Château Lafite Rothschild (1999)

About this wine

This 1999 Château Lafite Rothschild is built on 74 percent Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot in smaller amounts, and the grapes were harvested by hand then rigorously selected for the grand vin. The nose opens with cedar, cigar box and spicy oak framing black and very red fruit. On the palate the wine is structured and elegant, with medium to full body, lively acidity and firm but refined tannins that give it a long finish. The texture is silky rather than heavy, and the power builds gradually toward a persistent, ripe fruit driven close. The château retained about 40 percent of the crop for the grand vin in 1999 and the wine spent roughly fifteen months in French oak barrels which contributes to the toasty and spicy notes.

About the grape

Château Lafite Rothschilds 1999 grand vin is made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, with the blend roughly 74, 18.5, 6 and 1.5 percent respectively, and the grapes come from well drained gravel soils on the Pauillac plateau where many vines are over 40 years old. Cabernet Sauvignon supplies structure and is planted on the hottest, gravel rich parcels that are rigorously selected for the grand vin, the fruit was hand harvested in late September to early October and only fully ripe, older vines were used. Merlot provides mid palate roundness and was picked earlier from cooler spots, Cabernet Franc appears in a small proportion to add aromatic lift and was kept from specific parcels with limestone influence, while Petit Verdot is used sparingly for color and spice when its late ripening met the vintage conditions. The 1999 harvest saw careful sorting and a 40 percent selection rate for the grand vin, so each variety was employed selectively to match its best sites and ripeness for the final blend.

Quick facts

• 🌒 Lafite engraved the bottle with “1999” and added a little eclipse motif to mark the strong solar eclipse in August 1999.
• 🥇 Only about one-third of the grapes that year made it into the grand vin, so authentic 1999 Lafite bottles are comparatively scarce.
• 👩 The harvest was unusually swift—picked from around 21 September to 2 October—and the château brought in a reinforced team of over 420 pickers to sort the crop by hand.
• 🕰️ Critics noted the 1999 as a ‘modern-day echo’ of Lafite’s famed 1953, giving the vintage a playful reputation as the little time-traveler of the cellar.
• 💹 By the 2000s the 1999 Lafite became a conspicuous prize at Asian auctions, fueling dramatic price jumps and turning specific bottles into status trophies for collectors.

Palate profile

Producer

Château Lafite Rothschild, located in Pauillac, France, traces its origins to the 13th century, with the name 'Lafite' derived from the Gascon term 'la hite,' meaning 'hillock.' The estate gained prominence in the 17th century under Jacques de Ségur, who established its reputation for excellence. In 1868, Baron James de Rothschild acquired the property, and it has remained under the Rothschild family's stewardship since. Notably, in 1855, Château Lafite Rothschild was classified as a Premier Grand Cru, solidifying its status among the world's finest wines.