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1865 Chateau Lafite Rothschild:
98 Points Robert Parker
“Except for the 1966 and 1870 vintages of Lafite-Rothschild, these wines were poured on virgin territory on my palate. The other great classics from the last century were remarkable wines, all with original corks, and in extraordinary condition. Their age was authenticated by Michael Broadbent, who is the only person in the world to have the good fortune to have tasted these wines on several occasions. The 1865 Lafite-Rothschild was other-worldly. The first word I wrote after smelling it was "wow!". The colour is a medium garnet with considerable rust and orange at the edge. The wine possessed an extraordinary fragrance, great density, and fabulous intensity of chocolate, herb, and cedar-like flavours with a wonderful, sweet, inner-core of opulent fruit. The finish is long and velvety, with no hard edges. It is hard to imagine a 130-year old wine (made when American Civil War adversaries, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, were alive) tasting so extraordinary, but I was there - I saw it, I smelled it, I tasted it, and I drank it! Unreal!”
5* Michael Broadbent
First encountered in the cellars at Bodorgan, the seat of the Meyrick family in Anglesey, North Wales: 104 bottles not moved since binned, capsules embossed ‘Lafite’ but unbranded cork. Levels, and overall condition, perfect (just five ‘slightly ullaged’). First tasted in the cellar: medium pale but lovely color; bouquet wholesome but fading drying out and thinning though very much alive (one of the ‘slightly ullaged’ bottles — halfway down the neckl — was sweeter but slightly more acidic).Two other notes, one at the pit-sale tasting.Lafite, a bottle from Lord Rosebery’s cellar at Overton’s tasting in i9: amazingly youthful, good, rich. Perfectly balanced. At Rodenstock’s in rws: embossed glass ‘lozenge’ with name of wine on shoulder of bottle, ‘R. Cabs’ on label. Alas, nose like blancmange, medicinal, tinny. Volatile, oxidised with grubby aftertaste. Most recently a bottle recorked at the château in 1980: medium-dry lovely color, amber rim; showing its age and slightly malty at first but after an hour had got its ‘second wind’. Dry, a hefty style,very tannic. Very impressive. Last noted at Jaeger’s June 2001. At best
Wine Description
The Story
The Château Lafite estate run by the Rothschilds is, with its 100 hectares of cultivated land, the largest of the main Pauillac vineyards.
It is located in the highest part of the area and the view from its château, with its conical towers that appear on the label, takes in the banks of the River Gironde, which flows nearby. The wines are a blend of four different varieties of grape – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Lafite matures slightly earlier than other Premier Cru wines in the region on account of the generous amounts of Merlot used, and it is this that also makes the wine more delicate and subtle than those wines which are completely dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon.
“Lafite has a soul, a beautiful, generous, kindly soul. Lafite turns bare earth into heaven. Lafite is harmony, a harmony between man and nature, because without our magnificent winegrowers, nothing would be accomplished.”
Baron Eric de Rothschild
Of the five Premier Cru wines in the region, Château Lafite to my mind has managed to produce the year’s best wine in many of the top years in 1900th centrury. The times I have spent in the company of a 1934, 1953, 1959, 1982 and 1986 have been unforgettable. And it was then that I always remembered how many wine critics fondly describe Lafite as ‘the perfection of elegance’.
Vineyard soil: fine gravel mixed with aeolien sands on a bedrock of tertiary limestone
Production area: 103 ha
Grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon (71%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet Franc (3%) and Petit Verdot (1%)
Average age of vines: 30 years
Harvest method: hand picked
Winemaking: the vinification is nowadays done with all the sophisticated instruments which modern oenology has created. Fermentation takes place in large oak vats in which the musts remain for 18 to 25 days.
Ageing: the wines are aged entirely in new barrels for 18 to 24 months. During this time,the wine is racked 7 times and is fined with the whites of 6 eggs per barrel. Only certain vats are selected to make the Grand Vin, Lafite. The others are used to make the second wine of Lafite, the “Carruades de Lafite”.
Vintage 1865
Bordeaux: An early harvest, starting on September 6th, with good wines that were high in tannins. Many took decades to come round but proved exceptionally long-lasting. The American Civil war finished on April 9 of this year.
Recommended glass shape
Average Bottle Price
2017 | 2016 | 2013 | 2011 | 2010 | 2005 | 2000 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 956€ -6.7% | 10 670€ +21.4% | 8 790€ -23.0% | 11 421€ +34.9% | 8 466€ -22.7% | 10 954€ +46.7% | 7 465€ |