Chateau Lafite Rothschild Premier Cru Classe, Pauillac 2016

Incredible aromas of crushed berries, sweet tobacco and wet earth. So perfumed and gorgeous. Hot stones and cement, too. Full-bodied, dense and powerful with lots of intense tannins and a never-ending finish. Juicy and flavorful. A muscular Lafite, not seen for a long time. Classssssss! 

Try after 2025

Matured in 100% new oak.

What I love about the 2016 Lafite is that the sweetness of the fruit comes through even at this early stage. Sweet, ripe blackberry and cassis pulse through the palate behind the tight construction of tension and classicism given by high acidity and plenty of tannins. It has ripeness and a sense of promise but, as is often the case with a young Lafite, it's not giving a lot away and we can expect it to age for many decades perfectly comfortably. Extremely accomplished, one to cherish.

Drink 2028 - 2040

On another level and one of the greatest young Bordeaux I’ve ever tasted, the 2016 Lafite-Rothschild comprises 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot raised in new oak. It takes the classic elegance and class of Lafite and turns the dial up to 11, offering a massive, heavenly array of blackcurrants, cedar pencil, graphite, tobacco, and incense aromas and flavours that soar from the glass. Deep, full-bodied, and flawlessly constructed, with perfectly integrated fruit, acidity, and tannins, this is legendary stuff all the way. It will be drinkable in 7-8 years and keep for 50-75 years or more. It’s the wine of the vintage from the Médoc along with Mouton. Hats off to director Eric Kohler.

Drink 2026 - 2101

The 2016 Lafite-Rothschild is a total stunner. Seamless, racy and voluptuous in the glass, the 2016 is even better from bottle than it was from barrel. Once again, I am blown away by the inner sweetness and purity of the fruit. The 2016 is, rich, concentrated and yet also light on its feet, in the way only Lafite can be. Dramatic and ample the 2016 Lafite is a beautifully resonant, super-expressive wine endowed with regal beauty and tremendous overall balance. It will drink well for many years and decades.

Drink 2026 - 2066

The 2016 Lafite Rothschild is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot, with 15% of the press wine contributing to the blend this year. Deep purple-black in colour, it slowly reveals the most gorgeous perfume of kirsch, lilacs, black raspberries and warm blackcurrants with underlying nuances of cigar box, rose hip tea, cloves, liquorice and pencil lead, plus a waft of garrigue. Medium-bodied and built like a brick house with a firm yet beautifully ripe, finely pixelated tannic backbone and seamless freshness supporting the amazing intensity of black fruits and floral layers, it finishes very long and provocatively perfumed.

Drink 2022 - 2026