1959 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac [Listing 1, RP-99pts]

$2,950.00

1 in stock

Ratings & Tasting Notes:

100 points Decanter

I have tasted this wine several times over the past few years, and each bottle has blown me away. Now almost 60 years old, it still has a deep, rich colour that has barely budged since my last visit. Perfectly balanced, it barely tastes older than the 1982 and displays the cedar signature of Lafite coupled with truffles, graphite and still-rich cassis and bilberry fruits. There’s something more besides, that’s hard to pinpoint but elevates the whole experience – maybe it’s the mouthwatering persistency and the dancing minerality. 1959 saw a warm and sunny start to the season, with cold nights (particularly in April) followed by a very hot July and sunny but cooler August. It was a perfect harvest, with the grapes brought in under heat. They had relatively low acidity when they were picked, which has not in any way held it back from ageing with grace and poise, and I wouldn’t bet against this carrying on serenely for another half-century. Looking back, Baron Eric feels it was the year the marked the change towards riper-styled vintages in the 20th century. I have just read a Washington Post article from 1979, by the way, when this 1959 was the star of a three-decade vertical of Lafite – you can consistently find the same result in dozens of articles over the years. Fitting then that this was the year that cellarmaster Georges Revelle received the Legion of Honour. Drinking Window 2018 – 2040 (5/2018)

100 points John Gilman

The 1959 Lafite-Rothschild has always been one of my absolutely favorite wines of both this great vintage and the historic estate, and this most recent bottle was every bit as magical as one could hope for from a confluence of great terroir and legendary vintage! The bouquet is ripe, pure and bottomless, as it delivers a brilliant constellation of sweet cassis, cigar ash, a touch of mint, very complex, dark soil tones, black truffles, Cuban cigars and a distinctive topnote of fresh sage with a bit of extended aeration. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and almost plush on the attack, with a great core of fruit, impeccable balance, still just a whisper of backend tannin adding grip and spine and a very, very complex, endless and seamless finish. Amazingly, at nearly sixty years of age, this wine still has decades and decades of life ahead of it and remains at its absolute summit of peak maturity today. This has to be the greatest Médoc in this magical vintage! (Drink between 2017-2075) (4/2017)

99 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

The 1959 is unquestionably the greatest Lafite-Rothschild that has approached full maturity. It remains to be seen whether vintages such as 1982, 1986, and 1990 will reach a similar height. The super-aromatic bouquet of flowers, black truffles, cedar, lead pencil, and red fruits is followed by one of the most powerful and concentrated Lafites I have tasted. Medium to full-bodied, velvety-textured, rich, and pure, it is a testament to what this great estate can achieve when it hits the mark. This youthful wine will last for another 30 or more years. (RP) (10/1994)

98 points Vinous

As move into the reds, a bevy of truly spectacular, moving wines awaits. Where to being? An utterly magical, spellbinding wine, the 1959 Lafite-Rothschild is utterly sublime. Sweet red fruit, smoke and iron notes begin to unfurl in the glass, but ultimately it is the wine’s total sense of silkiness and finesse that leaves everyone at the table in awe. It’s hard to imagine wine – any wine – being more profound than this. (AG) (10/2014)

98 points Wine Spectator

Tasted from magnum. This vintage, for Lafite, deserves the reputation that ’61 has. Only the ’89 vintage tasted better out of 93 vintages in the tasting. Its hallmark is a minty juniper aroma backed by luscious, rich, elegant flavors of black cherry so ripe and intense that they’re almost pruny. Complete and delicious. (11/1991)

97 points Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar

Full medium red with an amber edge. Ineffable aromas of red plum, raw currant, cedar and menthol. Offers an extraordinary combination of silky texture and brilliant acidity and snap. A wine of great extract and penetrating sweetness. Finishes with big, noble tannins and great persistence. A fabulous vintage for Lafite that rarely disappoints. Drink now through 2025. (ST) (7/2002)

Bottle Size:

750 mL

Storage History:

Stored on it’s side in a climate controlled cellar since purchase.

Condition:

Please note: The bottle shown is the exact bottle being sold.

Foil is ripped slightly as shown. Mid should fill level. Cork is full and tight as shown.

Photographs have been taken from different angles in order to exhibit the exact item condition.