Wir verlieren hierzu nicht viele Worte. Chateau Lafite Rothschild, die, eine kleine Anekdote nebenbei, als Pauillac auch Lagen in St. Estephe!!! haben, und diese verwenden dürfen, ist seit dem Einstieg von Jean Guillaume Prats als Direktor, nochmals in eine andere Liga aufgestiegen. Das Asien hieran seit Jahrzehnten erhebliches Interesse hat, interessiert nicht. Wir sehen die Qualität an allererster Stelle. Und der 2019er ist ein Meilenstein in der Weingeschichte. Unglaublich wie grandios sich 2019 Chateau Lafite Rothschild verkostete. Wenn hier die 100 nicht kommen, wo dann?

97-99 THE WINEADVOCATE: "The 2019 Lafite Rothschild is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, harvested from the 19th of September to the 7th of October. Deep garnet-purple in color, it rolls effortlessly out of the glass with compelling notions of baked black cherries, ripe blackberries and crème de cassis followed by hints of mocha, licorice, smoked meats and Sichuan pepper with a waft of eucalyptus. Medium-bodied, the palate is at once ethereally graceful and powerfully intense, featuring layer upon layer of profound smoky, savory flavors and decadently ripe fruit, framed by exquisite, silt-like tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with epic length. In terms of flavor profile, this is a surprisingly (atypically) hedonic, forward expression, with notably lower acidity/higher pH (the pH is 3.9). The alcohol is 13.4%, just a tick higher than the 2018 (13.3%). And yet, the tannins here are unmistakably Lafite, featuring all the tannic grace, finesse and densely pixilated poise fans will expect. What an exciting paradox for the palate—bravo!"

19 JANCIS ROBINSON: "94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. Barrel sample.
Supreme elegance in the Lafite mould. Fresh and fragrant on the nose with mineral, cedar and dark-fruit notes. Poise and precision on the palate, the attack clean and direct, the tannins long and linear but enrobed in ripe fruit. Dense but with a reined-in discretion. Silky texture and overall great freshness. Just edges the 2018 for freshness and finesse. (JL)"

98 DECANTER: "Performs the trick of being immediately succulent and mouthwatering while simultaneously revving up and building power through the palate. You´re getting sapidity and savoury black fruits that are both elegant and full of power. The spicy rosemary and black pepper, with slate-textured minerality, is almost unnoticeable until it closes in on the final stretch, helping to stretch things out, beat by beat, adding energy and lift. One half of the 5% Merlot in this blend is from plots that have never before been used in Lafite´s 1st wine, because their drone and satellite research discovered three tiny areas that were similar in character and could be vinified together. They have worked on this for the past three years, successfully so for first time in 2019. It just holds on tight, with a creaminess that you don´t always find in Lafite at this early stage. A brilliant wine, one that could be upscored from this when in bottle. Harvest September 19 to October 7."

99-100 JAMES SUCKLING: " Complex aromas of blackcurrants and lead pencil. Incredible. Graphite and tar. Stunning. It’s full-bodied, yet shows such harmony and polish. Elegance and complexity with finesse. The tannins are so integrated and endless. It goes on for minutes. 94% cabernet sauvignon, 5% merlot and 1% petit verdot."

96-98 ANTONIO GALLONI: "The 2019 Lafite-Rothschild was picked from 19 September with the Merlots, pausing during a rainy spell and then picked through to 7 October. The blend includes what Eric Kohler calls "outsider" parcels that met the grade, including some of the Merlot on more clayey soils (see introduction) as well as 13.5% vin de presse. Alcohol here is some half a degree lower than many of its peers at around 13.4%. It has a very sensual bouquet, not a common feature in this First Growth, with generous black fruit infused with pencil box, sous-bois and discrete white pepper aromas. The oak is beautifully subsumed by the fruit already. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent, rounded tannins that lend this Lafite its creamy femme fatale texture and disguise its backbone. More powerful than expected, this builds in the mouth towards an atypically corpulent, dense finish that seems to "flow" across the senses. There is not a single hair out of place. I can envisage this firming up during its élevage and deserving more bottle age than seemingly appropriate at this juncture. Whatever its drinking plateau turns out to be, it is certainly a wonderful Lafite-Rothschild that pips the 2018 and revels in the growing season." - Neal Martin

96-98 ANTONIO GALLONI: "The 2019 Lafite-Rothschild is sensual, alluring and simply breathtaking in its beauty. A vivid, towering Lafite, the 2019 simply has it all. Even with all of its intensity, the 2019 possesses striking minerality and tension that give the wine its sense of drive and precision. it is a stunning wine by any measure. The blend is 94% Cabernet 5% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, including some Merlot from clay-rich parcels that are new to the Grand Vin."

98-100 THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "This is a beautiful example of what Chateau Lafite Rothschild does best. Dark garnet in color and aromatic, you find lead pencil, cedar, forest, tobacco wrapper, mint and black with red fruit scents. The most elegant of all the First Growths, the wine, classic in nature, is refined, pure, bright, focused, precise and long. There is an intensity that expands as the wine graces your palate, before moving to the finish that is all about the extraordinary purity in the fruits. The wine blends 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot. The Merlot was harvested September 19-September 25. Cabernet Sauvignon was picked September 22-October 7. The wine reached 13.4% alcohol with pH of 3.9. The Grand Vin was produced from only 40% of the harvest with yields of 38 hectoliters per hectare."

98-100 JEB DUNNUCK: "A truly great Lafite, and maybe the wine of the vintage, the 2019 Château Lafite-Rothschild reveals a deep purple color as well as an ultra-classic bouquet of crème de cassis, lead pencil, unsmoked tobacco, chocolate, and gravelly minerality. Deep, full-bodied, and flawlessly balanced, it´s a magical, heavenly bottle of wine that´s going to be approachable with just 5-6 years of bottle age yet evolve for 100 years or more. It reminds me of the 2016, only with a touch more sexiness and opulence."