Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1er Cru 1990

Parker: Interestingly, a bottle of 1990 Lafite Rothschild I pulled from my cellar for a video blog on my web site was still buttoned down, tight, and even with extended decanting was not showing as much as I would have hoped. However, a bottle tasted, of all places, in Seoul, Korea in February, was only a few points short of perfection. That amazing performance motivated me to pull another bottle out of my cellar and follow it over the course of two days. Sure enough, by the second day the wine was roaring from the glass. The 1990 Lafite has turned out far better than my early assessment. While it still possesses some firmness, and performs like a late adolescent in terms of its evolution, it boasts gorgeous aromas of cedar, tobacco leaf, cassis, and lead pencil shavings. The explosive aromas are followed by a fleshy, full-bodied wine that should hit its peak in 5-8 years, and last for 25-30 more. 96/100 (2009

Falstaff: Kräftiges Rubingranat, gute Farbtiefe, violette Reflexe, zarter Wasserrand. In der Nase feines Cassis, Zwetschken, Tabak und ein Hauch von Trüffel, Rosinen, kandierte Orangen. Am Gaumen stoffig, komplexe Textur, eleganter Körper, präsente, straffe Tannine, rote Kirschenfrucht, etwas Veilchen und Veloursleder, finessenreich und gut anhaltend, feine Beerenfrucht im Nachhall, großes Entwicklungspotenzial, Wirkt immer noch ein wenig scheu, voll nobler Zurückhaltung, und man hat den Eindruck seine Tage sind nicht gekommen, sehr frisch und finessenreich. 98/100

Wine Spectator: Very serious fruit, with juicy berry, tobacco and cedar character. Slightly more body than the 1989, but they are very close in character. I would give this a little more time. '89/'90 Bordeaux non-blind horizontal. 95/100 (2005)

Jancis Robinson: Dark ruby. Lively, fresh and transparent at first with the soaraway refined scent of a Lafite. Then it took on the typical concentrated rich and velvety character of a fine 1990. Long. Impressive. 18.5/20 (2012)