2001 Château Lafite Rothschild***

The 2001 Lafite-Rothschild has a little more precision on the nose compared to the millennial Lafite. It’s vivid and focused, featuring blackberry, briar, cedar and mint, and a touch of cola in the background. The palate is well balanced and svelte in texture, building beautifully with aeration to a gorgeous, truffle-tinged finish that is a little spicier than three years ago, when I last tasted this vintage. Maybe it just tails off toward the finish when compared to the 2000. Still, this is an elegant, blue-blooded Lafite-Rothschild that exudes class. (NM)

The 2001 Lafite-Rothschild is a damn impressive follow-up to the 2000. It has a healthy garnet core, showing little sign of maturity. The bouquet offers blackberry, melted tar, cedar and a pinch of dried herbs that might not deliver the clarity of the finest Lafites, yet just seems to meliorate with aeration, offering complementary scents of iris with time. The palate is medium-bodied, with supple tannins, and a mélange of red and black fruit. I notice a touch of glycerin towards the second half, almost candied towards the precise finish of wild strawberry, graphite and a hint of black truffle. I admire the cohesiveness and crescendo of the 2001 Lafite-Rothschild. It should give drinkers 20 or 30 years of drinking pleasure. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild 150th anniversary dinner at the estate.