Château Lafite Rothschild 2004

Pauillac

First growth of Médoc

France - - Red wine

75 cl - 12.5% vol.

Price/btl: -

Sorry, this wine has already been sold out.

Recommend this wine to...

Download in Pdf

Download in Pdf without price

Press review

Château - Commentaire # web

After a rainy winter and a cold spring, the months of June and July were dry and warm. August was mild and in September the weather was good without being very warm, which led to slow ripening and the harvest dates being pushed back to the end of September. Patience was needed to wait for the grapes to be perfectly ripe. On the nose, the wine is closed and is beginning to open slowly. Note of preserved fruit. Rich at first, then becoming full and balanced, opulent and very elegant. A very long, smooth and silky finish.

Decanter : 19,5/20

Full black red, concentrated nose of blackcurrants overlaid with violets, all smoothness and lift over very fine expression of fruit, superb length, marvellous vineyard expression, perfect harmony, an exquisite wine. Drink 2012-50. (19.5 points)

Jean-Marc Quarin # web (1/1/2006) : 94 (17,5)

The lovely colour is a very handsome dark red. The nose is neat, of medium intensity, fine, floral, fruity, finely liquorice and cocoa. Very lovely caressing entry, and then the wine becomes tender and begins to tighten from mid-mouth. The construction is ascendant. Very flavourful, very distinguished, tight and subtle, it ends supple and fairly long. As is often the case, it is a finely woven perfume in the mouth.

Parker # 171 (6/1/2007) : 95 Maturity: -2039

This beautiful, stunningly dense purple-colored effort (includes about 90% Cabernet Sauvignon) offers up precise notes of graphite, black cherries, cassis, scorched earth, and minerals. Medium to full-bodied with fabulous fruit, impressive richness, refreshing acidity, and sweet tannin, this beauty should be approachable in 4-5 years, and last for three decades. As Lafite Rothschilds go, this is somewhat of a sleeper vintage. Also tasted: 2004 Carruades de Lafite (88)

Revue du Vin de France # 514 (9/1/2007) : 19/20 Maturity: 2015-2030

The Wine Doctor # web (11/1/2008) : 18,5+/20

This has some very dense, tight fruit on the nose, with an enticing and complex depth, spicy and full of exotic character, and not as overtly flashy as the Mouton. An elegant and creamy start on the palate, with beautifully polished tannins in the middle. Full, building in substance, never revealing its underlying structure, but showing fine acidity and a ripe grip. Very dense, very youthful, with lovely potential, and great length. Excellent wine.

Vinum

Weinwisser (4/1/2005) : 19/20 Maturity: 2013-2040

Wine Spectator (3/30/2005) : 92-94

Extremely pretty sweet tobacco, currant and hints of oak follow through to full-bodied palate, with fine tannins and a long, long finish. Really refined and long. You have to like this Lafite. -- J.S.

The property in brief

1st classified growth in 1855. The quality of Château Lafite Rothschild needs no introduction. As early as 1815, Abraham Lawton had already designated it as leader: "I ranked it as being the most elegant and delicate, with the finest body of the three (leading wines)" he qualified in 1855. As to Château Lafite's attributes found in all vintages, it was an enlightened amateur that summed it up best by saying "...whatever the case, all the Château Lafite wines have an almond and violet aroma!" In the classification of 1855, Lafite was classified as the first among the first. The domain was bought by Baron James de Rotschild, the richest man in France, in 1868. His cousin Nathaniel had bought Mouton in 1853. The inheritors of Baron James de Rothschild are still owners of Lafite.