Château Lafite-Rothschild 2009

Absolutely classic in style and very assured despite the power and density, with great length: exemplary, tremendous. The second wine Carruades is also of outstanding class.

This is stunning for its ability to take massively endowed fig, currant paste and crushed plum fruit flavors and harness them with ultrasuave freshly roasted espresso, black tea and ganache notes. A seductive style, long and velvety, with the dense core of black fruit and smoldering iron just waiting and waiting. Best from 2020 through 2040.

This wine is stunningly impressive but almost the opposite of the 2010 vintage. The year offered a warm, wet spring followed by a hot, dry summer and cool nights in September, giving a riper, more generous impression. A bit of smoke and spice on the initial attack with a ripe, plummy fruit character that is more black than red and a supple, dense richness on the palate that lingers sumptuously on the finish. This vintage will drink sooner than the 2010, yet should easily last as long. The finished wine is a blend of 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and a half-percent of Petit Verdot. Picking began in mid-September for the Merlot and early October for the Cabernet, with 45% of the fruit going into the grand vin.

This is what the Médoc is all about. The freshness and delicacy of this wine, combined with its serious concentration and firm core, are absolutely stunning. Time has already worked its magic and it is already delicious, but it has decades ahead of it. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)

Mid ruby. Lots of ripe primary fruit and noticeable oak spice. Pleasant, drinkable – but a mite simple? Doesn’t really seem to shine. Tannin seems a bit underripe. (RH)

The 2009 Lafite-Rothschild is quite high-toned and expressive on the nose, perhaps the most ostentatious of the top flight 2009s with upfront black cherry and boysenberry fruit, lavish new oak and touches of violet. The palate is sleek and satin-like in feel with copious dark cherry and boysenberry fruit, fig and dates, almost honeyed in texture towards the precocious finish that has an opulent bent, almost hedonistic, unusual for this First Growth. But it is kinda irresistible. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.

Cigar box, cherries, tobacco leaf, smoke, spice, flowers and Cuban cigars fill the nose. The palate is lush, soft, refined and polished with endless layers of sweet, supple, sensuous dark red fruits and spice that coat your palate with layer after layer of lingering berries. It’s so good now, but it’s best days are ahead. The wine blends 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2026-2065.

Deep dark ruby-garnet colour with purple reflections, subtle brightening at the rim. Opens somewhat restrained, ripe dark berries, delicate tobacco nuances, some liquorice, light precious-wood notes, a hint of mint in the background. Complex, juicy, distinctly fruity texture, ripe heart cherries, mineral and taut on the finish, already approachable, great length, with 17% Merlot, which is quite high for Lafite, already significantly more approachable than expected; today the average is only 7–8%.

82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 0.5% Petit Verdot. Saturated, dense purple-garnet with a violet rim. Magnificent, lofty bouquet, still restrained at first, yet warm, with cocoa, a touch of dark chocolate, licorice, ripe plums, a fascinating herbal array of mint and thyme, candied fruits, growing increasingly sweet. On the palate, elegance from the outset, a play of blue and black berries, thoroughly classical, delicately sweet tannins, great length. Everything flows calmly here, which may lead to underestimation. In its overall style it recalls the barrel sample of the 1985, yet in elegance it brings to mind the 1990. Can the 2009 surpass the 2005? Or will it become a refined variant of the 2000? It’s not quite at the maximum score yet, nevertheless Lafite will likely be the most expensive Left Bank wine at en primeur—the “wine friends” from the Far East will see to that!

82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 0.5% Petit Verdot. Deep purple-garnet, dense at the core, lilac shimmer on the rim. Magnificent bouquet; even though the opening is still reserved, plenty of warmth and grandeur emerge—cocoa, a touch of dark chocolate, licorice, ripe plums—then a fascinating herbal play of mint and thyme and candied fruit, becoming increasingly sweet. On the palate it immediately opts for elegance, a play of blue and black berries, delicate sweetness in the tannins, remaining classic in its core aromatics and finishing with great length. It enters the realm of great classics. Communication-wise like the barrel sample of the 1985 vintage, and in elegance reminiscent of the ’90s. Everything here is somehow calming, nothing loud. So it can be underestimated. Can it surpass the 2005? Or will it be a refined variant of the 2000? For the moment it does (still) not reach the maximum score. In futures, with all the various tranches, this will likely be the most expensive wine of the Left Bank. The “wine friends” from the Far East will certainly ensure that! (19/20). 20: Dark purple-garnet. Compact bouquet, as tight as a tied-up package. It needs air, and I granted it by sniffing the Gabriel-Gold glass again and again to explore its soul. The nose is sweet, showing sandalwood, vanilla, and fine woods. On one hand it signals enormous density; on the other, it gradually unveils what feels like thousands of layers. Regal entry. While many 2009s are said to come on like a drug, this Lafite does reflect a hot year. Yet the team seems to have managed to bring that heat into balance. It is one of the few crus listing “only” 13.5% alcohol. On the palate you don’t initially notice the tannins that demand patience, and the flow starts softly. But the rich, insanely concentrated extract starts to grip from the mid-palate and slows the flow. Only on the finish does it show its massive astringency. So patience is required here if you want to enjoy the full measure of pleasure from this legendary Lafite-Rothschild. With long decanting you can reach a very first partial stage. Because the potential looks like 50-plus years, it’s worth waiting at least another ten. (20/20)

Concentrated, complex, velvety, creamy bouquet: black cassis, cassis cream, cedar, a hint of eucalyptus, cinnamon stick. A concentrated, multi-layered, powerful palate with dark, intense aromatics, a creamy, dense structure, and a very long, dense, dark finish. 20/20 drink - 2060

Aromatics curl right out of the glass, with restrained cassis interlaced with sweeter spiced berry fruits, crayon, eucalyptus, wet rocks, peony and classically chiselled tannins. Still young, but already totally delicious. Shows so clearly that balance and understatement don't get in the way of intensity and concentration. Unusual to taste Lafite in a lineup with the other wines of the appellation, making it exceptionally enjoyable to confirm the standout quality of the 2009 vintage here. On a different tier, and one with many decades ahead. 100% new oak.

Sumptuous expression of the vintage, with tannins of truly admirable pedigree and complexity. It kept asserting itself throughout its maturation.

Enormous density, a tight yet intense nose. An impressive palate in terms of power, but also for its balance and generous fruit. A legend.

Elegant and refined, with superb length, just a slight dip in the mid-palate.

A great deal of finesse and subtlety in the bouquet of this Lafite 2009, with notes of mint, black berries and candied fruit. On the palate, the wine has silky, smooth, compact tannins. It brilliantly combines finesse and power and is perfectly balanced. Intense aromatic character and a lingering finish.

Logo on the cork: inverted T (Trescases) Dark, intense colour with slight evolution. Intense nose with ripe, creamy fruit. Precise on the attack, very pleasant as it unfolds; the wine evolves with a caressing texture before becoming oaky on the finish, even though the tannins remain fine. Normal length.

95-97 Barrel sample. A powerful expression of Cabernet Sauvignon, solid in structure. The wine is rich and concentrated, very textured. Great spice go with just enough fresh acidity, in this big wine.