Last week we discussed the lengendary wines of Chateau Petrus. Alongside must sit those of Chateau Lafite Rothschild from the appellation (wine growing region) of Pauillac in Bordeaux. Whilst Petrus sits on the right bank of the Gironde river and uses Merlot as it's constituent grape variety. Lafite sits on the right bank region of Medoc. The principal grape varieties are cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot. A real mixture which changes each year depending upon the vagaries of the vintage.
Lafite like Petrus is capable of great longevity and one must always be patient which is ulimately rewarded. Last year I was lucky enough to be invited to a friends house for a tasting of Lafite. We managed the 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1996. Goodness knows what it would have cost. Mind you he did skimp on the food; we ate pizza.
At the time of writing we have some of the 2005 in stock, apparently Robert Parker awards it 96+ points out of 100 so it should be pretty good. The downside is that he suggests you have to wait until 2020 to start drinking. I may never make it!