100-point Lafite: The #1 Cellar Selection of the Year

Lafite Rothschild is a bucket-list wine in any vintage.

But when its from a year like 2015whose elegance in Pauillac dovetailed perfectly with into Lafites trademark finessed styleits even more. Its perfection.

Lafite is known for combining Pauillacs innate richness with an aristocratic elegance, and this wine thrills on both a visceral and an intellectual level. Thats why Wine Enthusiast gave it a 100-point score and made it #1 on their Top 100 Cellar Selections of 2018.

This is the height of Bordeaux and one of the worlds greatest collector wines, showing Pauillac in full flush. Were thrilled to have 60 bottles available, directly from the cellars of the venerable chteau. There is no better provenance.

This legend in the making has the intense fruit and seamless architecture to go another 60 years, but with a long decant, it delivers spectacularly right now. Aromas of fresh ripe blackberries, red and black currants, toasted cinnamon, fresh leather, black truffles, black tea, blueberry compote, forest floor, and ripe Damson plums swirl in the glass, stimulating parts of our brains that few wines can affect. On the palate, theres no fat, but plenty of power and endlessly fascinating layers of flavor. Its Left Bank Bordeaux in its most timeless form, and its got a long, long life ahead of it.

Lafite has been one of the iconic wines of France since Louis XV and Thomas Jefferson both sang its praises in the 1700s, and it remains one of the most collectible wines in the world today. That status means the winery can afford to reinvest in quality like few others, from intensive vineyard management all the way to the cellar.

Lafite has their own cooperage, a rare luxury that allows them to tailor each barrel to the specific vineyard block it will contain. Combine that with various sizes of wood, stainless steel, and concrete fermentation tanks, and you have a recipe for nearly unmatched precision in the vinification and aging of their wines.

The 2015 Lafite comprises 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot, and likely represents about 40% of the total production of the estate, the kind of selectivity that the First Growths require. Winemaker Eric Kohler said 2015 is a rather hot vintage where we benefited from the ocean and river influences, helping to produce a fresh, concentrated, balanced wine at Lafite.

Whether youre a connoisseur or an investor, youre sure to be thrilled to have at least a few bottles in your cellar, and so will your grandkids.

Deep ruby in appearance, with lively glints of purple near the rim. Pronounced, layered aromas of fresh ripe blackberries, red and black currants, toasted cinnamon, fresh leather, black truffles, black tea, blueberry compote, forest floor, and ripe Damson plums. Powerful, focused, and authoritative on the palate, with firm, ripe tannins and juicy acidity backed by plentiful flavors of violets, fresh black cherries, pomegranate seed, bay leaf, vanilla, toasted dark chocolate, exotic spice, and fresh earth. Truly one for the ages. Drink 20272090.

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