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Lafite Rothschild 2002

Pauillac, First Growth

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Tasting Notes

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.

Score: 93

Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 01 January 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?

Score: 17 - 18

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2011-2021 04 November 2009

Bright, dark ruby-red. Subdued but pure aromas of currant, plum, minerals, graphite, and sexy, coconutty oak; showed a floral note with aeration. Extremely suave, fine-grained and concentrated, with a strong spine of acidity. Finishes firmly tannic, subtle and very long. This should develop slowly. (92+ points)

Score: 92

Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar 01 May 2005

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.

Score: 94

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2008-2025 30 April 2005

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.

Score: 94 - 96

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2011-2038 01 October 2003

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. 16,000 cases made.

Score: 95

James Suckling, Wine Spectator Maturity: 2010+ 31 March 2005