Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1989
-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Spectator
Subtle, yet rich and decadent, offering meat, sweet berry and fresh leather on the nose. Full and very soft, with velvety tannins and a long, fruity finish. This has so much ripe fruit. Reserved and firm, this is turning to a very fine and shy Lafite. This is fresh and structured, but still holding back.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
As I suspected, the 1989 and 1990 vintages of Lafite-Rothschild have gone dormant. Both wines were among the more closed, backward examples in my blind tasting. The 1989 Lafite is also outstanding, but closed, with the tannin more elevated, and the wine so stubbornly reticent as to make evaluation almost impossible. Lafite's 1989 was far more easy to taste and understand several years ago. It appears to have gone completely to sleep. This medium ruby-colored, medium-bodied wine reveals new oak in the nose, and a spicy finish. It is a quintessentially elegant, restrained, understated style of Lafite.
Other Vintages
2022-
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
-
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling - Decanter
-
Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling - Decanter
-
Jeb
Dunnuck
-
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast - Decanter
-
Wine
Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck
- Decanter
-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling - Decanter
-
Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
-
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling -
Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling - Decanter
-
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling -
Wilfred
Wong -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
-
Wine
Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wilfred
Wong -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Wine &
Spirits
- Decanter
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wine &
Spirits -
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wine &
Spirits -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator -
Wine &
Spirits
-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator - Decanter
-
Wine &
Spirits
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
- Decanter
-
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
James
Suckling
-
James
Suckling
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling - Decanter
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
Chateau Lafite Rothschild is one of only four classified first growths and thus the designation as 1st er Cru. The vintage rankings of the Universal Paris Exposition in 1855 officially gave Lafite the rating as “Leader among fine wines.” While the first known reference to Lafite dates to 1234 with a certain Gombaud de Lafite, abbot of the Vertheuil Monastery north of Pauillac, Lafite’s mention as a medieval fief dates to the 14th century. The name Lafite comes from the Gascon language term “la hite”, which means “hillock”. There were probably already vineyards on the property at the time when the Ségur family organised the vineyard in the 17th century, and Lafite began to earn its reputation as a great winemaking estate. Jacques de Ségur was credited with the planting of the Lafite vineyard in the 1670s and in the early 1680s. The estate achieved wide popularity in the 1750s when it became the favorite wine of King Louis XV. Thomas Jefferson was also a steadfast customer and even visited the estate. After the 1973-1976 mini-crisis that hit Bordeaux, Baron Eric’s management of the estate made strides forward with a search for excellence and the gradual addition of a new technical team. In 1985 Baron Eric began a tradition of inviting fine-arts photographers to photograph Chateau Lafite. Today, his daughter Saskia de Rothschild represents the 6th generation of the family at the head of the winemaking properties.