Tasting Notes:

90 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

Lafite-Rothschild’s harvest began on September 20th and finished surprisingly late (especially in the Medoc), on October 7th. Only 55% of the harvest was deemed of high enough quality to be put in the final wine. The 1994 Lafite may contain the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon of any Lafite produced this century. The final blend includes 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit-Verdot, and 2% Merlot. I found it difficult to understand the 1994 Lafite. Certainly the color is about as dense as one would want from a top class, six month old Bordeaux, but the nose is tight, and the wine compressed, compact, and brutally tannic and impenetrable. I kept searching for an inner core of fruit on the mid-palate, without any luck. While sweet fruit is present, the wine is frightfully backward and tannic, thus Lafite’s famed subtleness, finesse, and elegance are buried behind a wall of tannin. This should turn out to be an outstanding wine, but it will need 15+ years of cellaring. A more accurate assessment will only be possible after another year of cask aging. For now, I prefer the 1993 Lafite-Rothschild to the 1994.

90 points Vinous

The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity. That tannins are coarser than recent vintages, and there is a little hardness on the finish that would have been mollified by the Merlot, but this stocky Lafite-Rothschild is still going strong. Just partner it with the right dish rather than drink on its own. (NM) (7/2018)

Bottle Size:

750 mL

Storage History:

Always stored properly in a climate controlled cellar.

Condition:

Excellent.

Please note: The bottle shown in the photos is the exact bottle being sold.

Several photos have been taken from different angles in order to exhibit the bottle’s exact condition.