April 21, 2024 - Upon opening the nose is super rustic. Horse blanket, dried soil, hay, with a touch of bitter red fruit and tobacco. It’s starting to open up and the nose is showing a bit of floral and mushroom qualities.
Silky entry, med weight, med+ acid, med- tannin.
It’s vibrant on the palate but the tannin is nicely refined and the mouthfeel is unreal. Perhaps a Lafite trademark. It’s weighty but light at the same time. Elegant but energetic. Shows the qualities of a less ripe year - this is a wine for acid heads.
April 2, 2024 - Still youthful, the wine is on the bright, crisp, crunchy side of the style range. The red berries are quite vibrant, with a mint, herb, tobacco, and cedar coating on the palate, and in the sweet, and tart, cherry, cranberry, olive, herb, and citrus finish. This is quite classic in an old-school style. Drink from 2024-2042.
March 31, 2024 - 12.5% alcohol. Embossed bottle. Transparent cover over the collar sleeve. The cork is of vg quality but not that long; no wine penetration anyway. Decanted an hour ahead. The colour is dark with marginal thinning at the edge of the rim.
The nose mixes ripe wild dark berries with some ink in a very classy way. The mouth has plenty of grip more as a result of highish acidity than significant tannins; harmonious in its own way, which is far from opulent.
Probably not fully ready yet. Is it of 1er cru quality? Probably not.
In today's meal, the wine ended up playing second fiddle to a rack of French lamb which was simply glorious.
Still highly enjoyable, but not at a commensurate level with the current price (about 500€ according to IdW, give me a break).
March 29, 2024 - Decanted four hours in advance. Classic and pretty floral Lafite nose with red berry fruits--could smell it from a foot away. On the palate, delicate red fruits and more acidity than tannins. Obviously not a great vintage for this wine, but unlike the bottle we opened a year ago (thank god) there was something very Lafite about it.
March 17, 2024 - Had some trepidation given this was my only bottle of the vintage and reviews were mixed. Served next to a '93 Maya and while the Maya was the clearly more powerful wine, I did very much enjoy the classic Bordeaux profile of currant and plum with good minerality. Tannins were not prominent and a 4 hour decant seemed sufficient.
January 30, 2024 - Good wine but underperforming for renomee and current price
December 26, 2023 - Needs air … decant for 2 better 3 hours.
Next bottle in 3 years.
December 18, 2023 - Elegant expression with a moderately deep core, vibrant strawberry, cherry fruits, bell pepper, and pencil shaving. On the palate, crunchy fruits, very classic and not a ton of oomph, tannins are falling off already. Rather polished and clean. Can’t help but feel this isn’t that interesting.
November 24, 2023 - Bottle and cork in perfect shape. Double decanted and followed over the evening. Elegant and graceful, showing cherry, tobacco. Not a blockbuster Lafite, but a lovely wine drinking very well at present.
September 1, 2023 - At Beakys.
Perfect cork.
Soft berry and graphite fragrance.
Velvety texture, soft remarkably silky tannins. Seamless structure from start to finish. Dark berries, tar and graphite spice, a softer vintage but it’s quality shows through.