1961 Lafite Rothschild

Served blind. Two bottles, first one elegant but a little soft, second one just delicious, delivering one of the best examples of this wine that I have ever drunk. Soft, silky, melted tannins, fragrant, floral, almost Burgundian in its lacework tannins. Rose petals, soot, campfire, autumnal fruits, so easy to drink, so much energy, this is an elegant, gorgeous and generous Lafite. Unusually, the 1961 vintage was 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. There is almost no stock of this worldwide, certainly not with the provenance that we had, from the château cellars, and with the renowned bottle variation, we were extremely lucky to enjoy such a wonderful example of a legendary wine.

This is a stunning wine with tension and finesse, performing a high-wire balancing act with a brilliant sense of self, and it brings out goosebumps. The nose has aromatics of dried herbs and subtle wild strawberries, followed by earth, leather, crushed raspberries and olive pit, and tastes seriously younger than all of the wines of the 1970s from this vertical. After an extra hour in the glass it starts to show its age a little more, mellowing into camphor and soy, bitumen and tar, meaning I would not suggest carafing for too long before drinking, but kept in bottle there is no risk of it going anywhere for another few decades. The frost that ripped through Bordeaux in March meant there was no useable Merlot, meaning this already historic vintage of Lafite - that saw a hot summer and an excellent harvest - is made up entirely of Cabernet Sauvignon. A low yield, down to around 12hl/h. A vintage that does not always deliver at Lafite, with plenty of bottle variation, but when it is good it's exceptional, and this one certainly was. This was also the year that Fete de la Fleur was hosted by Baron Elie de Rothschild at Lafite.