How's Chateau Lafite Rothschild '94

[zinlove]

I don't know much about Bordeaux and I recently received a bottle as a gift. I'd like to know anything/everything about this wine.

[mrdutton]

Its not much of anything. I'd be glad to take it off your hands for you..........

Chortle, chortle, chortle.

Seriously, I've not yet had the pleasure of sampling such a fine wine as Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Here is what Wine Spectator said about it when it was tasted last year by them:

A luscious Lafite that is silky and elegant with layers of wonderful violet, berry, cherry and chocolate flavors. It's full-bodied, with racy, refined tannins and good length. Drinkable now, but best from 1999 and through another decade. (18750 cases produced)

I'd suggest you put together a special meal, maybe a couple racks of lamb or a nice tender prime rib, grab that someone special in your life and have a great meal with a very good wine.

Now if you have the proper facilities for storing the wine for another 5 - 9 years, you could do that also. Quite frankly, I couldn't wait that long! I'd have to drink it now.

Other members of this Wine Board I believe have had the pleasure and they may even be able to share their tasting notes with you.

Here's hoping you have a wonderful evening when you do pop the cork!

[zinlove]

Thank you for the info on the Lafite.

I knew I had something exceptional; I just wasn't sure about the best time to drink it.

I make an excellent beef wellington and thought the bordeaux would make a superb companion!!

Storing it is truly my biggest dilemma; the best spot I have is my linen closet. Any suggestions for that?

[hotwine]

We had our one and only on-hand Lafite, a 1980, on 18 Sep last year, on the Wall Street Journal's wine writers' Open That Old Bottle Night. We had dragged that thing around since about '85, when I brought it back from a trip to Germany. The price tag was still on it: $56.45 at the Class VI store in Wiesbaden. I really had little hope that it was still good, especially when the cork disintegrated under the corkscrew. I had to strain it through a clean bandana into another bottle, and lost about 20% in the process. But what a surprise! It was wonderful! Full of ripe, round fruit, and verrrry mellow. And the '80 wasn't even a good year!
From what I've read, the '94 should be close to the '82 in quality, which was reported to be superb indeed. So you have a treasure. We drank ours with oak-grilled ribeyes from one of our yearling Charolais steers, with twice-baked potatoes, and grilled zucchini & mushrooms.
I don't know about serving it with beef wellington.... will leave that to others for comment. And as to storing it in your linen closet: that's probably OK, since you're talking short-term. I would lay it on its side, under some linens, where it's dark and cool and quiet.
By the way, our previous Lafite, prior to last year, had been savored in 1975, when we were courting, with chateaux briand at the Fig Tree Restaurant on San Antonio's River Walk. The wine has that kind of memories wrapped around it. So enjoy!