Chateau Lafite Rothschild - Pauillac 2009 (1.5L)
Price: $2400.00
| Producer | Chateau Lafite Rothschild |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Subregion | Pauillac |
| Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Vintage | 2009 |
| Sku | 10591 |
| Size | 1.5L |
James Suckling: 100 Points
This is what the Medoc is all about. The freshness and delicacy of this wine in combination with its serious concentration and firm core are totally stunning. Time has already worked its magic and this is already delicious but has decades in front of it. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting London 2019)
Decanter: 99 Points
This wine is stunningly impressive but almost the opposite of the 2010 vintage. The year offered a warm wet spring followed by a hot dry summer and cool nights in September giving a riper more generous impression. A bit of smoke and spice on the initial attack with a ripe plummy fruit character that is more black than red and a supple dense richness on the palate that lingers sumptuously on the finish. This vintage will drink sooner than the 2010 yet should easily last as long. The finished wine is a blend of 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon 17% Merlot and a half-percent of Petit Verdot. Picking began in mid-September for the Merlot and early October for the Cabernet with 45% of the fruit going into the grand vin.
Wine Advocate: 99 Points
The main reason the 2009 Lafite Rothschild did not receive a perfect score is because the wine has closed down slightly but it is unquestionably another profound Lafite their greatest wine since the amazing 2003. Among the most powerful Lafites ever made (it came in at 13.59% alcohol) the final blend was 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon 7% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot. The selection was incredibly severe with only 45% of the crop being utilized. A tight but potentially gorgeous nose of graphite black currants licorice and camphor is followed by a full-bodied wine revealing the classic elegance purity and delineated style of Lafite. It is phenomenally concentrated with softer tannins than the 2005 the 2003's voluptuous broad juicy personality and low acidity. There are several vintages that I thought were a replay of their colossal 1959 most notably 1982 and 2003 but 2009 is also one to keep an eye on. It is still extremely youthful and seems slightly more backward than I would have guessed based on the barrel tastings but it needs 10-15 years of bottle age and should last for 50+.
Jane Anson: 99 Points
Aromatics curl right out of the glass with restrained cassis interlaced with sweeter spiced berry fruits crayon eucalyptus wet rocks peony and classically chiselled tannins. Still young but already totally delicious. Shows so clearly that balance and understatement don't get in the way of intensity and concentration. Unusual to taste Lafite in a lineup with the other wines of the appellation making it exceptionally enjoyable to confirm the standout quality of the 2009 vintage here. On a different tier and one with many decades ahead. 100% new oak.
Vinous: 96 Points
The 2009 Lafite-Rothschild is quite high-toned and expressive on the nose perhaps the most ostentatious of the top flight 2009s with upfront black cherry and boysenberry fruit lavish new oak and touches of violet. The palate is sleek and satin-like in feel with copious dark cherry and boysenberry fruit fig and dates almost honeyed in texture towards the precocious finish that has an opulent bent almost hedonistic unusual for this First Growth. But it is kinda irresistible. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners? 2009 Bordeaux tasting. - By Neal Martin on February 2019
