Saturated deep red. Shoe polish, minerals and cassis on the nose, with a hint of toasty oak. Intensely flavored, vibrant fruit shows great middle-palate fullness for a young Lafite. Very long, multidimensional finish of great subtlety. Has the acidity and tannic underpinning for long life. An outstanding, classic Lafite; claret for the millennium. Along with Latour, an early candidate for Medoc of the vintage.

The 1990 Lafite-Rothschild is a wine that often felt a little green around 15 years ago and then became good for a brief period. I was less impressed when Charles Chevalier showed several vintages in London some years ago. This bottle reinforces my opinion that this is a second-rate Lafite in a first-rate vintage. Quite youthful in color, it has a modest nose of blackberry, mulberry, a distant tang of seaweed and leather. It lacks the vivid aromatic color of the 2000 by direct comparison. The palate is medium-bodied with robust, slightly hard tannins that are not quite in sync with the fruit. Like previous bottles, I find this rustic and feral towards the finish, as if the warmth of that summer directs the wine rather than terroir. Lafite is an enjoyable 1990, but it is not in the same class as 1990 Lynch Bages or 1990 Pichon Baron. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild dinner at Amuse Bouche in Hong Kong and then blind at the Lafite-Rothschild 150th anniversary dinner at the property.

The 1990 offers soft, spicy, cedary, lead pencil-scented fruit that is followed by a medium-bodied, spicy wine with good character, depth, and light tannins in the short finish. It should drink nicely for 7-8 years.