1998 Lafite Rothschild
Buying options
Tasting Notes
A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, this wine represents only 34% of Lafite's total harvest. In a less than perfect Medoc vintage, it has been spectacular since birth, putting on more weight and flesh over the last year. This opaque purple-colored 1998 is close to perfection. The spectacular nose of lead pencil, smoky, mineral, and black currant fruit soars majestically from the glass. The wine is elegant yet profoundly rich, revealing the essence of Lafite's character. The tannin is sweet, and the wine is spectacularly layered yet never heavy. The finish is sweet, super-rich, yet impeccably balanced and long (50+ seconds).
Critic Scores
Average Score
Wine Spectator
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Amazing aromas of crushed blackberries, toasted oak and currant, spices. Really a great nose. Full-bodied, with round and velvety tannins and a long, long finish. It lasts for minutes on the palate. Superb. Best wine of the Médoc, without a doubt.¿'88/'98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Best after 2011. 21,665 cases made. James Suckling, Wine Spectator 2009
Tasted at Hermitage Wines’ seminar in Hong Kong. I must admit that this was a rather underwhelming bottle of one of the finest Lafites in recent years, principally because the fruit seems very subdued. Perhaps this is going through a dumb stage of adolescence: bolshie and introverted. I like the weight and persistency towards the finish, suggesting that bottles should not be approached into the real Lafite 1998 comes back in ten year’s time. Tasted November 2011. Neal Martin, eRobertParker.com
Savoury and bone dry and quite delicate, with very soft tannins already on the palate. Refined but in minor key. Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com
Related articles
About the producer
Ch. Lafite Rothschild is one of the most famous wine estates in Bordeaux and the world. One of the Left Bank’s five First Growths, the Pauillac property is renowned for producing wines of finesse and elegance that age beautifully.