Tasting Notes
Vinous 89-92
(98% cabernet sauvignon and 2% merlot): Medium red-ruby. Very precise, pure, flinty raspberry and coffee aromas are complicated by an intense violet note. Then almost steely in the mouth, with a bright, juicy personality to the flavors of red berries, plum, graphite and minerals. This struck me as quite mouthfilling without being at all heavy. Finishes with building but smooth tannins and a lovely lingering strawberry sweetness. General director Charles Chevalier said "I went looking for fruit this year by harvesting as late as feasible, which of course meant that due to rot we made even less wine than projected, but I think we were able to achieve more fruit in this manner. I may have to decrease the time this wine will spend aging in oak but I don't know yet." When I mentioned to Chevallier that I couldn't remember the last time a vintage of Lafite had so much cabernet sauvignon, he promptly answered: "Few people know, but in 1994 the final blend was an unbelievable 99% cabernet sauvignon and 1% petit verdot; this year we just had to get rid of most of the merlot, because even at 3% or 4% of the total it was obviously only diluting the whole."
Robert Parker 90
The 2013 Lafite-Rothschild is a blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and just 2% Merlot. It has a straightforward, focused, undergrowth and tobacco-scented bouquet, nicely defined if perhaps missing the complexity and nuance of recent vintages. The palate is supple on the entry with notes of tart cherry, wild strawberry and a touch of graphite. It is certainly approachable for Lafite-Rothschild, balanced, though missing structure and density towards the sappy finish. It is a lightweight Lafite-Rothschild that does improve with aeration as it did in barrel, yet it never scales the heights of the greatest vintages from this First Growth.
Anticipated maturity: 2018-2030