Saturday, February 9, 2013

Chateau Lafite Rothschild Dinner @ Cafe Maxx 2/15/13

    

   


I hesitate to recommend this event because of the lofty price tag BUT when are you going to have the opportunity to drink EIGHT vintages of Chateau Lafite Rothschild?

                                             
The dinner is hosted by Wine Watch which is easily one of the best wine shops in South Florida.  Wine fans will love browsing in this hard to find wine cave located just north of Broward Blvd. in Ft. Lauderdale.  The dinner is at one of Broward's best restaurants Cafe Maxx.

The Cave
                                               
From Andrew at Wine Watch:

Chateau Lafite Rothschild has become the hottest Bordeaux on the market today because of the demand for this product in the Asian market. But this "first" of first growths has been in the limelight for several hundred years now which is one of the reasons that they have a world-wide demand for this classic claret.

We have managed to amass a nice collection of older vintage Chateau Lafite Rothschild over the last few years with the prices going crazy and demand finally slowing down for this wine we have a few bottles in stock that we can drink.

This evening we will be studying eight vintages of Chateau Lafite Rothschild along with a special dinner prepared by Chef Oliver Saucy.

 The fee for this event is $895 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463.


lafite_10.jpg
Chateau Lafite Rothschild



Reception:

Barons de Rothschild Brut Champagne NV
Price: $99.00

Based in the Cotes De Blanc this is a 10 year old brand uniting the three branches of the Rothschild family; Eric from Chateau Lafite, Philippine from Chateau Mouton and Benjamine from Chateau Clark. The winemaker is Jean Philipe Moulin, formerly at Perrier Jouet, he joined the Barons in 2007. Production is only 500,000 bottles a year and they released 250,000 bottles on the market this year in 50 countries around the globe. The blend here is 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir. The Blanc De Blanc is 100% Grand Cru and the Rose is made from the same Chardonnay base wine as the Blanc De Blanc with the addition of 15% red Pinot Noir. They use up to 40% reserve wines in the cuvee which come from Mesnil, Cremant and Verzy, aged 4 years for the whites and 3 years for rose, 2007 is the main vintage for the Brut and then some 2005 and 2006 reserve wines. Only the first pressing juice is used in the blend the rest is sold off, they also have a low dosage 5% for the brut and 6% for the Rose and Blanc de Blanc. No wood, very pure mineral driven style and they source most of the fruit. This Brut NV is mostly 2007 and this will be in the market for the next year or so at the distributor, a pretty bouquet of white flowers apple and pear fruit with almond like nutty aromas of brioche, nice development of aromas. Smooth silky bubbles on the tongue with a nice concentration and tangy minerality showing on the long finish, very fresh and bright. Finish 45 Excellent







Tasting Line-up:


1971 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
Price: $525.00

(87 Points) Has an aroma like an aged Burgundy, with cherry and spice; flavor is mature, soft, very elegant. Drinkable now.--Lafite Rothschild vertical. – Wine Spectator Issue: Nov 30, 1991


1976 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
Price: $1250.00

(93 Points) The 1976 Lafite clearly stands far above the crowd in this vintage. A beautiful bouquet of seductive cedarwood, spices, and ripe fruit precedes a very concentrated, darkly colored wine, with great length and texture. Some amber is just beginning to appear at the edge. The 1976 has turned out to be the best Lafite of the '70s. It is gorgeous to drink at present. Anticipated maturity: Now-2005. Last tasted, 9/96. Robert Parker Jr. Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition, Jan 1998


1983 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
Price: $795.00

(93 Points) Finally, the 1983 Lafite is beginning to shed its tannin. The wine exhibits a deep ruby/garnet color with only a slight lightening at the edge. The intoxicatingly perfumed nose of lead pencil, pain grille, red and black fruits, minerals, and roasted herbs is provocative. In the mouth, this wine displays considerable body for a Lafite, plenty of power, and a fleshy, rich, sweet mid-palate. Long, elegant, plump, and surprisingly fleshy, this outstanding example of Lafite seems largely forgotten given the number of high quality vintages during the golden decade of the eighties. Anticipated maturity: Now-2030. Last tasted 3/97 Robert Parker's Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition # B1, Jan 1998


1985 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
Price: $780.00

(90 Points) The 1985 Lafite is revealing more class and complexity than I predicted. A moderately intense, cedary, woody, herb and berry-scented bouquet is attractive. The wine is open-knit and ripe, with fine tannins, sweet, medium-bodied, mineral, and cassis-scented flavors, fine depth, and a graceful, harmonious feel. It is beginning to blossom and appears to possess more depth and character than I had thought.
Wine Advocate # 88 Aug 1993


1998 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
Price: $1275.00

(98 Points) A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, this wine represents only 34% of Lafite's total harvest. In a less than perfect Medoc vintage, it has been spectacular since birth, putting on more weight and flesh over the last year. This opaque purple-colored 1998 is close to perfection. The spectacular nose of lead pencil, smoky, mineral, and black currant fruit soars majestically from the glass. The wine is elegant yet profoundly rich, revealing the essence of Lafite's character. The tannin is sweet, and the wine is spectacularly layered yet never heavy. The finish is sweet, super-rich, yet impeccably balanced and long (50 seconds). Anticipated maturity: 2007-2035. Wine Advocate # 134, Apr 2001


1999 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
Price: $1165.00

(95 Points) The 1999 Lafite Rothschild sports an engraved "1999" on the bottle along with an eclipse to mark that significant historical event of August, 1999. It is a quintessential offering from Lafite Rothschild. This prodigious wine is both elegant and intensely flavored, and almost diaphanous in its layers that unfold with no heaviness. An opaque ruby/purple color is accompanied by a complex bouquet of lead pencil, graphite, cedar, creme de cassis, toast, and vanilla. It is medium-bodied, with extravagant layers of richness yet little weight, and a finish that is all sweetness, ripeness, and harmony. This extraordinary Lafite increasingly appears to be a modern day clone of the majestic 1953. A mere one-third of the crop made it into the grand vin! Anticipated maturity: 2007-2030. Wine Advocate # 140


2001 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
Price: $1500.00

(96 Points) Stick your nose in this and it says something¿"I am special." Deep and generous aromas of blackberries, fresh tobacco and minerals. It's full-bodied, with big velvety tannins and a superlong finish. Like a fine cashmere sweater. Best after 2010. 22,000 cases made. -JS Wine Spectator Issue: March 31, 2004.




                                                            



2003 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
Price: $1500.00

(100 Points) A modern day version of the 1959 Lafite, the 2003 Lafite Rothschild was bottled in mid-May, 2005 after achieving 12.9% natural alcohol – hardly an astonishing figure given the vintage’s weather conditions. A combination of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, it represents a ripe version of the essence of Lafite-Rothschild. Dense purple-colored, with classic notes of graphite intertwined with melted licorice, creme de cassis, smoke, and flowers, it reveals extraordinary richness, opulence, power, purity, intensity, and viscosity. Whether this wine will close down or not is questionable as it is somewhat atypical given its sweetness and softness. Analytically, there are extremely high tannins, which I suspect will assert themselves in the future. Production in 2003 was less than half of normal. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2050.


Wine Watch, Inc.
901 Progresso Drive
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304
Ph.954-523-9463
Fax.954-523-9213

HTTP://WWW.WINEWATCH.COM


Cafe Maxx
2601 E Atlantic Blvd Pompano Beach, FL 33062
(954) 782-0606

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