1990 Château Lafite Rothschild Pauillac Bordeaux France Wine Tasting Note
48741 Views
1990
Château Lafite Rothschild (Pauillac)
The best example of this wine I have ever tasted was simply beautiful. The dried flowers, cedar, tobacco, and spicy red currant perfumed notes were the perfect introduction. The palate was clearly its equal, as the textures balanced suppleness, with vibrancy, refinement, and elegance, finishing with purity in the red fruits and almost soft, creamy tannins. Just starting to wake up, this is going to age for decades. Drink from 2024-2060. 2,074 Views Tasted Feb 4, 2024Firm, reticent, classic-styled Pauillac with loads of spicy red, crisp currants, cedar, tobacco, cigar box, herbs, and forest leaves. The fruit is crunchy and the tannins are a bit on the rustic side. If you are seeking an old-school, classic with a green edge, you are going to like this more than I did. Drink from 2023-2050. 3,635 Views Tasted Dec 17, 2022This is a fine wine. But for a First Growth selling for the money it does, it falls short. Everything is there, the nose, palate and finish, but where is the excitement and energy needed for this much money? There are selling wines, and drinking wines. This is more of the first, and less of the last. 6,351 Views Tasted Feb 27, 2015In a blind tasting, the wine shows well. The texture is silky. The fruit is of quality, with cassis, cedar, earth, cigar box and tobacco in abundance. The finish comes up a bit short. This is just starting to drink well. However, its best days are in the future. I'd give it another 5-10 more years before popping a bottle. On the positive side, the wine has clearly improved over the years. When mature, this could become a much better wine still. 10,324 Views Tasted Jul 21, 2013A bit of a disappointment. The wine is good. But, at least to me, it's not First Growth in quality. Elegant in style, with its cedar and cassis profile, the fruit is high quality offering a lush mouth feel. But, the finish is moderate and there is not enough concentration to make this really exciting. With another decade, the wine will develop additional complexities, but at least to me, it will never offer a First Growth experience 14,126 Views Tasted Sep 10, 2010Tight and closed. It was hard to see what this wine will offer in the future. Clearly this needs a decade or two before coming around. But, will it be worth the wait? Scored for potential. 6,143 Views Tasted Nov 15, 2009Although very closed , with much coaxing, it served up scents of lead pencil, minerals, oak and fruit. Aside from being closed down, the elements did not integrate for me. It seemed disjointed and was light, even by Lafite standards. The wine improved in the glass, but it was not First Growth quality 6,088 Views Tasted Apr 25, 2007 |
When to Drink Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time
Chateau Lafite Rothschild is not a wine to drink on the young side. The wine is usually far too tannic and reserved in its youth. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 3-6 hours, give or take. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume.
Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. Chateau Lafite Rothschild is usually better with at least 15 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau Lafite Rothschild offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 15 and 60 years of age after the vintage.
Serving Chateau Lafite Rothschild with Wine and Food Pairings
Chateau Lafite Rothschild is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.
Chateau Lafite Rothschild is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau Lafite Rothschild is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, salmon, mushrooms, and pasta.
Chateau Lafite Rothschild is the most elegantly styled of the three First Growths from Pauillac. But do not confuse the term elegant with light. Chateau Lafite is perhaps the most aromatic of the First Growths as well, with a perfume that fills the air with cedar, cassis, spice, tobacco, truffle, lead pencil, dark, red berries, and earthy notes.
In the best vintages, the wine requires decades to develop to its full potential. Trust me on this, it is worth the wait!
Lafite Rothschild is also involved in several diverse wine investments in countries outside of France. Vina Los Vascos in Chile was their first venture outside of Bordeaux, where they make several red and white wines primarily from Coloagua Chile.
In 1999, they joint ventured with the Catena family in Mendoza, Argentina to produce Bodegas Caro.
Continuing to expand, in 1999, they purchased Domaine d’Aussieres in the Languedoc-Roussillon appellation, located just below the Southern Rhone Valley. Their first move to Asia came in 2011 when they planted vines in the Penglai Peninsula in the Shandong Province in China. The vineyards were planted by Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.
Since 1995, the DBR group has also produced "The Collection," which is a series of generic, low-priced wines from various Bordeaux appellations sold under the name of Legende.