Wine Advisor
Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1994
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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, intensely perfumed nose just beginning to unfurl. Concentrated blackcurrant, earth and wood on the palate though a little austere at the finish. Excellent wine but lacks a bit of depth. Tasted February 2000.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
As I wrote last year, Lafite's 1994 is the first 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wine made at this estate. The only other wine that had such a high Cabernet content was the 1961. The 1994 is not an easy wine to figure out. I felt more positively about it this year than last, but it is an atypically powerful, ferociously tannic, frightfully backward Lafite that appears to require 15-20 years of cellaring before its huge tannin level will begin to melt away. The extraordinarily dense color saturation and intense ripeness undoubtedly suggest that something profound may well emerge from this wine in two decades. On the other hand, 20 years of aging could result in a marvelously well-constructed wine that remains hard, tough, and charmless. It's a gamble, but for readers who love Lafite and have the necessary income, it may be worth it. Although it appears even more backward than the 1986 Lafite, it possesses enough positive components to elicit considerable interest. For your children's children's children? All of the wines in this segment were tasted between March 19 and March 28 in Bordeaux. Most of the important wines from both the 1994 and 1995 vintages were tasted three separate times during my ten-day stay in Bordeaux.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Lafite-Rothschild's harvest began on September 20th and finished surprisingly late (especially in the Medoc), on October 7th. Only 55% of the harvest was deemed of high enough quality to be put in the final wine. The 1994 Lafite may contain the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon of any Lafite produced this century. The final blend includes 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit-Verdot, and 2% Merlot. I found it difficult to understand the 1994 Lafite. Certainly the color is about as dense as one would want from a top class, six month old Bordeaux, but the nose is tight, and the wine compressed, compact, and brutally tannic and impenetrable. I kept searching for an inner core of fruit on the mid-palate, without any luck. While sweet fruit is present, the wine is frightfully backward and tannic, thus Lafite's famed subtleness, finesse, and elegance are buried behind a wall of tannin. This should turn out to be an outstanding wine, but it will need 15+ years of cellaring. A more accurate assessment will only be possible after another year of cask aging. For now, I prefer the 1993 Lafite-Rothschild to the 1994.
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. Made from nearly 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, this dark ruby/purple-colored wine is stubbornly backward, unappealing, and severe and astringent on the palate. There is plenty of weight, and the wine possesses admirable purity, with no suggestion of herbaceousness or underripe fruit, but the wine's personality refuses to be coaxed from the glass. The 1994 Lafite may turn out to be austere and disappointing flavor-wise, but possesses a fabulous set of aromatics (does that sound reminiscent of the 1961, another Lafite that was primarily Cabernet Sauvignon?). I am not giving up on this wine, but purchasers should be willing to wait 15-20 years before pulling a cork. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 1994 Lafite-Rothschild is a vintage that I have not tasted for some time. Poured blind, it has a healthy colour with modest signs of aging on the brick rim. Since this is 99.5% Cabernet Sauvignon (I always thought it was 100%!) it is dominated by classic aromas associated with that variety: undergrowth and tobacco, just a touch of graphite. Like the 1961, I actually miss the Merlot component because the wine does feel a little two-dimensional. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity. That tannins are coarser than recent vintages, and there is a little hardness on the finish that would have been mollified by the Merlot, but this stocky Lafite-Rothschild is still going strong. Just partner it with the right dish rather than drink on its own. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild 150th anniversary dinner at the estate.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Spicy coconut and shoe polish nose. Vinous and delineated in the mouth; has plenty of flavor. A tart edge keeps the sweetness of fruit under wraps. The somewhat cool finish is long, subtle and firmly tannic.
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