The 1970 Lafite-Rothschild is a vintage I have not encountered for many years, and frankly, I never expected it to perform so well. There's lovely delineation and vitality on the nose with candied orange peel infusing the pretty and pure red fruit, scents of graphite surfacing with time. There is a wonderful sweet core of red fruit on the palate. This is a fine-boned First Growth with panache and verve. More tender than Latour, more complex than Mouton, this might be my First Growth de choix in 1970. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild vertical at Ami restaurant in Hong Kong.

A moderately good showing for this wine, Lafite's 1970 has consistently left me disappointed. The wine is beginning to reveal some of the classic Lafite nose of cedar, lead pencil, dried red and black fruits, and spice. The wine's bouquet would merit an outstanding rating if it were slightly more intense. On the palate, the annoyingly high acidity continues to be problematic, largely because the wine does not possess the flesh, fat, and extract to cover its angular structure. I have had some sour, acidic bottles of the 1970 Lafite, but this offering had better balance than previous examples. This is a wine that has far greater value on the auction block than on the dinner table.

This was a strange wine as at the beginning it was rather tart and disappointing. And after 45 minutes or so it was starting to return to that state, but about 20-30 minutes after pouring it was absolutely glorious in typically Lafite lighter, but soaring, register. Mid ruby. A bit rusty. Light and a bit raw. Very light in fact. Lots of acidity. But then it came out and, I suspect, would have been even more impressive had it not been served alongside the powerhouse of Latour 1970.