Château Lafite Rothschild Pauillac 2003

View Larger

Share this page:

• Facebook
• Twitter

Snoothrank:

Starting at: $1,154^.90

13 Reviews

Add a review

Winery:

Château Lafite Rothschild

Varietal:

Bordeaux Blend

Region:

France > Bordeaux > Pauillac

Type:

Red Wine

Color:

Drink Dates:

2013 - 2030

UPC:

3296331000315

User Tags:  rich, berry, trees, oily, cedar, resinous, sophisticated, dried, perfumed, herbaceous 

Customers Also Bought

• Moueix Dominus 2003

  Snoothrank: 4/5 Starting at $38.79 USD
• Lail Vineyards J. Daniel Cuvée 2003

  Snoothrank: 4.5/5 Starting at $90.29 USD

• Andrew Will Sorella 2003

  Snoothrank: 4/5 Starting at $67.99 USD
• Viña Almaviva S.A. Almaviva 2003

  Snoothrank: 4/5 Starting at $94.99 USD

What to Expect

Arguably the most renowned wines on earth, the classed growths of Bordeaux continue to epitomize the power and complexity Bordeaux blends are capable of. While most wines here are based on Cabernet Sauvignon, both Merlot and Cabernet Franc play important roles in adding layered complexity to the finished wines, and allow winemakers in each commune within the region to use the blend that is best suited to their unique combination of soil and meso-climate. The most famous communes each have their own classic traits with St. Estephe giving full, if rustic wines, from the heavy clay soils, to Paulliac's elegant balance of ripe fruits, minerality and structure to St. Julien's rich blackberry core and supple feel. Moving to the South of the region brings one to Margaux, with its notes of flowers and berries draped over a feminine frame, and then to the Graves region with wines redolent of tobacco, gravel and smoke. To the East lies the famous appellations of St. Emillion, with its wonderfully ripe Cabernet Franc, and Pomerol where Merlot rules the roost and produces deep, plush wines of uncommon refinement.

Winemakers Notes

The climatic year was marked by an exceptional heat wave the first fortnight of August with temperatures exceeding 40°C together with low rainfall throughout the vegetative cycle.

Deep colour with very ripe red fruit on the nose. On the palate, the vintage proves to be particularly rich, intense and unctuous with very rounded tannins. Long persistent finish.

Tasting Notes :A modern day version of the 1959 Lafite, the 2003 Lafite Rothschild was bottled in mid-May, 2005 after achieving 12.9% natural alcohol – hardly an astonishing figure given the vintage’s weather read more...conditions. A combination of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, it represents a ripe version of the essence of Lafite-Rothschild. Dense purple-colored, with classic notes of graphite intertwined with melted licorice, creme de cassis, smoke, and flowers, it reveals extraordinary richness, opulence, power, purity, intensity, and viscosity. read more...Whether this wine will close down or not is questionable as it is somewhat atypical given its sweetness and softness. Analytically, there are extremely high tannins, which I suspect will assert themselves in the future. Production in 2003 was less than half of normal.    (hide)

Explore