Wine Advisor
Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1948
View analysis
Description
Within the five rarefied first growths, Lafite is perhaps the wine with the best reputation for quality and longevity, commanding correspondingly high prices. It is considered by some to be the best wine to come out of Bordeaux. In 1815, Guillaume Lawton said of Château Lafite, “I consider it to be the the most elegant and delicate, with the finest substance of the three (Premier Crus). The location of its vines is one of the finest in the Médoc”. In 1855 the Château was ranked as a Premier Grand Cru in the famous classification that was prepared for the Universal Exhibition of that year. Lafite is also known as the ‘King’s wine’, after being introduced to the Court at Versailles by Maréchal Richelieu.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 1948 Lafite-Rothschild has a deep brick core. The nose is slightly musty, fungal in style, clearly having lost vigour in recent years, but not malodorous. The palate is surprisingly sweet with, orange zest and cherry. To my surprise there is not a lot of structure and the wine initially feels flat, yet it improves in the glass, gaining weight and cohesion. It is quite a protean little thing! The 1948 is a pleasant if not intellectual Lafite-Rothschild. Bottles should have been consumed by now. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild vertical in London.
1903(1)1907(1)1910(1)1911(1)1913(1)1918(1)1934(2)1945(3)1947(4)
Package Size
