2018 Château Lafite Rothschild

Community Tasting Notes (17) Avg Score: 98.1 points

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  1/26/2024 - sdr Likes this wine:

  Whole Lotta Lafite; 1/26/2024-1/27/2024 (Wine Watch, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida): Purple in color, purple in flavor, as in pure grape juice. Immense concentration. Super ripe but not hot or stewed. Really tiring to drink; one sip is plenty. I lack the skill others have to determine how this will evolve. Impressive in its infancy but I can't put a number on it.

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  9/3/2023 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points

  Bordeaux 2018 - 5 Years On - 7 Reds: Time to check in on some top 2018s, and the initial observations were all confirmed: A) This is obviously the ripest, sweetest Bordeaux vintage in the last decade. While only one wine (Cos d'Estournel, 88pts) was overripe and overdone, two others (Calon Segur - 94pts, Grand Puy Lacoste - 91pts) are not for purists and are quite sweet - at least this young. B) Despite the ripeness, the wines are generally very balanced and harmonious, not as extracted or thick as many 2009/2010s. C) The structural frames are of high quality with ultra-fine tannins and good acid backbones. However, with so many other great vintages produced in recent years, this is not the vintage to chase - especially for purists. The group winner was the highly elegant, seductive yet aristocratic Pichon Lalande (rated 95pts), just ahead of my WOTN, the floral, perfumed, airy Canon (96pts).
  
  TN: In terms of substance, complexity, no other wine today got close to this Lafite. While still being a closed, this showed so much promise and gave us a peak into the future and all it has in store: lots red berries, even more very fresh blue fruit, herbs, menthol notes, coffee, minerality. In typical Lafite fashion, this quite elegant with a fine structure and good freshness and a superb purity, but this is decades away from being ready. Promising but on a 93/94pts today.
  
  Decanting: Decanted for 90 minutes, back in the bottle, consumed two hours later. This was still a bit muted and could have used a longer decant.

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  6/19/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 96 Points

  Part of a small Bordeaux 2018 5-years on tasting. The wines were partially served single-blind. Main observations: 1/ the vintage pairs concentration and ripeness with weightless and elegant structures. 2/ tannins are generally finely grained and well-integrated. 3/ Extraction levels managed well with only 1 instance of heat and no overripe fruit. 4/ Best bottles were Canon and Pichon Longueville.
  
  Tasting note:
  Tasted blind. Polished and extracted to perfection showing fruit of freshly picked berries, on balance more black and cool in style. Densely packed with aromas, adding violets, smoke and well-integrated oak, spice and dried herbs. Full of stuffing, dense and facetted palate. spiced and dried herbs.

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  6/14/2023 - rocknroller wrote:

  Commanderie de Bordeaux: 2000 Lafite, LLC, & Cos (The Minikahda Club, Mpls): Very dark red/purple color with a 3mm clear edge. Double decanted, slow O for about 3 hours. Drank a glass over 2 plus hours. Deep black fruits, blackberry, chocolate, Creme de cassis, taut, oak, vanilla, quite vivacious, impressive, yet still shrouded in the shadow of its youth. The most impressive of the trio of '18 Lafite, LLC and Cos. Super potential. Score reserved.

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  10/14/2022 - cshouston Likes this wine: 99 Points

  Tasted from a 375ml bottle, before the 750 beds down for the long rest. Decanted with aeration and sampled repeatedly from Gabriel Glas Gold over the course of 4 hours.
  
  This wine is already so incredible; balanced and exuding elegance. The nose is bright, with freshly cut flowers, blackberries, and a bit of soy. On the palate, it’s delicate and silky, with black fruit, pencil lead, and a piercing minerality. The finish feels undying, carrying on for over a minute.
  
  It’s the greatest wine I’ve had the pleasure to taste in the many years since I first discovered the world of fine wine. I hesitate to give it 100 because I don’t have the luxury of context with multiple vintages of Lafite and other first growths.
  
  The straight dope: if the cost of buying Lafite doesn’t make you blink, then it’s worth every penny. I’m blessed to have been able to get these, but it’s not something I can do regularly. So, for the “rest of us”, having finally tasted it, I can’t say with honesty that the juice justifies the premium when there are some incredible wines available at a fraction of the cost from other producers in Bordeaux (and elsewhere).

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