Country: France Region: Bordeaux Margaux
Varietal: 11% Merlot, 89% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2005 Colour: Red Style: Dry
Producer: Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Description:
Château Lafite Rothschild 2005 - Magnum 150cl AOC Pauillac
The 2005 Château Lafite Rothschild, in Magnum format, is an exceptional wine from one of the most prestigious estates in the Médoc region of Bordeaux. This vintage is renowned for its finesse, aromatic complexity, and elegant structure. The nose reveals aromas of black fruit, cedar, and tobacco, with graphite notes typical of this grand cru. On the palate, it offers remarkable depth, silky tannins, and a long, lingering finish. Ideal for aging, it is considered one of the finest wines of this decade.
Beautiful, elegant red, blue and black fruits (89% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Merlot) as well as some graphite and spice notes jump from the glass of the 2005 Lafite Rothschild. Medium-bodied, with superb purity and texture, this is not a blockbuster by any means, but a meticulously made, lovely-textured Pauillac. Long and pure, this wine should drink well for 25-30 years. There is no danger in pulling the cork on it today.
The Château Lafite-Rothschild 2005 has that telltale pencil-shaving bouquet that is wonderfully defined with red berry fruit moving gracefully towards secondary notes of mint, Seville orange marmalade and leather. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, utterly graceful in the mouth, classic in style with a gradual build towards the pencil-lead finish that contains enormous persistence. This is not a powerful Lafite-Rothschild – there is no need. Graceful and elegant, this is an intellectual, sophisticated Pauillac that will age for an extraordinarily long time. If you can splash the cash, why not?
The sticker on the bottle suggests this came from Asia. Really very haunting nose: complex already, high toned, rich fruit in the middle and a dry finish. Everything that top red bordeaux should be in fact. A lightly marine-iodine thread. Racy and not at all heavy but I bet it will last forever. There are tannins but they are very fine.
13%Drink 2018-2050
Décanté quatre heures avant la dégustation, ce Lafite se livre à peine. Son nez est profond, avec cette typique note de graphite qui signe les grands Lafite et une petite touche de methol qui lui confère une superbe fraîcheur. En bouche, ce vin "bulldozer" impose sa matière, sa puissance et sa persistance, sans aucune fantaisie aujourd'hui, mais avec une énorme race.
Tasted blind and tasted twice in the same month, this is a perplexing Lafite that as yet, has not lived up to its show stopping performance in barrel. There is more Cabernet, more graphite on the nose here with wonderful definition – just pure, unadulterated blackberry and cedar. Conservative, tightly coiled and beckoning considerable cellaring. Very smooth on the entry, no hard edges here, polished new oak, very fine tannins, great focus but I would like a little more depth on the finish. Broody, sultry and compelling. Drink 2020-2040+ Tasted January 2009. 96+
Bright medium ruby. Knockout nose combines black- and redcurrant, minerals, graphite, licorice and lavender. Wonderfully suave and seamless, but with great purity and precision of flavor and terrific inner-palate perfume and lift. This dances over every square millimeter of the palate. Almost painfully young today, with an impression of fresh acidity serving to intensify the wine's flavors. About as austere a wine as I tasted from this vintage in April and yet it's not hard. Finishes with substantial dusty tannins and a whiplash of minerally perfume. I'd forget about this one for about 15 years.
While the 2005 is another brilliantly classic Lafite Rothschild, for my taste, it comes in slightly behind their extraordinarily opulent 2003 as well as the dramatically powerful 2000. A blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Merlot, the 2005 boasts a dark ruby/purple color in addition to that exceptional Lafite perfume of graphite, spring flowers, crushed rocks, and sweet black cherry and black currant fruit that exudes class and nobility. The wine is medium-bodied with extremely high levels of tannin in addition to sensational purity, length, and overall harmony. However, it is exceptionally backward, and even more tannic than either the 1995 or 1996. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050+
