Medium garnet in the glass and out of the decanter, with a 1/8” rim of orange.
Dried, tart red cherry, graphite, eucalyptus, crackly leather, all surrounded by a blanket of roses. Delicate and luxurious.
Flavors follow the nose, with dried red cherries, rose water, and a finish that includes some wet cedar.
Mouthfeel is dry, medium bodied, with medium plus acidity and slow attacking tannins that arrive soft and lovely. The most delicate of the 5 first growths of the 1981 vintage.
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Had with rabbit for Easter dinner. Bought on release and stored in temperature/humidity controlled cellar. The cork was pristine and the fill was high. From the beginning the nose was delicate with floral and spice notes. Decanted for an hour. Nice color with brick around the rim. This was surprisingly delicious. Classic Lafite - beautiful with the rabbit! While still intact, there is no reason to hold - drink and enjoy!
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"90th" Joint Birthday: Cedar, earth, cherry, ash and redcurrant on the nose. Beautiful structure on the palate, heading towards being resolved but remaining powerful. Plenty of texture and savory fruit as well. Margaux is still my top Bordeaux from 81 but this isn't far off at all.
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At forty years, the foil, label, fill level and importantly, the cork, were all amazingly in pristine condition. The color was dark garnet color with just a slight amount of bricking on the edges. The slight funky nose burned off after a short period to reveal bright cherry aromatics. Medium bodied, smooth, polished, delicate black berry and black cherry fruits with accents of cigar box, cedar, hints of leather and graphite with a tangy acidic lingering finish. https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/12/christmas-features-birthyear-and.html
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Unfortunately it was not the experience I was hoping for. Had the bottle for years (price tag said $55) and stored pretty well. Cork separated under the screw, not came out with the corky and didn’t seem to be otherwise compromised. Decanted and served with lamb dinner. Aromas of leather and earth. No real fruit. No “pencil box” that I associate with Lafite. Not a particularly long finish. Was disappointed. My wife called it “flat”. Nice meal with the family, but the wine was not what I had hoped. Toward the end of the meal it was becoming slightly more interesting, but not a lot.Concluding it was too weak a vintage and too old (40 is a lot to expect.) I would open and decant and let evolve a bit, but definitely drink up!
From memory. Double decanted but not sure for how long. Small pour. Strong green tobacco on the palate with graphite, leather, earth with fruit in the background. Less balanced than the 81 Cheval Blanc. Still, it's drinking well and would never refuse a glass.
Still impressive, if likely on the back end of its plateau. Smells like old libraries and pipe tobacco - like walking into Oxford or Princeton in the 50s. Tastes of those, and saddle leather, and class. Still a dark garnet, with discernible fruit. Remarkable at 39. Not sure I’d wait too much longer on another bottle, but by no means gone.
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Leftover third bottle, it was popped and barely touched. One day in the fridge really softens it up, even though there is still tannin for years. Old school nose is just so attractive: chalky, bold, minty and a little creamy. There is pencil box, smoky tobacco, chocolate, strawberry, cherry, prune, vanilla, fresh grass, meat and tea. The palate is juicy, sappy, cleanly resolved but still with a firm grasp, reaching superb depth with amazing hearty spice. It is for the similar reasons I like 82’ and all these older Lafites. Truly classy. 95
Bordeaux Left Bank First Growth BYO (Grand Hyatt Hong Kong): Blind. Three separate bottles. At first peppery, but with time exploding into classically Lafite nose. Purple cassis, chalk, tobacco, grilled meat, not showy but quite balanced. Something about the old-school style really delivers. 93
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Cork in pristine shape; bottle sleeping in our cellar for over 20 years. Dark brown color, subdued nose, almost austere even an hour after opened. Tobacco and leather, earthy notes. Complex, ever changing by the minute. Typical Pauillac expression that adopts extensively to food tastes. Great effort that can be enjoyed for another 20 years, peak probably reached. Our first Lafite ever and it didn’t disappoint. It didn’t overwhelm either.
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For an off vintage that is edging close to 40 years of age, this is truly quite nice. Medium bodied, the wine is soft, elegant, fresh and bright. The crisp red fruits shine. The finish is not long, but it feels good and gets you interested in experiencing the earthy, tobacco, lead pencil, red fruit and cedar chest nose. There is no reason to hold this any longer, unless you have a birthday or anniversary to celebrate.
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35+ years in the bottle has lightened the color - but still a nice garnet with hints of bricking on the edges. Considerable sediment in the bottle as expected. Tannins are fully integrated and the wine presents itself with a fairly light mouthfeel (perhaps comparable to a pinot noir?) with very little astringency. Still retains decent acidity and the flavors are fairly muted overall with cherry and blackberry being the most dominant. Still drinking nicely - but I do not think it will benefit with any more cellar time. 90 points.
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Nicely evolved in colour, still rather dark core. At first a little muted on the nose with a slightly musty cork note which unfortunately didn't blow off. After a while lots of tobacco, spices underneath. Fresh and quite drying on the palate, a bit thin. Mineral finish, long.
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Cork pulled with Ah-so, bottom very mushy but in tact. Wine continued to open, evolve, and mellow over the six hour consumption. Aged bordeaux is a new experience for us. Subtle and lingering is the way I would describe the flavors of this old wine however the nose remained muted. An enjoyable and contemplative evening. Would not expect this to deteriorate much over the coming years so will hold and ration remaining bottles.
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Medium dark crimson color with slight signs of bricking. Nose dominated by a savory umami flavor along with wood, ash, shoe polish, dried berries, and Christmas spices. Texturally this is very smooth in the mouth, with gentle red fruit at the front of the palate. This disappears somewhat at midpalate before becoming a bit tart and astringent at the end. The wine finishes long with the lingering flavor of bitumen. Great Château + mediocre vintage = above-average wine, but this falls well short of the life-changing potential of really great first growth Bordeaux. Mostly, I'm impressed by the longevity here, though this should be enjoyed before its 36th birthday.
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This was served at the Naples Winter wine fest to us. It was very very light in color and was very tired. Not much power at all left. Color seemed to be off slightly, not sure we got a perfect bottle.
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Nicely evolved in terms of colour, still fairly dark core. Complex nose of cassis, spice box, tobacco, graphite and menthol - quite cool and reserved. On the palate hardly any tannins, round and rather delicate and subtle. A little thin. Lingering, but not overly intense finish. The acidity stuck out a little, especially towards to end of the evening. Drink up. 90-92
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There's a sprig of mint to the aroma and flavour profile coupled with fresh cassis fruit. It has a little compost development and plenty of earth. There's a tart berry snap to the finish. A mid-weight and clean Lafite that is drinking right in the zone.
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K&L Auction acquisition from an ideal cellar. Impressively fresh and dark color to the rim. Needed an hour in a duck decanter. Slightly shy nose of dark fruit. More dark fruit and great acidity on the palate. Satiating and enjoyable -so good with our meaty meal!
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Had some serious trouble with the cork, so ended up pouring through the bits. Despite that, this was very enjoyable. Great nose of dark fruit, wet tobacco, leather and subtle tomato. Silky texture. Some sweet dark fruit and tapenade on the palate. Nice balance. Medium depth.
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Perfectly mature fresh and tasty. Fabulous nose, fruity with tobacco, oak, leather and a hint of dried fuits. A little less savoury on the palate than what the nose would suggest but still a fantastic bourdeaux . I Will definitly accquire one more if I can. We had it with Tournedos Rossini and swedish truffle, a perfekt match.
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Thanks SH for the fun experience. Cork was destroyed by the waiter so cheesecloth and a strainer to the rescue. Tannins still very present. Cherry, tomato, lead, celery, leather, dried earth, and tobacco. A massively structured wine with a medium finish. A pleasure to geek out on a wine I'll never get a chance to purchase myself. Really enjoyed the jalapeño note throughout the 2 hours it took to kill this. Wine seemed to get better with every breathe of air it took.
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What an amazing experience share with by a great friend! Was giddy when my friend revealed this was the wine. When 1st opened it was celery and tomato paste. Was slightly nervous this might be over the hill. Totally wrong, every minute in the decanter added weight and complexity. Great notes of jalapeno, celery, spices, leather, wood box, dust with a little spice and pops of cherry and raspberry. Still tannins kicking on the finish and was good with various foods!
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My 36th Birthday lunch Lafite 1972 – 1980 – 1981 opened 2 hours before consumption. Excellent in everyway, tobacco, wood spices with a hint of laurel in the back end. Best one out the bunch.
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Now at its peak. Leather and berries. Tastes a bit green but still has a surprising depth to it. Acidity is present but well integrated. Drink now as it wont get any better
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Another Saturday at Knightsbridge - mostly blind (Northbrook, IL): Tasted double blind. Clearly left bank Bordeaux, I thought it much older, but that's what you would probably expect tasted 1981 blind. Still very interesting and easy to enjoy. Somewhat simple and short.
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Tasting oldies: 75 DB, 81 Lafite, 85 Canon, 89 Talbot, 90 Mouton and contrasting 10 Contadino 8. The 75 DB was called a clear winner ahead of the 90 Mouton, followed by Canon and Talbot and the Lafite (!) last amongst the oldies. All bottles in great shape. The 75 stellar. This is why we store Bordeaux for 20+ years :)
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Was disappointed at first. No nose to speak of. But as is usually the case, it started to open up as the dinner proceeded. Was decanted, but only about 45 minutes until we started to enjoy. By the last glass, was a typical Lafite. Got figure out a way to get decanted earlier when at restaurant.
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San Antonio Wine Geeks - The Gathering without Steves (or how we found Lafite) (The Monterey): Only got 1-2 sips of this so no detailed notes. I was quite taken by how fresh and complex this was for such a panned vintage. Striking mint and forest on the nose, with the slightly green character carrying through on the palate. This was most impressive for its poise and seamless way it carries through from palate to finish. Incredible balance and length for an off year. Strikingly similar to the ’92 I had earlier this year, but actually more complete and complex. Little is any tannin left. Drink up. 92-ish
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Charity Lafite Dinner (Holyoke, MA): Double decanted one hour prior to serving. Fairly simple, with a muted nose, fading but slightly harsh tannin, and good acidity. Completely outshined by the 79 in the same flight. C.
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ERI Pre-Auction Wine Tasting (Union League Club - Chicago IL): Wine tasting. Good charming nose, then some black fruit to start. Wasn't showing well this morning, lots of acid in middle and end, then some spice near finish. Good, but disjointed.
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Umm...good but not great as same as tasting 1993 at the Chateau in the older style. It's wrong to test this wine along with Echezeaux 2001 from Rouget.
( Please forgive me, I don't believe myself though. I don't like Echazeaux, I love lafite but this time it's upside down. )
Drink now....90-91/100.... For the same price...I'd go for Rouget ;)
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Splash decanted. Lovely nose of mushroom, tobacco, some earth. Dark brick color, medium body, smooth as silk, gentle mature almost buttery flavors. Somewhat past prime, but very nice with Comte cheese.
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An outstanding example of the 1981 vintage. Served in the same flight as the ’75, ’76, and ’78, the 1981 was of completely different character, with significant concentration of fruit in contrast to the more austere ’76 and ‘78. It seemed riper and lower in acidity than its flightmates in addition to displaying more notable tannins. Immensely likeable for its forwardness.
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Base neck fill, no signs of seepage. Cork crumbled with attempted removal and was chipped away at until the smallest possible fragment was pushed into the wine, which was then filtered into a decanter. Deep red-mahogany in color. Incredibly promising nose in the decanter of rich cassis fruit--of first growth quality--and heavily roasted coffee beans. Unfortunately, when poured into a glass, the over-whelming aroma of a wet golden retriever greeted the nose--unquestionably corked. A true pity because I think a very good wine was lurking below the funk. Undrinkable.
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Drank this beauty with Nicole, 2/14/01. Amazingly complex aromas of berry, mineral, earth, and cigar-box, with round, elegant flavors to match - long finish. Perfectly mature - heaven in a glass.
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Tasted at El Bizcocho with Sharon and Craig Wagner. Surprising more fruit, tannin and structure. This tasting makes me suspect that the previous two tastings represented the wine in a somewhat awkward phase, as all bottles tasted were purchased and cellared identically. Based upon this tasting, this wine has more life than anticipated.
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Tasted at the Brasserie with Eddie Osterland. Color difficult to assess due to dim light. Moderate sediment. Breathing time one hour. Leather and tobacco nose with some plum but more prune. Medium body, light tannins. Same flavors. Eddie felt that the wine is drying out.
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Decanted, with small amount of sediment. Light to medium ruby with brick rim. Nose very closed throughout a 4-hour breathing period in the decanter. Ultimately the wine developed some currants and mint on both the nose and the palate. Light to medium body. Medium, soft tannins. Difficult to predict the ageability of this wine.
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12/21/2023 - Bob H wrote:
This is drinking very nice tonight - not a big wine by any means, but really enjoyable. I’m liking this tonight.
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8/20/2023 - Malarky997 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Lots of fruit. Just fabulous
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8/19/2023 - Mark Burnett Likes this wine:
Medium garnet in the glass and out of the decanter, with a 1/8” rim of orange.
Dried, tart red cherry, graphite, eucalyptus, crackly leather, all surrounded by a blanket of roses. Delicate and luxurious.
Flavors follow the nose, with dried red cherries, rose water, and a finish that includes some wet cedar.
Mouthfeel is dry, medium bodied, with medium plus acidity and slow attacking tannins that arrive soft and lovely. The most delicate of the 5 first growths of the 1981 vintage.
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8/19/2023 - Trickyone Likes this wine:
Les Premiers Crus (aka Schrödinger's Tasting) (The Ridge): More details later.
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4/10/2023 - jgh123 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Had with rabbit for Easter dinner. Bought on release and stored in temperature/humidity controlled cellar. The cork was pristine and the fill was high. From the beginning the nose was delicate with floral and spice notes. Decanted for an hour. Nice color with brick around the rim. This was surprisingly delicious. Classic Lafite - beautiful with the rabbit! While still intact, there is no reason to hold - drink and enjoy!
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9/24/2022 - CamWheeler wrote: 92 Points
"90th" Joint Birthday: Cedar, earth, cherry, ash and redcurrant on the nose. Beautiful structure on the palate, heading towards being resolved but remaining powerful. Plenty of texture and savory fruit as well. Margaux is still my top Bordeaux from 81 but this isn't far off at all.
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12/20/2021 - rmcnees wrote: 90 Points
At forty years, the foil, label, fill level and importantly, the cork, were all amazingly in pristine condition. The color was dark garnet color with just a slight amount of bricking on the edges. The slight funky nose burned off after a short period to reveal bright cherry aromatics. Medium bodied, smooth, polished, delicate black berry and black cherry fruits with accents of cigar box, cedar, hints of leather and graphite with a tangy acidic lingering finish.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/12/christmas-features-birthyear-and.html
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11/23/2021 - Rixley wrote: 87 Points
Unfortunately it was not the experience I was hoping for. Had the bottle for years (price tag said $55) and stored pretty well. Cork separated under the screw, not came out with the corky and didn’t seem to be otherwise compromised. Decanted and served with lamb dinner. Aromas of leather and earth. No real fruit. No “pencil box” that I associate with Lafite. Not a particularly long finish. Was disappointed. My wife called it “flat”. Nice meal with the family, but the wine was not what I had hoped. Toward the end of the meal it was becoming slightly more interesting, but not a lot.Concluding it was too weak a vintage and too old (40 is a lot to expect.) I would open and decant and let evolve a bit, but definitely drink up!
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8/10/2021 - Malarky997 Likes this wine: 91 Points
A bit thin
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5/20/2021 - James Kim Likes this wine: 91 Points
From memory. Double decanted but not sure for how long. Small pour. Strong green tobacco on the palate with graphite, leather, earth with fruit in the background. Less balanced than the 81 Cheval Blanc. Still, it's drinking well and would never refuse a glass.
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4/7/2021 - it's5o'clock wrote:
a bit over the hill.....
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12/22/2020 - Bob23 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still impressive, if likely on the back end of its plateau. Smells like old libraries and pipe tobacco - like walking into Oxford or Princeton in the 50s. Tastes of those, and saddle leather, and class. Still a dark garnet, with discernible fruit. Remarkable at 39. Not sure I’d wait too much longer on another bottle, but by no means gone.
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7/9/2020 - hprphf Likes this wine: 95 Points
Leftover third bottle, it was popped and barely touched. One day in the fridge really softens it up, even though there is still tannin for years. Old school nose is just so attractive: chalky, bold, minty and a little creamy. There is pencil box, smoky tobacco, chocolate, strawberry, cherry, prune, vanilla, fresh grass, meat and tea. The palate is juicy, sappy, cleanly resolved but still with a firm grasp, reaching superb depth with amazing hearty spice. It is for the similar reasons I like 82’ and all these older Lafites. Truly classy. 95
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7/8/2020 - hprphf wrote: 93 Points
Bordeaux Left Bank First Growth BYO (Grand Hyatt Hong Kong): Blind. Three separate bottles. At first peppery, but with time exploding into classically Lafite nose. Purple cassis, chalk, tobacco, grilled meat, not showy but quite balanced. Something about the old-school style really delivers. 93
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5/17/2020 - joseduca Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cork in pristine shape; bottle sleeping in our cellar for over 20 years. Dark brown color, subdued nose, almost austere even an hour after opened. Tobacco and leather, earthy notes. Complex, ever changing by the minute. Typical Pauillac expression that adopts extensively to food tastes. Great effort that can be enjoyed for another 20 years, peak probably reached. Our first Lafite ever and it didn’t disappoint. It didn’t overwhelm either.
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12/25/2019 - LB88 wrote: 90 Points
Opened and decanted a good 4 hours and it was still a little sour on the palate.
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8/28/2019 - StasMedvedev.lv Likes this wine: 94 Points
Château Lafite Rothschild vertical 1958-1994 (Moscow): 🏅Rating 94/100 (4,4⭐)
My vintage, but not the best of Lafite. Underscoring on the nose, but catching up on the palate.
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6/6/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 92 Points
For an off vintage that is edging close to 40 years of age, this is truly quite nice. Medium bodied, the wine is soft, elegant, fresh and bright. The crisp red fruits shine. The finish is not long, but it feels good and gets you interested in experiencing the earthy, tobacco, lead pencil, red fruit and cedar chest nose. There is no reason to hold this any longer, unless you have a birthday or anniversary to celebrate.
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12/1/2017 - lockwood Likes this wine: 90 Points
35+ years in the bottle has lightened the color - but still a nice garnet with hints of bricking on the edges. Considerable sediment in the bottle as expected. Tannins are fully integrated and the wine presents itself with a fairly light mouthfeel (perhaps comparable to a pinot noir?) with very little astringency. Still retains decent acidity and the flavors are fairly muted overall with cherry and blackberry being the most dominant. Still drinking nicely - but I do not think it will benefit with any more cellar time. 90 points.
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7/3/2017 - rossi.wine wrote:
Nicely evolved in colour, still rather dark core. At first a little muted on the nose with a slightly musty cork note which unfortunately didn't blow off. After a while lots of tobacco, spices underneath. Fresh and quite drying on the palate, a bit thin. Mineral finish, long.
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12/12/2016 - BradE wrote:
Lafite Vertical: I actually didn't taste the 81, but folks were giving it good marks.
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11/5/2016 - fatsdmx Likes this wine:
Cork pulled with Ah-so, bottom very mushy but in tact. Wine continued to open, evolve, and mellow over the six hour consumption. Aged bordeaux is a new experience for us. Subtle and lingering is the way I would describe the flavors of this old wine however the nose remained muted. An enjoyable and contemplative evening. Would not expect this to deteriorate much over the coming years so will hold and ration remaining bottles.
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5/25/2016 - NineteenEightyTwo Likes this wine: 90 Points
Medium dark crimson color with slight signs of bricking. Nose dominated by a savory umami flavor along with wood, ash, shoe polish, dried berries, and Christmas spices. Texturally this is very smooth in the mouth, with gentle red fruit at the front of the palate. This disappears somewhat at midpalate before becoming a bit tart and astringent at the end. The wine finishes long with the lingering flavor of bitumen. Great Château + mediocre vintage = above-average wine, but this falls well short of the life-changing potential of really great first growth Bordeaux. Mostly, I'm impressed by the longevity here, though this should be enjoyed before its 36th birthday.
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4/29/2016 - Bankpin wrote: 91 Points
- Brick color. It's lacking fruit.
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1/31/2016 - floridawinedrkr Likes this wine:
This was served at the Naples Winter wine fest to us. It was very very light in color and was very tired. Not much power at all left. Color seemed to be off slightly, not sure we got a perfect bottle.
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1/21/2016 - rossi.wine wrote: 91 Points
Nicely evolved in terms of colour, still fairly dark core. Complex nose of cassis, spice box, tobacco, graphite and menthol - quite cool and reserved. On the palate hardly any tannins, round and rather delicate and subtle. A little thin. Lingering, but not overly intense finish. The acidity stuck out a little, especially towards to end of the evening. Drink up. 90-92
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10/16/2015 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
There's a sprig of mint to the aroma and flavour profile coupled with fresh cassis fruit. It has a little compost development and plenty of earth. There's a tart berry snap to the finish. A mid-weight and clean Lafite that is drinking right in the zone.
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2/20/2015 - sfern Likes this wine: 95 Points
K&L Auction acquisition from an ideal cellar. Impressively fresh and dark color to the rim. Needed an hour in a duck decanter. Slightly shy nose of dark fruit. More dark fruit and great acidity on the palate. Satiating and enjoyable -so good with our meaty meal!
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12/25/2014 - bill00 wrote: 92 Points
From magnum. Classic mature Pauillac with lead pencil, cedar and violets. Slight hints of green vegetal notes (in a good way) add interest.
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12/3/2014 - johnh1001 wrote: 92 Points
Had some serious trouble with the cork, so ended up pouring through the bits. Despite that, this was very enjoyable. Great nose of dark fruit, wet tobacco, leather and subtle tomato. Silky texture. Some sweet dark fruit and tapenade on the palate. Nice balance. Medium depth.
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11/25/2014 - fcxj wrote: 88 Points
Ficofi
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7/18/2014 - ThomasL Likes this wine: 92 Points
Perfectly mature fresh and tasty. Fabulous nose, fruity with tobacco, oak, leather and a hint of dried fuits. A little less savoury on the palate than what the nose would suggest but still a fantastic bourdeaux . I Will definitly accquire one more if I can. We had it with Tournedos Rossini and swedish truffle, a perfekt match.
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4/6/2014 - Hschmitz Likes this wine: 94 Points
Meget dejlig, proppen gik i stykker, men dejlig oplevelse med 1. cru.
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3/8/2014 - Vinsant wrote:
Thanks SH for the fun experience. Cork was destroyed by the waiter so cheesecloth and a strainer to the rescue. Tannins still very present. Cherry, tomato, lead, celery, leather, dried earth, and tobacco. A massively structured wine with a medium finish. A pleasure to geek out on a wine I'll never get a chance to purchase myself. Really enjoyed the jalapeño note throughout the 2 hours it took to kill this. Wine seemed to get better with every breathe of air it took.
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3/7/2014 - bajayngo wrote:
What an amazing experience share with by a great friend! Was giddy when my friend revealed this was the wine. When 1st opened it was celery and tomato paste. Was slightly nervous this might be over the hill. Totally wrong, every minute in the decanter added weight and complexity. Great notes of jalapeno, celery, spices, leather, wood box, dust with a little spice and pops of cherry and raspberry. Still tannins kicking on the finish and was good with various foods!
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9/28/2013 - GEDC Likes this wine: 94 Points
My 36th Birthday lunch Lafite 1972 – 1980 – 1981 opened 2 hours before consumption. Excellent in everyway, tobacco, wood spices with a hint of laurel in the back end. Best one out the bunch.
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4/21/2013 - wr12162 wrote: 93 Points
Time to drink up! Needed an hour or two out of the bottle to fully present itself. Very nice, but this one will get no better from here.
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1/17/2013 - Wine_lvr wrote: 88 Points
Now at its peak. Leather and berries. Tastes a bit green but still has a surprising depth to it. Acidity is present but well integrated. Drink now as it wont get any better
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6/30/2012 - Burgundy Al wrote: 87 Points
Another Saturday at Knightsbridge - mostly blind (Northbrook, IL): Tasted double blind. Clearly left bank Bordeaux, I thought it much older, but that's what you would probably expect tasted 1981 blind. Still very interesting and easy to enjoy. Somewhat simple and short.
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6/4/2012 - Mascalese Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasting oldies: 75 DB, 81 Lafite, 85 Canon, 89 Talbot, 90 Mouton and contrasting 10 Contadino 8. The 75 DB was called a clear winner ahead of the 90 Mouton, followed by Canon and Talbot and the Lafite (!) last amongst the oldies. All bottles in great shape. The 75 stellar. This is why we store Bordeaux for 20+ years :)
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12/2/2011 - macwino wrote: 92 Points
Was disappointed at first. No nose to speak of. But as is usually the case, it started to open up as the dinner proceeded. Was decanted, but only about 45 minutes until we started to enjoy. By the last glass, was a typical Lafite. Got figure out a way to get decanted earlier when at restaurant.
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3/30/2011 - Nutty08 Likes this wine:
San Antonio Wine Geeks - The Gathering without Steves (or how we found Lafite) (The Monterey): Only got 1-2 sips of this so no detailed notes. I was quite taken by how fresh and complex this was for such a panned vintage. Striking mint and forest on the nose, with the slightly green character carrying through on the palate. This was most impressive for its poise and seamless way it carries through from palate to finish. Incredible balance and length for an off year. Strikingly similar to the ’92 I had earlier this year, but actually more complete and complex. Little is any tannin left. Drink up. 92-ish
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6/18/2010 - tom999s wrote: 90 Points
cork dry at top. took a lot of urging to insure the cork removed ok.
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3/24/2010 - johneagle wrote: 94 Points
Plenty of time left, though cruising along at its peak and there may be a slight loss of fruit compared to a few years back
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1/24/2010 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 85 Points
Charity Lafite Dinner (Holyoke, MA): Double decanted one hour prior to serving. Fairly simple, with a muted nose, fading but slightly harsh tannin, and good acidity. Completely outshined by the 79 in the same flight. C.
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1/1/2010 - peterfre wrote: 95 Points
awesome
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6/4/2009 - kenv wrote: 95 Points
WCC First Growth Bordeaux Tasting @ Provence (Provence Restaurant, Albany, NY): [Double-decanted at 5pm] Another monster nose. Big, rich tannic in the mouth. Still quite young. Loads of cedar mulch. Great stuff.
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4/19/2009 - Burgundy Al wrote: 88 Points
ERI Pre-Auction Wine Tasting (Union League Club - Chicago IL): Wine tasting. Good charming nose, then some black fruit to start. Wasn't showing well this morning, lots of acid in middle and end, then some spice near finish. Good, but disjointed.
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11/20/2008 - burningstarIV wrote: 91 Points
50+5+11+16+9=91
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11/1/2008 - Blair Curtis wrote: 82 Points
"BYO First Growth Dinner" (Four Seasons): This is over the hill now. Mostly surviving on its acids. Leafy taste. Not great.
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4/29/2008 - noppakit s. wrote: 91 Points
Umm...good but not great as same as tasting 1993 at the Chateau in the older style. It's wrong to test this wine along with Echezeaux 2001 from Rouget.
( Please forgive me, I don't believe myself though. I don't like Echazeaux, I love lafite but this time it's upside down. )
Drink now....90-91/100.... For the same price...I'd go for Rouget ;)
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11/23/2007 - wpd wrote: 92 Points
Wonderful, balanced perfectly aged wine. A bit lighter in body than other vintages, but just outstanding.
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7/15/2007 - Pre-emptive wrote: 93 Points
Very fine wine for the vintage. The wine was fully matured years ago but still at its prime. Very Looooooooooooooooooong finish.
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5/6/2007 - Cilantro wrote: 93 Points
Splash decanted. Lovely nose of mushroom, tobacco, some earth. Dark brick color, medium body, smooth as silk, gentle mature almost buttery flavors. Somewhat past prime, but very nice with Comte cheese.
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12/5/2006 - D. Fulton wrote: 92 Points
An outstanding example of the 1981 vintage. Served in the same flight as the ’75, ’76, and ’78, the 1981 was of completely different character, with significant concentration of fruit in contrast to the more austere ’76 and ‘78. It seemed riper and lower in acidity than its flightmates in addition to displaying more notable tannins. Immensely likeable for its forwardness.
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9/22/2006 - swolas wrote: flawed
Seepage around the cork. Overall taste was gone.
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6/28/2006 - MC wrote:
nice elegant lafite. starting to fade a bit, but very enjoyable. A-
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4/16/2006 - ATBridge wrote:
Base neck fill, no signs of seepage. Cork crumbled with attempted removal and was chipped away at until the smallest possible fragment was pushed into the wine, which was then filtered into a decanter. Deep red-mahogany in color. Incredibly promising nose in the decanter of rich cassis fruit--of first growth quality--and heavily roasted coffee beans. Unfortunately, when poured into a glass, the over-whelming aroma of a wet golden retriever greeted the nose--unquestionably corked. A true pity because I think a very good wine was lurking below the funk. Undrinkable.
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10/30/2005 - grenier wrote: 95 Points
Great nose of tobacco, leather and some red fruits. Fantastic in the mouth, very long
finish. Mature but should last many years.
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2/14/2001 - tbabes wrote: 97 Points
Drank this beauty with Nicole, 2/14/01. Amazingly complex aromas of berry, mineral, earth, and cigar-box, with round, elegant flavors to match - long finish. Perfectly mature - heaven in a glass.
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11/14/1998 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 92 Points
Tasted at El Bizcocho with Sharon and Craig Wagner. Surprising more fruit, tannin and structure. This tasting makes me suspect that the previous two tastings represented the wine in a somewhat awkward phase, as all bottles tasted were purchased and cellared identically. Based upon this tasting, this wine has more life than anticipated.
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9/11/1996 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 88 Points
Tasted at Brasserie with Holly, Rick and Rosie. Similar to 2/24/96 except with more fruit and more pleasant overall impression.
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2/24/1996 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 85 Points
Tasted at the Brasserie with Eddie Osterland. Color difficult to assess due to dim light. Moderate sediment. Breathing time one hour. Leather and tobacco nose with some plum but more prune. Medium body, light tannins. Same flavors. Eddie felt that the wine is drying out.
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1/21/1996 - chbeaumont wrote: 90 Points
Good colour, garnet; fragrant, delicate even; dry, brisk, lovely clean fruit
Extended. 16
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8/1/1994 - sdr Does not like this wine: 79 Points
Pretty bad for a wine of this pedigree, even in a so-so vintage. Medium dark. Thin and short. Too tannic and too herbaceous. Maybe an off bottle.
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3/13/1993 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 88 Points
Decanted, with small amount of sediment. Light to medium ruby with brick rim. Nose very closed throughout a 4-hour breathing period in the decanter. Ultimately the wine developed some currants and mint on both the nose and the palate. Light to medium body. Medium, soft tannins. Difficult to predict the ageability of this wine.
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9/1/1992 - sdr Likes this wine: 86 Points
Bright cherry color, orange rim. Beautiful feminine and elegant Lafite fragrance. Good grip and finish. Yet in sum merely good, not great.
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5/22/1991 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 95 Points
1981 Bordeaux Tasting with the Wine Group (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Big, rich, fruity, elegant nose, nice, ripe, rich, big fruity taste, hints of dust, big, rich, young fruit.
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