1996 Chateau Lafite Rothschild (1.5L)

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Vintage: 1996
Format: 1.5L
Wine Name: Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Vineyard:
Designation: 1er Cru Classe
Appellation: Pauillac
Producer: Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Varietal: Red Bordeaux Blend
Type: Red
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-Region: Medoc

Tasting note: Gorgeous aromas of currant, berries and licorice. Full-bodied, with supersilky tannins and a long, caressing finish. Still holding back. People talk about this as one of the greatest Lafites ever, but I don't think so. (95pts JS, Wine Spectator)

Tasted: 2007
Score: 95
Drink: After 2008

Tasting note:The colour is a deep dark red, almost black. Just like Pichon Comtesse, here we have the most intense nose of all this evening. It is very fine, full of fruit, ripe and complex. After swirling, the true wine lovers will notice a smell which is very typical of great ripe Cabernet Sauvignon: of fresh fruit with subtle hints of smoke. On the palate, this is the most structured wine of the evening. However, the miracle comes from the melting quality of the matter, which yet is tannic. A great taste of tar, blackcurrant and smoke comes up in the incredibly long finish. It needs another five to seven years, but will still be excellent in twenty to thirty years. I am delighted to find it at such a high level because I had judged it to be the best wine of the vintage as a future. (95pts Jean-Marc Quarin)

Tasted: Feb. 2004
Score: 95
Drink: N/A

Tasting note: Full, deep ruby, by far the darkest of these vintages. Knockout nose of great precision: cassis, black cherry, lead pencil, licorice, dried herbs and mint. Densely packed and extremely unevolved; a powerfully structured wine with uncanny precision and penetration. Finishes with powerful, firm tannins and exceptional mounting persistence. An infant, but a great Northern Medoc '96 in the making. (96+pts Stephen Tanzer)

Tasted: Jul./Aug. 2002
Score: 96+
Drink: 2015-40

Tasting note: Tasted three times since bottling, the 1996 Lafite-Rothschild is unquestionably this renowned estate's greatest wine. As I indicated last year, only 38% of the crop was deemed grand enough to be put into the final blend, which is atypically high in Cabernet Sauvignon (83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot). This massive wine may be the biggest, largest-scaled Lafite I have ever tasted. It will require many years to come around, so I suspect all of us past the age of fifty might want to give serious consideration as to whether we should be laying away multiple cases of this wine. It is also the first Lafite-Rothschild to be put into a new engraved bottle (designed to prevent fraudulent imitations). The wine exhibits a thick-looking, ruby/purple color, and a knock-out nose of lead pencil, minerals, flowers, and black currant scents. Extremely powerful and full-bodied, with remarkable complexity for such a young wine, this huge Lafite is oozing with extract and richness, yet has managed to preserve its quintessentially elegant personality. This wine is even richer than it was prior to bottling. It should unquestionably last for 40-50 years. The wine of the vintage? (100pts Robert Parker)

Tasted: Apr. 1999
Score: 100
Drink: 2012-50