Chateau Lafite Rothschild Premier Cru Classe, Pauillac 2019

Complex aromas of blackcurrants and lead pencil. Incredible. Graphite and tar. Stunning. It’s full-bodied yet shows such harmony and polish—elegance and complexity with finesse. The tannins are so integrated and endless. It goes on for minutes. 94% cabernet sauvignon, 5% merlot and 1% petit verdot.

Performs the trick of being immediately succulent and mouthwatering while simultaneously revving up and building power through the palate. You're getting sapidity and savoury black fruits that are both elegant and powerful. The spicy rosemary and black pepper, with slate-textured minerality, is almost unnoticeable until it closes in on the final stretch, helping to stretch things out, beat by beat, adding energy and lift.

Half of the 5% Merlot in this blend is from plots that have never before been used in Lafite's 1st wine because their drone and satellite research discovered three similar tiny areas that could be vinified together. They have successfully worked on this for the past three years, so for the first time in 2019. It just holds on tight, with a creaminess you don't always find in Lafite at this early stage. A brilliant wine could be upscored from this when in the bottle.

The 2019 Lafite Rothschild is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, harvested from the 19th of September to the 7th of October. Deep garnet-purple in colour, it rolls effortlessly out of the glass with compelling notions of baked black cherries, ripe blackberries and crème de cassis, followed by hints of mocha, liquorice, smoked meats and Sichuan pepper with a waft of eucalyptus. 

Medium-bodied, the palate is at once ethereally graceful and powerfully intense, featuring layer upon layer of profound smoky, savoury flavours and decadently ripe fruit, framed by exquisite, silt-like tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with epic length. In terms of flavour profile, this is a surprisingly atypically) hedonic, forward expression, with notably lower acidity/higher pH the pH is 3.9). 

The alcohol is 13.4%, just a tick more elevated than the 2018 13.3%). And yet, the tannins here are unmistakably Lafite, featuring all the tannic grace, finesse, and densely pixilated poise fans will expect. What an exciting paradox for the palate—bravo!