1982 | Chateau Lafite Rothschild | Pauillac (Magnum)

Details

Red Wine: 1982 | Chateau Lafite Rothschild | Pauillac (Magnum)

Ripe fruit with almost dried raspberries and blackberries and a minty undertone on the nose. It’s full bodied, with bay leaf, berries that turn to mineral undertones. It’s full-bodied, with round tannins and a lingering finish of chocolate, cedar and other woods.

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Producer: Chateau Lafite Rothschild

Ratings: WA | 98 D | 98

Vintage: 1982

Size: 1.5L

ABV: 12%

Varietal: Bordeaux Blend Red

Country/Region: France, Bordeaux

Ripe fruit with almost dried raspberries and blackberries and a minty undertone on the nose. It’s full bodied, with bay leaf, berries that turn to mineral undertones. It’s full-bodied, with round tannins and a lingering finish of chocolate, cedar and other woods.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The 1982 Lafite Rothschild is at the peak of its powers today, and the two bottles I drank this year were both exceptional. Wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet red berries and blackcurrants mingled with notions of cedar chest, cigar box, camphor and dried flowers, it’s medium to full-bodied, supple and seamless, with an effortlessly elegant, harmonious profile and a long, fragrant finish. While this is far from being the most powerful Mdoc of the vintage, it is among the most pleasurable.

• Decanter: As with the last time I drank this wine two years ago, it is still full of life and energy, with that classic Lafite quality of effortless drinkability. Utterly moreish, it has an amazing cinnamon-edged spice, rich and slightly exotic with brick-red colouring. To recap what we all know to have been a great season, 1982 saw a dry and mild spring, allowing an excellent flowering followed by a dry and hot summer with regular small showers and fresher nights in August. It was an easy harvest that saw an early and large crop, and in the vat rooms they say, it smelt of hot fruit jam. Baron Eric’s memories say it all: ‘The last day of harvest was a Friday and we knew right away how good the fruit in the tanks was. Everyone was in a great mood, the whole harvest felt like fun.

Producer Information

Chteau Lafite Rothschild is a wine estate in the Pauillac region of the Mdoc, producing one of the most sought-after and expensive red wines in the world. Lafite Rothschild is known for its perfume, elegance, finesse and harmony, in contrast to the more powerful Latour and Mouton Rothschild. Nevertheless, great vintages can age for 50 years or more. The precise blend of grand vin can vary depending on the vintage. It often contains between 80-95 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, with Merlot making up much of the rest. In the winery, each plot of grapes is kept seperate for the fermentation to preserve their terroir and allow for maximum control at blending. The wine is aged for up to 20 months in new oak barrels. Carruades de Lafite is the second wine, with a strong following in its own right. More Merlot (30-50 percent) appears in the final blend. It is aged for 18-20 months, with 80 percent in barrels and 20 percent in tank. The Lafite Rothschild vineyard covers around 112 hectares (277 acres) on sunny, well-drained sites made up of fine gravel and sand over limestone subsoil. The vineyard is divided into three parts: the vines on the hillsides around the chteau provide the core material for the grand vin, while the adjacent Carruades plateau to the west is more responsible for the second wine that bears its name. Additionally a 4.5ha (11 acre) plot in Saint-Estphe also belongs to the estate; unusually it has permission to include the fruit in its Pauillac-classified wines. Around 70 percent of the vineyards are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, with 25 percent to Merlot, 3 percent to Cabernet Franc and 2 percent to Petit Verdot. The average age of the vines is 40 years old. The neighboring property Duhart-Milon is under the same ownership, and managed by the same team as Lafite. Domaines Barons de Rothschild also owns the Premier Grand Cru Class Chteau Rieussec in Sauternes, Chteau L’vangile in Pomerol, and three Bordeaux brands, Lgende, Saga and Rsrve Spciale. Properties further afield include Domaine d’Aussires in Languedoc, Los Vascos in Chile and Bodegas Caro in Mendoza, Argentina.