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  • Country ranking ?

    400
  • Producer ranking ?

    17
  • Decanting time

    1h.30min
  • When to drink

    Now-2025
  • Food Pairing

    Honey Soy Venison

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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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”.

 

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Wine Information

The decade culminated with the hot year of 1949, when Bordeaux was hit by an unprecedented dry spell. Cold, rainy weather had hindered germination, which resulted in an exceptionally uneven distribution of pollen. This, in turn, made for a record small crop. With the arrival of summer, Bordeaux was subjected to a heat wave the likes of which it had never seen before. Temperatures as high as 43°C were recorded at Médoc.  Early September brought massive thunderstorms followed by a period of ideal weather, which lasted until the harvest at the end of the month. The already small crop was made even smaller, but it produced a fantastically juicy wine that was extremely delicious even at a young age. The wines themselves have more backbone and are more elegant than the 1947 vintage. Indeed, these are missing the concentration which is found in the 1945. Mouton-Rothschild, however, is a capable challenger of even the best 1945s and 1947s, with its ample body and balance. The dry white wines produced were also outstanding, even though they are no longer very drinkable. Conversely, the Sauternes grapes picked at the end of a record dry October produced unique, noble rot wines. 

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Vintage 1949

In Bordeaux, the decade culminated in the hot year of 1949, when Bordeaux was hit by an unprecedented period of drought. Cold, rainy weather had hampered germination, resulting in an exceptionally uneven distribution of pollen. This, in turn, led to a record harvest. With the arrival of summer, Bordeaux was subjected to a heatwave like it had never seen before. Temperatures of up to 43°C have been recorded in Médoc. Early September brought massive thunderstorms followed by a period of ideal weather, which lasted until harvest at the end of the month. The already small harvest was made even smaller, but it produced an incredibly juicy wine that was extremely delicious even at a young age. The wines themselves have more backbone and are more elegant than the 1947 vintage. Indeed, these lack the concentration found in the 1945. Mouton-Rothschild, however, is a capable challenger even of the best 1945 and 1947, with its ample body and balance. The dry white wines produced were also exceptional, although no longer very drinkable. Conversely, the Sauternes grapes picked at the end of a record dry October produced unique and noble wines.

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Average Bottle Price

2023 2020 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000
1 640€ +13.1% 1 450€ -4.0% 1 511€ +3.6% 1 459€ +39.8% 1 044€ +5.6% 989€ -22.6% 1 277€ -10.8% 1 432€ -13.4% 1 654€ -50.3% 3 328€ +317.0% 798€ +47.0% 543€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Latest Pro-tasting notes

19 tasting notes

Tasting note

color

Deep, Ruby red and Bright

ending

Endless, Extensive, Pure and Sharp

flavors

Blackcurrant, Vanilla, Tobacco, Mineral, Chocolate and Toasty

nose

Intense, Refined, Rich and Ripe

recommend

Yes

taste

Average in Acidity, Warming, Perfectly balanced, Multi-dimensional, Balanced, Mature, Full-bodied, Elegant, Silky, Round and Drying tannins

Verdict

Masterpiece and Intelligent

Written Notes

That was it for the whites; yes, it is still a red, red world, although I am a big consumer of white wines personally. We began with Bordeaux; a debate would ensue the next night about Bordeaux before Burgundy or Burgundy before Bordeaux, but on this night we went South to North. A 1949 Lafite Rothschild was a little weedy and musty but classic underneath. It was a gentle giant with classic pencil aromas and tender tea flavors. This was a wine enjoying its retirement, although affected by the cork (93A).
  • 93p

The bottle of 1949 Lafite-Rothschild was reconditioned at the property in 1989, and although featherweight compared to the 1949 Latour, it is a wonderful mature Pauillac. Clear in color, the 1949 has a tuile core commensurate with its age. It delivers an ethereal, transparent bouquet with red cherry, meat juices, cedar and pine trees, all beautifully defined and with exquisite detail, if never a powerful set of aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannin, perfectly judged acidity, lighter in style than other 1949s but with a beguiling pretty, slightly savory finish with black truffle shaved over the aftertaste. This is a classic and quite understated Lafite-Rothschild that steps aside and allows Mouton-Rothschild and Latour to take all the accolades. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild dinner at Amuse Bouche in Hong Kong.

  • 92p

Tasted in March 2019 during dinner at Domaine de Chevalier. Still keeping up well with time passing by with pure elegance, finesse and sophisticated touch. Captivating sweetness. Refined and with velvety aftertaste. A real, real treat to experience! 

  • 96p
Light colour. Like the 1945 it has the characteristic nose of dried roses and cold tea. It is a beautiful, charming wine with a delicate lingering sweetness. It needs drinking as it is starting to show some age. However it will age very gracefully if stored well.
  • 96p
Und dann war da dieser schier unglaubliche 1949 Lafite Rothschild aus einer 1983 neu verkorkten Flasche. Den hatte ich noch nie auch nur annähernd so gut im Glas. Ein kompletter, großer, finessiger und stimmiger Lafite mit aristokratischer Struktur, sehr mineralisch mit feiner Süße und endlosem Abgang. Der bekam von der kompletten Runde die Maximalwertung, klare WT100. Ein Traumflight war das, der so manche Weinuntiefe, durch die wir durch mussten, vergessen ließ.
  • 100p
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Information

Origin

Pauillac, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Very good

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

There is a possibility

Glass time

2h

Drinking temperature

16
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