1982 Lafite Rothschild
Buying options
Tasting notes
The best examples of this are simply great. Elegant, floral, refined, and packed with sweet, spicy, red fruits. cigar wrappers, currants, and cherries. There is length, energy, lift, freshness, and complexity.
Critic scores
Average Score
Wine Spectator
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Dark ruby red. Mineral, berry and mint. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long finish. A silky, seductive wine. -Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now.
Dark ruby red. Mineral, berry and mint. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long finish. A silky, seductive wine.--Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now. James Suckling, Wine Spectator 2001
This is a denser version of the 1990 that stylistically reminds me of what the young 1959 probably tasted like. Still backward with a deep ruby/plum color revealing only a touch of lightening at the edge, the wine offers up an extraordinary nose of caramelized herbs, smoke, cedar, pen ink, black currants, and earth. The gorgeous aromatics are followed by a full-bodied, plump, rich, fleshy wine with low acidity. With 6-8 hours decanting in a closed decanter, it will offer beautiful drinking, but it needs another 5-8 years to reach full maturity. It is capable of lasting 50-60 years. This classic Lafite is not as fat and concentrated as the 1982 Latour, nor as complex or concentrated as the 1982 Mouton Rothschild, but it is a winner all the same. Release price: ($350.00/case) Jun 2009, www.robertparker.com
About the producer

Ch. Lafite Rothschild is one of the most famous wine estates in Bordeaux and the world. One of the Left Bank’s five First Growths, the Pauillac property is renowned for producing wines of finesse and elegance that age beautifully.