1919 Lafite Rothschild

The 1919 Lafite-Rothschild, re-corked in 1992, possesses excellent purity and transparency on the nose with remnants of red fruit, Morello cherries and wild strawberries. It's oddly quite Gevrey-like in style. The sheer delineation of the aromatics is pretty arresting. The palate is light but not feeble, rather what you would expect from a challenging growing season. Yet there is impressive focus and tension; with time, it musters more depth than you would expect. There's a backbone to this centurion. It feels "pert" towards the finish, a live wire determined to confound expectations. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild dinner at Ami restaurant in Hong Kong.