Quality 935 | Brand 999 | Economics 953 | buzz brand
Quality: Predicted life of 17 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group for the 1999 vintage, which averages 9 years Brand: #2 Most sought after wine globally, with 87,284 searches on Wine-Searcher per month Economics: #3 most active wine at auction, its top 5 vintages having seen 4,733 75cl equivalent bottles traded in the past year Production: Higher production than its peer group average of 151,058 bottles

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017

The 1999 Lafite Rothschild sports an engraved "1999" on the bottle along with an eclipse to mark that significant historical event of August, 1999. It is a quintessential offering from Lafite Rothschild. This prodigious wine is both elegant and intensely flavored, and almost diaphanous in its layers that unfold with no heaviness. An opaque ruby/purple color is accompanied by a complex bouquet of lead pencil, graphite, cedar, creme de cassis, toast, and vanilla. It is medium-bodied, with extravagant layers of richness yet little weight, and a finish that is all sweetness, ripeness, and harmony. This extraordinary Lafite increasingly appears to be a modern day clone of the majestic 1953. A mere one-third of the crop made it into the grand vin! Anticipated maturity: 2007-2030.

Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #140, Apr 2002)

Delivers wonderful dark chocolate, with raspberry and currant undertones. Full-bodied, featuring soft, silky tannins and a long finish. Very tight still. Needs time. Very layered and holding back.--'89/'99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). James Suckling

1999 was a more difficult vintage, but this is a classic Pauillac at 20 years old, and we should expect it stay on its plateau for the next 20-30 years. You can feel the edges of an older Cabernet beginning to creep in as cigar box and gentle tobacco notes, but there is still dense but savoury fruit on display, with real elegance and finesse to the tannins. Showing great harmony, this is where the beauty of Lafite is on display - you can find many wonderful 2009 and 2010s, but not so many wonderful '99s. All four grapes - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc - are in the blend here, perhaps something that happens only once every ten years or so. This vintage demonstrates how Lafite doesn't need concentration to still be something incredible. A mixed year weather-wise with a good spring followed by a rainy summer until mid-August when the sun returned. There was an excellent Indian summer, then a few drops of rain again during harvest, which sped things up. These challenges, says Baron Eric, meant that they forgot about it for a good 15 years, as the wine was extremely closed, but around three years ago it started to open back up. This is ready to be enjoyed. Drinking Window 2018 - 2030
Tasted by Jane Anson (at Château Lafite Rothschild, 24 May 2018)
Part of Bordeaux: The five first growths

Quite young, but fine to drink today, if you enjoy a wine in the middle of the primary stage that is just starting to become secondary. The medium bodied, elegant wine is on the bright, fresh, crisp, red berry side of the style range. Here you find forest leaf, tobacco, cedar, cassis, cherry and spice notes. Softly textured, with fresh, spicy, red fruits, tobacco and herbs in the finish. April 2017

Bright, deep ruby-red. Ripe, deep aromas of currant, flowers, coconut and mint. Firm and tight, with excellent cut and precision; brisk flavors of bitter cherry, berry skin and minerals. A slightly dry-edged midweight that's best today on the long, slow-building finish. Shows an intriguing late note of faded rose.

Winemaker Eric Kohler recalled the 1999 Lafite-Rothschild as being born in a "sad summer." Personally, I have liked this First Growth since I first tasted it in barrel. Now 20 years old, it is beginning to show a little bricking on the rim. The bouquet is clean and detailed, with black currant, raspberry, melted tar and cedar developing in the glass (but less of the allspice that I observed in previous bottles). The palate is medium-bodied and maybe more compact than expected, possibly due to this being ex-cellar. While not a concentrated Lafite-Rothschild, it is very harmonious and elegant, brushed with a subtle pepperiness toward the finish and a tang of dried orange peel on the aftertaste. Delightful. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the estate.

Transparent and lively. Fresh, appetising and already swallowable. So direct and frank! This is not one of Lafite's finest, most intense productions but it's well balanced and racy.