest and intensity.
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12/18/2005 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 92 Points
Sniffing this doesn't reveal much of anything, but some of the characteristics that typically manifest themselves in the aroma of Lafite have amalgamated into the flavors here. Mild cigar-box flavors complement delicate fruit encompassing cherries and apples. The theme here is delicacy as the first immediate sensation on tasting is the buttery-smooth texture. The tannin becomes more assertive with air, but so does the tobacco; the first sip was the most fine, but I think the last sip was best. :(
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12/17/2005 - ml wrote: 92 Points
Drank from bottle. It really didn't need decanting time to open up, and I was concerned that it might decline with a lot of air.
Ruby colored, and totally clear. Really nice nose of cherries and some raspberry. Lots of fruit left in this baby, and a bit tannic as well. On the palate, very smooth and silky, though a bit lighter in body than I would have expected. Relatively low acidity. Decent finish, but not really long by any means.
I think now is probably a good time to drink this, but it could go for at least a few more years. I definitely don't feel bad about cracking it open now, even though it's the only bottle I have (and my only '83 dry red wine).
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7/23/2005 - Rupert wrote: 90 Points
Followed the 1997 and showed clearly the same characteristics - great purity, blackcurrant fruit, long, elegant, less rich than the younger wine
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5/3/2005 - keithgg wrote: 89 Points
A disappointment. At first it just seemed very tight with promise. But fruits never really came to the forefront; none of the lead pencil stuff. It died in the glass, came back again, but was mostly left with tannins. I doubt this will improve with cellaring.
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5/3/2005 - CSteefel wrote: 91 Points
1982-83-89 Bordeaux at Masa's in San Francisco: Slightly darker in color than the Cheval Blanc, this shows a volatile nose of cassis, leather, spice, and even a touch of mint. The nose seems to decline a bit after 15 or so minutes, but then regains some of its power with more time. In the mouth, quite elegant and delineated, but medium bodied at best, with drying tannins emerging clearly on the finish. I don't see this having sufficient fruit to overcome those dry tannins, so I would drink up now. Least impressive of the flight.
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5/3/2005 - cassetta wrote: 91 Points
Bright dark ruby. Sweet cherries on the nose. Initially the wine showed some sweet fruit on the palate but the fruit faded and the tannins dominated. I would consume these soon because I don’t think there is enough fruit to out live the astringent tannins.
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4/16/2005 - mariow wrote: 88 Points
dark red; in the nose vanilla; full and round body, subtle but not very intens
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3/16/2005 - Alpine wrote: 91 Points
This flight suffered after the big Pinot flight. The Lafite had a great old Bordeaux nose, forest floor, leather and lead pencil. Though the wine was very good on the palate it seem to lack the necessary concentration that you would expect from Lafite.
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1/8/2005 - Eric wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at Lampreia (Seattle, WA, USA): Double-decanted on my way to Lampreia. Loads of spicy cedar, cassis, and violet. Mmm, I think this is going to be fun...
Explosive and complex aromatics moving from earth, iron, cedar, blood and truffle towards violet and lead pencil. Gorgeous! On the palate this is surprisingly sweet with red fruit, then getting more pliant and approachable and showing a darker profile with black fruit, graphite and spice-cake. From the start the finish was remarkably long at glorious. At times this showed more structure with tooth-coating tannins that still have time ahead to resolve, but after 3 hours of air this relented and turned to pure silk.
This was definitely in the 93-94 point neighborhood, a glorious bottle to enjoy over the course of a long and relaxed meal and far more enjoyable than a bottle tasted less than a month ago.
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12/15/2004 - JasonD wrote: 95 Points
STG - woopin it up at Roys (Roys Crib): I saved this wine for over an hour to seen how it opened up. It was very floral when opened, showing violet and some soft red fruits. After sitting in the glass for a while it opened up wonderfully. There was still a floral element but it took on more of a masculine tone. The fruits became darker, with more graphite and minerals showing up. Lovely wine.
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12/11/2004 - Jason wrote: 92 Points
Year end SG Dinner #2 (House of Hersh): The nose showed brown sugar, herbs, heather, and baking spices. The palate was sweet with losts of acid. Very closed. This really needed some air.
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12/11/2004 - Eric wrote: 90 Points
Seattle Tasting Group 'End of Year Dinner' #2 (Sammamish, WA, USA): This was one of the only wines that wasn’t pre-decanted, and I think it suffered a bit for it. The nose was spicy with cinnamon that slowly grew to take on more of a Cheval Blanc Asian spice character and then an intriguing hint of violets as this sat longer in the glass. Alas, the palate didn’t follow through on the exotic and giving nose showing very tight and even astringent, opening reluctantly with time to show some mint. For me it never really did give as much as I hoped for, although it was clearly an outstanding wine that was holding back. I started at 88 points but moved up to 90.
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12/3/2004 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Deep ruby in color with an explosive perfume made from cedar wood, lead pencil, black fruit, olives, herbs and smoke. Full bodied with a great mouth feel. Elegant layers of ripe, rich, black and red fruits bathe your palate and please your senses. This is probably close to full maturity. However while it can be enjoyed today, there is no hurry to open it as it will easily last another 15 or more years
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8/5/2002 - graemeg wrote: flawed
NobleRottersSydney - France v Aust (Darling Mills, Glebe): Hmmm – Chateau Le Feet, as somebody remarked. Something is wrong here. This wine is very musty indeed. For a while I though our visiting expert was going to defend it (on the grounds of tannin structure, etc) but this must surely have been suffering TCA or oxidation or a combination of the two. It’s my first Lafite, and I can’t believe it’s built it’s reputation on wines like this. A musty nose & no palate – what a bummer.
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12/17/2000 - mariow wrote: 84 Points
very discrete nose, some almonds; quite lot of acids; after decanting some fruit but over all rather weak
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6/17/2000 - mariow wrote: 86 Points
decent nose of sweet berries; round, fruity, acids quite dominant; over all pleasurable but not really a great wine
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4/26/1991 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 87 Points
At Singer & Foy survey of '83 Bordeaux. Lovely dark ruby color. Substantial. Finely scented, delicate bouquet. Nice. Big, strong wine, very tannic. Largely closed. Oaky. More bouquet than anything. Needs a lot more time. 5-11-14-7: 87/100.
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