Producer Profile
Area under vines: 112 hectares
Soils: fine deep gravel, mixed with aeolian sand on a subsoil of tertiary limestone
Average age of the vines: 38 years
Production: 15,000 to 20,000 cases a year
Ageing: 18 to 20 months in 100% new barrels
Grape varieties:
- Cabernet Sauvignon 80 to 95%
- Merlot 5 to 25%
- Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot 0 to 5%
Vintage 1961: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage 1994: 99% Cabernet Sauvignon 1% Petit Verdot
Second wine: Carruades de Lafite
Average Annual Production: 20,000 to 30,000 Cases
Grape varieties:
- Cabernet Sauvignon 50-70%
- Merlot 30-50%
- Cabernet Franc 0-5%
Learn more about Château Lafite Rothschild here.
Tasting Notes
Robert Parker 100
Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Lafite Rothschild is a little mute on the nose at this stage, opening to reveal warm blackcurrants, baked plums and boysenberry scents with hints of chocolate mint, violets, cedar chest and pencil lead. Full-bodied, rich and densely packed with perfumed black fruit layers, it has a rock-solid backbone of fantastically ripe, grainy tannins and beautiful freshness, finishing very long and minerally. Still very youthful! [Lisa Perrotti-Brown, 21/02/2020]
Anticipated maturity: 2025-2080
JancisRobinson.com 17
Tasted blind. Deep bricky garnet. Scented with black fruit and just slightly herbaceous but not green. Supple if dry in texture. Elegant in a powerful vintage but not as fine as some at this level – a little bit tough on the finish. (JH) [12/02/2020]
Anticipated maturity: 2022-2040
Vinous 96+
Deep ruby-purple. Closed but extremely pure and penetrating on the nose, offering delicate aromas of crushed blackcurrant, flint and graphite lifted by a perfumed violet topnote. Very refined and clean on the palate, with concentrated cassis, violet, ink and cedar flavors that are archetypal Lafite. Finishes with the hint of astringency that I find in a lot of 2010 Bordeaux. This is an extremely impressive Lafite but it needs at least a decade of cellaring. [Stephen Tanzer, 07/01/2013]
