| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
A brilliant offering and a candidate for wine of the vintage, this is classic Lafite that reminded me somewhat of the 1976, although the vintage conditions were completely different. This is a medium-weight, quintessentially elegant style of Lafite with notes of lead pencil shavings/graphite along with black currants, plums, and crushed rocks/mineral. Wonderfully pure, dense, with a deep ruby/purple color and loads of fruit, definition, and a long finish, this is a brilliant, elegant Lafite Rothschild that builds incrementally in the mouth and has more power and density than it initially seems. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025.
The 2002 Lafite-Rothschild is surprisingly dark in colour. It also has a surprisingly concentrated bouquet with blackberry, sous-bois and brine. Hints of steaming cups of espresso percolate through with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a little chewiness on the entry. Quite briny and saline, a little rustic in terms of tannic profile and perhaps only on the finish does the limitations of the growing season show. Tasted at the château.
Bubbling over with crushed berries, currants and spices, with tobacco notes. Beautiful. Full-bodied with gorgeously velvety tannins and a long finish of pretty fruit. This is a racy yet elegant Lafite. Classy. Best after 2010.
Lively and racy and readable and Lafite-like? Racy with green-apples character and admirably long. This still seems to have been the most successful Pauillac first growth in this uncharming vintage. Perhaps because it is not too tough or dense? Drink 2011-2021.
As I have indicated in the past, under the administration of Charles Chevalier, Lafite-Rothschild has produced a tremendous succession of historic, possibly monumental wines since 1995. The 2002 will only add to Chevalier’s illustrious resume. Forty-seven percent of the crop made it into the grand vin, a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.5% Merlot, and 3.5% Cabernet Franc. It smells and tastes like liqueur of lead pencil intermixed with cassis and cherry jam. Opaque purple to the rim, relatively light on its feet, but super-concentrated and intense, it is reminiscent of a lighter-weight 1996, a wine that merited a perfect score. More forward than the 1996, the 2002 is extraordinarily concentrated, riveting juice that has impeccable harmony. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2038
Tasted blind at Farr's 2002 Bordeaux tasting. Very deep colour. The nose is complex and intense with aromas of blackberry, pencil-lead, black olive, sous-bois and cedar. Very Pauillac and it just builds and builds in the glass. The palate displays a seductive entry, supple texture, very smooth and silky with blackberry, boysenberry and something quite sweet, dates or fig. Then towards the finish, it draws back and becomes more tannic and masculine, as if it say: "that's enough". An intriguing wine, quite mercurial in the glass. Tasted October 2009.
