1988 Château Lafite Rothschild

The 1988 Lafite-Rothschild is the best of the triumvirate that ended the decade. Another bottle vindicates that view. It shows an intense bouquet with graphite-tinged black fruit mixed with cedar aromatics that seem to effortlessly cruise as Lafite is wont to do. The palate is beautifully balanced and blossoms in the glass. The 1988 has svelte, finely chiseled tannins. Tobacco notes appear towards the finish. This quintessential Lafite-Rothschild is even better than the bottle popped open at the château six years ago. Tasted at the 1988 Bordeaux dinner at Noble Rot Mayfair.

Served from magnum, tasting delicous right now. I've had this vintage a few times recently and it is not the most blockbuster Lafite, but has such an effortless charm that it feels absolutey signature. Tobacco, rose petals, suble charred cedar and grilled cocoa, with loganberry and raspberry fruit. Does that Lafite trick where it is utterly gulpable and so enjoyable, and it just subtly keeps on delivering new moments of complexity and understated power.

Welcoming from the first attack, very much in the same vein as the 1985. Plenty of depth and roundness through the mid palate, liquorice, cassis, blackberry, hawthorn, cocoa bean. Considered as one of the wines of the vintage at the time, and is totally delivering. Finesse and power, great to drink with a small carafing first, but this can keep going. 1988 saw a hot dry summer, with harvest beginning on September 26 and the grapes had thick skins and high levels of colour and tannins. Even so, at this point the selection had become stricter for the first wine, with more Carruades being produced as of 1987 (along with the name change from Moulin du Carruades to Carraudes de Lafite). The 1988 is the first vintage in this vertical made in the Ricardo Bofill cellar (that had been completed the year before).