96% Cabernet Sauvignon en slechts wat peper en zout voor Merlot (3,5%) en Petit Verdot (0,5%). De meest besproken Premier straalt: fris, open, rechtuit en voluptueux. Wat een klasse! Alles wijst op op absolute en totale Pauillac-klasse. Fenomenale charme en wondermooie tannine. Groots! Onze felicitaties aan Eric Kohler, Jean-Guillaume Prats en Saskia de Rothschild die voortaan Lafite onder hun vleugels nemen. Enkel beschikbaar op aanvraag, jaarlijkse klanten hebben voorrang.
IN DE PERS
95-97 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Mei 2018)
The 2017 Lafite-Rothschild had been blended in mid-March, a couple of weeks prior to my visit, therefore it was important to let this settle and aerate. Moreover, I returned on my final day in Bordeaux mid-April for a second reading. It feels very aloof at first, even a little green, although that ebbs away with time in the glass to reveal pure blackberry and bilberry fruit, touches of brine, cedar and graphite. Patience discloses a really quite sublime array of aromas. The palate is where all the action is: filigree tannin, very well judged acidity, harmonious and poised with a silky smooth finish that glides across the mouth. It does not possess enormous length but it is very precise and, for want of a better, less clichéd word, classic from start to finish. Tasted twice with consistent notes. Drink 2023-2050.
94-97 Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (Mei 2018)
The 2017 Lafite-Rothschild is gorgeous. Silky, nuanced and polished, the 2017 captures all the finesse that makes Lafite such a vaunted property. Even in this unusual vintage, Lafite retains its super classic flavor profile, shape and personality. And that is one of the signatures of truly great sites. Like many of his colleagues, Technical Director Eric Kolher opted for gentle extractions and incorporated a relatively high amount of press wine (16%) into the blend. Those are merely details, though, because the 2017 Lafite is stellar. It also has the potential to be the most complete of the First Growths.
98 Jane Anson – decanter.com (April 2018)
This is delicious, a real take-a-step-back moment. There's a high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon here, complex and layered with cassis and bilberry notes that tease the attack before being filled out with charcoal, slate, cedar, and even truffle hints, even at this early stage. The finish just doesn't want to quit. It's effortless but questioning, and most importantly it feels like a Lafite - for me this is a contender for red wine of the vintage. Less intense than 2016, but still just beautiful. 40hl/ha yield, unaffected by frost, or maybe just one tiny corner. 99% new oak. 3.75pH. Drink 2027-2042.
97-99 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW – robertparker.com (April 2018)
Composed of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon with 3.5% Merlot and 0.5% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Lafite Rothschild is a little shy on the nose to begin, opening out to scents of crushed blackcurrants, black cherries and warm black plums with touches of yeast extract, charcuterie, cigar box and fertile loam plus a hint of iron ore. POW—the paradoxically ethereal, medium-bodied palate hits you with vibrant, exhilarating black fruit and previously latent floral layers, supported with fantastic freshness and super fine-grained, pixelated tannins, finishing with persistent mineral and perfumed layers. Truly. Stunning.
97-98 James Suckling – jamessuckling.com (Maart 2018)
This is very tight and tannic with lots of blackcurrant and sweet-tobacco character. Firm and powerful tannin texture sets this up for a long and chewy finish, yet it remains very compact and polished. It's a wine that possesses all the hallmarks of Lafite — everything from flavors to structure.
17/20 Julia Harding MW – jancisrobinson.com (April 2018)
Inky crimson. Dark, savoury black fruit, a little understated in aroma. On the palate, could do with just a little more flesh. It's balanced and not overdone on the tannins but not the standout first growth this year. Elegant but rather underwhelming, perhaps lacking the sweetness and mid-palate depth of Merlot. Tannins very fine. Fresh and really quite soft, textural finesse but rather understated fruit. Savoury graphite finish. Drink 2027-2040
94-96 Jeb Dunnuck – jebdunnuck.com (April 2018)
The 2017 Lafite-Rothschild is another classic wine from this estate that’s in the same mold as the 2015, if not slightly deeper, darker, and more concentrated. Made from almost all Cabernet Sauvignon and offering a gorgeous array of crème de cassis, lead pencil, graphite, and hints of minerality, it’s medium to full-bodied, pure, precise, and as refined and elegant as it gets. It has the supple, approachable style of the vintage and will be relatively approachable in its youth, yet will cruise for three decades on its balance and purity.
95-96 Jean-Marc Quarin – quarin.fr (April 2018)
18-19/20 Revue des Vins de France – rvf.com (April 2018)
96-98 Roger Voss – wineenthusiast.com (April 2018) Lafite RothschildLafite Rothschild is één van de machtigste “super-brands”, met “global demand” tot gevolg. Maar dit “best performing investment vehicle over the past decade” van 2011 is ook een grote wijn: al eeuwen lang aanzien als een koning onder koningen, brengt Lafite indrukwekkende bewaarwijnen van de allergrootste distinctie. 1953, 1959, 1986, 1996, 2003, 2009 en 2010 zijn referenties. Perfecte parkerscores gingen naar 1986, 1996 en 2003.
Het domein bevat 103 hectare wijngaarden op het noordelijke punt van Pauillac, met zelfs enkele wijnstokken in Saint Estèphe. Het terroir van Graves is beplant met 78% Cabernet Cauvignon, 17% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc en 1% Petit Verdot. De tweede wijn heet Carruades de Lafite. Het Château staat tussen fraaie ceders op een terras, omheind door een balustrade in Louis XIV-stijl, en is sinds het Second Empire (1868) in handen van de Franse tak van de familie Rothschild. Sinds 1975 en zeker 1982 brachten Eric de Rothschild en wijnmaker Charles Chevalier de wijnen opnieuw op een weergaloos niveau. Saskia de Rothschild stuurt voortaan Lafite aan met een vernieuwd élan. Eerder was ze journalist voor New York Times, wereldreiziger en pende ze zelfs een eerste roman neer. Nu richt ze haar pijlen op Lafite Rotschild. Met zin voor het juiste woord volgt ze de evenementen nauwgezet op, met « le pouvoir des mots pour les qualifier ». Deze jonge dame heeft de toewijding van de jonge mama die ze ondertussen geworden is. Samen met Eric Kohler, wijnmaker sinds 2015, en Jean-Guillaume Prats, die eerder Cos d'Estournel groot maakte, verwachten wij van hen vele Grands Vins op Lafite!
Een goede Lafite-Rothschild is robuust in combinatie met veel verfijning en subtiele nuances. Een rijpe Lafite-Rothschild is vooral herkenbaar aan een karakteristiek 'bloemetje' in het bouquet. Lafite staat voor rijkdom, prestige, geschiedenis en immense bewaarwijnen.
| |
