These are notes from a Ch. Lafite vertical dinner held in Vancouver at
Lumiere, spanning the vintages of two decades, the 70s and 80s, from
1970 to 1990. he event was arranged by Albert Givton, the gentleman
responsible for many of my most memorable wine moments.

1998 Louis Jadot Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru - a nice way to tune
our palates. The wine was showing a fair bit of colour (I should note
that Albert keeps his cellar temperature barely above refrigerator
level, so there was no question of any accelerated development due to
temperature). The nose was showing some caramel notes, another sign of
maturity, and it was lovely and smooth in the mouth - soft, lush and
long, with the caramel also showing on palate.

Served with artichoke, truffle and lobster terrine with almond cream.

1976 Ch. Climens - another 'setting up' exercise, this time with
one of my favourite Barsacs, and the perfect choice with the food as I
find a sweet Sauternes not nearly as good with this sort of food. The
nose was beautiful - light on its feet, Botrytis present but not
overwhelming, and a solid hint of lemon and honey. It had excellent
length and was that bit drier in the finish that Barsac often is, and
that makes it such a great pairing with the food.

Served with seared Quebec foie gras with apple and trockenbeerenauslese
reduction.

It was then on to the main event, with the first flight of Lafites,
followed by olive oil poached squab breast with pheasant boudin and
lobster and pine mushroom risotto. The wines were served blind in this
flight, accompanied by a ringer just to keep us attentive.


1970 - never a strong showing for Lafite. Significantly lighter than
the rest of the flight though balanced and elegant. It showed a bit of
tea in the nose, a sure indicator of advanced age, as well as the lead
pencil-cedar signature elements that most of these wines showed in one
degree or another. About on par with the last bottle I had and it
isn't getting any better. In contrast to Latour, Palmer and
Montrose, my favourites from this vintage, Lafite always lacked weight.


1975 - there are two kinds of 1975 Bordeaux - the ones that have
enough fruit to balance the hard characteristic tannins of the vintage,
and those that do not. The nose had a seaweedy pong at first that blew
off, but even then it wasn't a classic Lafite nose - too funky.
There was fruit, but the levels of tannin left an austere dry
astringent impression at the end that robbed the senses of much
enjoyment. I could be wrong, but I don't think this will ever be a
'good' 75, unlike, for instance, the Las Cases, which had tannins
harder than a tax collector's heart for decades, but which has
finally come around over the last few years and is now quite
pleasurable.

1976 - my wine of the flight! Classic cedar and spice nose, with
more obvious ripeness than in the other wines in the flight. Still some
tannin, and good balance, it finished big, round and sweet.


1978 - the classic high-toned nose was an encouraging start, as was
the good colour, but the wine had no almost tannin left (surprising as
it was a hard brute when young), was riding on some acidity, and was
flat and weak.

1979 - my second best wine of flight and much superior to the 1978.
More warmth to the nose, tannins firm, it almost seemed young! I think
it still needs time (bottles kept at higher temperatures are probably
ready now). I found it on the backward side and a bit coarse, at least
for Lafite.

1978 Ch. Pichon Lalande - this ringer was a bit hard to sort out. I
found it to have a simple earthy nose with a hint of cocoa, and also a
hint of greenness, medium colour, smooth on palate and drinking very
well.

We moved on to the next flight, followed by a sous vide saddle of lamb
with lamb cheek and orzo ragout (the sous vide method of cooking
results in exceptional tenderness and flavour in this case)

1983 - a big weighty style of 83, with typical nose, lots of
immediately attractive sweet fruit on palate and good length. Yum.

1985 - not very exciting. Nose a bit odd, with some strange woody
notes and while the wine was balanced and soft as would be expected for
this friendly vintage, it just didn't ring any bells for me.

1988 - wow!! My wine of the flight without doubt (the 83 was second).
Very interesting and complex nose, with the cedar, and cassis, and a
faint hint of almond. Tons of ripe sweet fruit on palate, and although
there are lots of soft tannins, one senses that they are continuing to
soften and this wine is more approachable than some other 88s I've
had recently. This is one to hide away in the depths of your cellar to
prevent you popping corks too soon, it is that good!

1989 - nice depth and differentiation in the nose, the wine elegant
and a bit closed, but some pleasant sweetness showing on palate. It
drinks pretty well now, but I would hope for more development in
future.

The next flight was followed by a selection of cheeses.

1982 - Oh my! The big hitters for sure! Dark wine with a rather
intense nose, with a beam of pure sweet fruit cutting through it. Big
enough on palate to rival Latour in some years, a bit out of the norm
for the normally elegant Lafite. Notable for the extremely long finish
- we were competing at timing how long it was until we could no
longer taste it as it slowly faded - then we'd take another sip and
do it again! It doesn't get much better than this.

1986 - another great nose, the cedar to the front and the fruit notes
just under it. Also a big bruiser, with huge reserves of fruit, but in
this case veiled by still hard tannins. This wine will take years to
soften and come around. It is clearly a great Bordeaux, but I do not
think that it will surpass the 1982 in the end - they are pretty much
twins, with one drinking well now and the other on hold for another
decade. Given the choice, I'd drink the 82 for instant
gratification, and let others more patient (and perhaps longer lived)
cellar the 1986.

1990 - lovely bright colour, lead pencil more than cedar in the nose,
still quite tannic, as opposed to many other 1990s, which are starting
to drink quite well now. The wine shows excellent balance and length,
and in any other company would have me raving about it, but tasted with
the Terrible Twins of 1982 and 1986, it showed as an excellent but not
a great wine. Almost a shame, in a sense, to open it in such
competition.

There was dessert (lemon chiboust), but the final wine eclipsed all
though of food for me.

1945 Ch. Lafaurie Peyraguay - this bottle had a low neck fill and the
dark amber wine was alive and delicious. It had a nose like liquid
butterscotch with hints of coconut, and was clean and intense on
palate, with very good length and fairly dry at the end (it would
likely have been somewhat sweeter in youth).

What an end to an unforgettable tasting event. Memories to ponder on
those long winter evenings.

The only Lafites I have from the 70s are the 70 and 75. My 70 is not of
1st growth quality, but it still is drinking fairly well. I find the 75
difficult to like. I agree hat both the 70 and 75 are unlikely to
improve and most likely will decline.

I bought only the 82 in the 80s. I have not opened any yet, so I am glad
to hear that you find it showing well.

I still have 59, 61, and 66 Lafite. The 66 is becoming a bit lean and
mean for my taste and likely should be finished very soon. The 59 and 61
are both holding well. The 59 is a very big wine for a Lafite. You might
say the 59 is more of a Parker type of wine, and the 61 is more of a
Broadbent type of wine.

Reply to .

I've had the '75 twice in last few years, one tannic and rather
fruitless, the other a reasonably balanced if not compelling Pauillac
(the latter actually followed the '75 Margaux, which seemed more tannic
surprisingly).

Funnily, I started a raffle to raise money for Katrina victims
(offering a mini-vertical of '80s Meyneys) on another site. When others
threw in some nice prices,I made a contribution and entered the raffle
myself. Turns out I won one of the prizes- the '75 Lafite. There's some
history behind this particular bottle, and so I look forward to tasting
it (I plan on pairing with some good wines from my cellar, having a
dinner where participation is based on contributions to a Gulf Coast
relief effort).