Wine Advisor
Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1993
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Description
Within the five rarefied first growths, Lafite is perhaps the wine with the best reputation for quality and longevity, commanding correspondingly high prices. It is considered by some to be the best wine to come out of Bordeaux. In 1815, Guillaume Lawton said of Château Lafite, “I consider it to be the the most elegant and delicate, with the finest substance of the three (Premier Crus). The location of its vines is one of the finest in the Médoc”. In 1855 the Château was ranked as a Premier Grand Cru in the famous classification that was prepared for the Universal Exhibition of that year. Lafite is also known as the ‘King’s wine’, after being introduced to the Court at Versailles by Maréchal Richelieu.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
An elegant nose: dried autumn leaves, wood, embers. Palate is tough, austere. Blackcurrant and tobacco. Soy sauce. Like other 1993`s it lacks the fleshiness and vitality to make it enjoyable. A stern, unyielding wine. Tasted at Lafite`s cellars. Tasted February 2002.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Because Lafite-Rothschild (1) tends to lack the weight of many wines of the northern Medoc, and (2) is never a flashy, ostentatious style of wine, it is often more difficult to evaluate when young than some of its neighbors. A successful wine for Lafite, this dark ruby/purple-colored 1993 is tightly-wound, medium-bodied, with a closed set of aromatics that reluctantly reveal hints of sweet blackcurrant fruit, weedy tobacco, and lead pencil scents. Polished and elegant, with Lafite's noble restraint, this is an excellent, classy, slightly austere wine. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2020.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind as a vintage comparison at the Valandraud vertical, the 1993 Lafite-Rothschild is a vintage that has never really appealed to me and this bottle did nothing to alter that view. It has a very austere, foursquare bouquet that leaves you wondering where the fruit went. The palate actually starts well with crisp acidity that leads into what feels like the vestiges of fruit that feel a little raw and green. Then it feels rather hollow in the middle, the finish a husk of what it might once have been. Not a successful wine for the estate, I would consume bottles in the near future. Tasted December 2016.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Sixty-four percent of Lafite's 1993 crop was eliminated from the final blend. The 1993 Lafite contains an atypically high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (92%, plus 8% Merlot). Unlike in Graves, St.-Emilion, and Pomerol, the Merlot harvest was considered disappointing at Lafite. This wine reveals none of the hardness, or tough-textured personality of the 1993 vintage. It offers Lafite's classic, intense, subtle perfume, great intensity and purity in the mouth, medium body, and a sweet, generous, authoritative yet elegant personality. The wine exhibits fine ripeness, wonderful richness, and a layered personality. It is a terrific success for the vintage. It will undoubtedly firm up after bottling, but it was showing spectacularly when I tasted it in November.
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