2009 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac Imperial (6 Litre)
"Vintage of the decade, perhaps century?"
The 2009 vintage in Bordeaux stands amongst the 5 greatest vintages to of all time alongside 1990, 2005, 1945, and 1961.
100 Points James Suckling (February 2019)
This is what the Medoc is all about. The freshness and delicacy of this wine in combination with its serious concentration and firm core are totally stunning. Time has already worked its magic and this is already delicious, but has decades in front of it. Drink or hold.
99+ Points Robert M. Parker Jr, The Wine Advocate (December 2011)
The main reason the 2009 Lafite Rothschild did not receive a perfect score is because the wine has closed down slightly, but it is unquestionably another profound Lafite, their greatest wine since the amazing 2003. Among the most powerful Lafites ever made (it came in at 13.59% alcohol), the final blend was 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot. The selection was incredibly severe with only 45% of the crop being utilized. A tight, but potentially gorgeous nose of graphite, black currants, licorice and camphor is followed by a full-bodied wine revealing the classic elegance, purity and delineated style of Lafite. It is phenomenally concentrated with softer tannins than the 2005, the 2003's voluptuous, broad, juicy personality, and low acidity. There are several vintages that I thought were a replay of their colossal 1959, most notably 1982 and 2003, but 2009 is also one to keep an eye on. It is still extremely youthful and seems slightly more backward than I would have guessed based on the barrel tastings, but it needs 10-15 years of bottle age, and should last for 50+.
99 Points, Charles Curtis MW, Decanter (February 2022)
This wine is stunningly impressive but almost the opposite of the 2010 vintage. The year offered a warm, wet spring followed by a hot, dry summer and cool nights in September, giving a riper, more generous impression. A bit of smoke and spice on the initial attack with a ripe, plummy fruit character that is more black than red and a supple, dense richness on the palate that lingers sumptuously on the finish. This vintage will drink sooner than the 2010, yet should easily last as long. The finished wine is a blend of 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and a half-percent of Petit Verdot. Picking began in mid-September for the Merlot and early October for the Cabernet, with 45% of the fruit going into the grand vin.
Drinking Window 2032 - 2082
99 Points, Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
Elegant, fresh, vibrant, lively, focused and refined, there is a beautiful purity to the fruit found here. Classic Pauillac here, but the wine is also lush and almost opulent in nature. Medium/full-bodied, with delicious array of red and black fruits, tobacco leaf, crushed stone, smoke and crisp red fruits in the end note, this beauty demands at least 15 more years to start delivering its true potential. The wine was made from blending 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and .5% Cabernet Franc. This is the highest percentage of Merlot in the blend since 1995. The wine reached 13% alcohol.
99 Points Jane Anson, Decanter (July 2022)
Cedar, sandalwood, slate, liqourice, smoked earth, this is subtle, inches slowly through the palate, showcasing fine tannins that at first hide the depth and power in the wine, preferring instead to levitate above the palate. The more muscular cassis, bilberry, cocoa bean and pencil lead arrive as it opens up, and the Pauillac character becomes very clear. An utterly signature Lafite, at every moment the estate signature dominates the vintage character, and of all the First Growths in this tasting it performs the trick of gaining in power with every minute that it is open in the glass, suprising you with how much it builds and layers in complexity. True to itself, effortlessly confident, will stay on this plateau for many decades.
"Vintage of the decade, perhaps century?"
The 2009 vintage in Bordeaux stands amongst the 5 greatest vintages to of all time alongside 1990, 2005, 1945, and 1961.
100 Points James Suckling (February 2019)
This is what the Medoc is all about. The freshness and delicacy of this wine in combination with its serious concentration and firm core are totally stunning. Time has already worked its magic and this is already delicious, but has decades in front of it. Drink or hold.
99+ Points Robert M. Parker Jr, The Wine Advocate (December 2011)
The main reason the 2009 Lafite Rothschild did not receive a perfect score is because the wine has closed down slightly, but it is unquestionably another profound Lafite, their greatest wine since the amazing 2003. Among the most powerful Lafites ever made (it came in at 13.59% alcohol), the final blend was 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot. The selection was incredibly severe with only 45% of the crop being utilized. A tight, but potentially gorgeous nose of graphite, black currants, licorice and camphor is followed by a full-bodied wine revealing the classic elegance, purity and delineated style of Lafite. It is phenomenally concentrated with softer tannins than the 2005, the 2003's voluptuous, broad, juicy personality, and low acidity. There are several vintages that I thought were a replay of their colossal 1959, most notably 1982 and 2003, but 2009 is also one to keep an eye on. It is still extremely youthful and seems slightly more backward than I would have guessed based on the barrel tastings, but it needs 10-15 years of bottle age, and should last for 50+.
99 Points, Charles Curtis MW, Decanter (February 2022)
This wine is stunningly impressive but almost the opposite of the 2010 vintage. The year offered a warm, wet spring followed by a hot, dry summer and cool nights in September, giving a riper, more generous impression. A bit of smoke and spice on the initial attack with a ripe, plummy fruit character that is more black than red and a supple, dense richness on the palate that lingers sumptuously on the finish. This vintage will drink sooner than the 2010, yet should easily last as long. The finished wine is a blend of 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and a half-percent of Petit Verdot. Picking began in mid-September for the Merlot and early October for the Cabernet, with 45% of the fruit going into the grand vin.
Drinking Window 2032 - 2082
99 Points, Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
Elegant, fresh, vibrant, lively, focused and refined, there is a beautiful purity to the fruit found here. Classic Pauillac here, but the wine is also lush and almost opulent in nature. Medium/full-bodied, with delicious array of red and black fruits, tobacco leaf, crushed stone, smoke and crisp red fruits in the end note, this beauty demands at least 15 more years to start delivering its true potential. The wine was made from blending 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and .5% Cabernet Franc. This is the highest percentage of Merlot in the blend since 1995. The wine reached 13% alcohol.
99 Points Jane Anson, Decanter (July 2022)
Cedar, sandalwood, slate, liqourice, smoked earth, this is subtle, inches slowly through the palate, showcasing fine tannins that at first hide the depth and power in the wine, preferring instead to levitate above the palate. The more muscular cassis, bilberry, cocoa bean and pencil lead arrive as it opens up, and the Pauillac character becomes very clear. An utterly signature Lafite, at every moment the estate signature dominates the vintage character, and of all the First Growths in this tasting it performs the trick of gaining in power with every minute that it is open in the glass, suprising you with how much it builds and layers in complexity. True to itself, effortlessly confident, will stay on this plateau for many decades.
"Vintage of the decade, perhaps century?"
The 2009 vintage in Bordeaux stands amongst the 5 greatest vintages to of all time alongside 1990, 2005, 1945, and 1961.
100 Points James Suckling (February 2019)
This is what the Medoc is all about. The freshness and delicacy of this wine in combination with its serious concentration and firm core are totally stunning. Time has already worked its magic and this is already delicious, but has decades in front of it. Drink or hold.
99+ Points Robert M. Parker Jr, The Wine Advocate (December 2011)
The main reason the 2009 Lafite Rothschild did not receive a perfect score is because the wine has closed down slightly, but it is unquestionably another profound Lafite, their greatest wine since the amazing 2003. Among the most powerful Lafites ever made (it came in at 13.59% alcohol), the final blend was 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot. The selection was incredibly severe with only 45% of the crop being utilized. A tight, but potentially gorgeous nose of graphite, black currants, licorice and camphor is followed by a full-bodied wine revealing the classic elegance, purity and delineated style of Lafite. It is phenomenally concentrated with softer tannins than the 2005, the 2003's voluptuous, broad, juicy personality, and low acidity. There are several vintages that I thought were a replay of their colossal 1959, most notably 1982 and 2003, but 2009 is also one to keep an eye on. It is still extremely youthful and seems slightly more backward than I would have guessed based on the barrel tastings, but it needs 10-15 years of bottle age, and should last for 50+.
99 Points, Charles Curtis MW, Decanter (February 2022)
This wine is stunningly impressive but almost the opposite of the 2010 vintage. The year offered a warm, wet spring followed by a hot, dry summer and cool nights in September, giving a riper, more generous impression. A bit of smoke and spice on the initial attack with a ripe, plummy fruit character that is more black than red and a supple, dense richness on the palate that lingers sumptuously on the finish. This vintage will drink sooner than the 2010, yet should easily last as long. The finished wine is a blend of 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and a half-percent of Petit Verdot. Picking began in mid-September for the Merlot and early October for the Cabernet, with 45% of the fruit going into the grand vin.
Drinking Window 2032 - 2082
99 Points, Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
Elegant, fresh, vibrant, lively, focused and refined, there is a beautiful purity to the fruit found here. Classic Pauillac here, but the wine is also lush and almost opulent in nature. Medium/full-bodied, with delicious array of red and black fruits, tobacco leaf, crushed stone, smoke and crisp red fruits in the end note, this beauty demands at least 15 more years to start delivering its true potential. The wine was made from blending 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and .5% Cabernet Franc. This is the highest percentage of Merlot in the blend since 1995. The wine reached 13% alcohol.
99 Points Jane Anson, Decanter (July 2022)
Cedar, sandalwood, slate, liqourice, smoked earth, this is subtle, inches slowly through the palate, showcasing fine tannins that at first hide the depth and power in the wine, preferring instead to levitate above the palate. The more muscular cassis, bilberry, cocoa bean and pencil lead arrive as it opens up, and the Pauillac character becomes very clear. An utterly signature Lafite, at every moment the estate signature dominates the vintage character, and of all the First Growths in this tasting it performs the trick of gaining in power with every minute that it is open in the glass, suprising you with how much it builds and layers in complexity. True to itself, effortlessly confident, will stay on this plateau for many decades.
VINTAGE - 2009
VARIETAL - Cabernet Sauvignon | Merlot | Petit Verdot
COUNTRY - France
REGION - Pauillac (Left Bank), Bordeaux
BOTTLE SIZE - 6000ml (6L)
ABV - 13.5%
