Château Lafite Rothschild 2019 is the Pauillac First Growth from a warm, even season, and the blend leans more heavily on Cabernet Sauvignon than many recent Lafites. At 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, it is built to age for decades.
About This Wine
The 2019 blend is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, picked from 19 September to 7 October. A few days of rain early in the harvest lowered sugar levels and let the Cabernet finish ripening evenly. Some of the Merlot came from outlying plots on clay and gravel that had not gone into the grand vin before, picked out after several years of mapping the vineyard. Fermentation was in stainless steel, followed by 18 months in new oak. Alcohol is a moderate 13.4%.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Cassis and black cherry at first, then pencil shavings, cedar and a little tobacco leaf, with violets appearing as the wine breathes.
- Palate: Medium to full-bodied and polished. Ripe dark fruit sits against very fine, closely knit tannin and a savoury, graphite core.
- Finish: Long and perfumed, with cassis and cedar lingering well after the tannin settles.
Serving & Food
Still young. It is best left until around 2030, and it should then run for decades. If you open one sooner, decant for two to three hours and pour at 16 to 18°C into a large Bordeaux glass. Roast rack of lamb, a plain grilled rib-eye or braised beef cheek all work well.
How to Enjoy
A cellar anchor for anyone buying top Pauillac, or a milestone bottle to lay down for a 2019 birth or wedding.
Product Details
Category: Fine Wine
Producer: Château Lafite Rothschild
Country: France
Appellation: Pauillac, Bordeaux
Classification: Premier Grand Cru Classé (1855)
Vintage: 2019
Grape Blend: 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot
ABV: 13.4%
Format: 750ml
About the Château
Lafite sits at the northern tip of Pauillac, just short of the Saint-Estèphe boundary, and was ranked a First Growth in the 1855 Classification. Baron James de Rothschild bought it in 1868 and it has stayed with his descendants ever since. Saskia de Rothschild, the sixth generation, has chaired the family company since 2018. The estate farms 112 hectares: the slopes around the château, the Carruades plateau to the west and a small plot over the line in Saint-Estèphe. Plantings are roughly 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot, with a little Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, on gravel and sand over limestone. Young vines are kept out of the grand vin.