Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1986 (Magnums Sold Individually)

Vineyard

Owner: Domains Barons de Rothschild

Location: Pauillac, France 

Area: 112 hectares (277 acres)

The Wine

Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc & Petit Verdot

Alcohol ABV: 12.5%

Ageing: 18 to 20 months in 100% new barrels 

Tasting Notes

I hadn't had the next wine in a long, long time, and it is still one of the all-time great Lafite-Rothschilds of the last 50 or so years - the 1986. Obviously from my cellar, where it has been since I bought it when it was released, this is a wine that proprietor Baron Eric de Rothschild has always said is one of his favorite Lafite-Rothschilds of the last 100 years. This is a 100-point wine. Still incredibly youthful, but beginning to show some cedar wood, graphite and blackcurrant fruit, the wine is medium-bodied, as many Lafites are, but stunningly concentrated and relatively light on its feet. There is still tannin to resolve, and the wine seems a good decade away from hitting full maturity, which is rather remarkable since it is already 30 years of age! - Robert Parker