1986 Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac, Bordeaux

A mild winter followed by a cold and wet spring to start the year. Fortunately, a hot summer interspersed with storms in July and August, and an absolutely exceptional after-season, wiped out the worries experienced before the summer, allowing the grapes to be harvested in perfect condition. The harvest took place without a single day of rain and at a particularly slow pace to be sure that our precious grapes reached maximum ripeness. A great year with radiant wines!

This was by far the most youthful and concentrated of the trio (1983, 1985 and 1986) of Lafite vintages served blind with masses of tannins still in evidence. Sweet and arguably just slightly lacking freshness and energy compared with the 1985 – also thicker. But there is still the Lafite polish. This could be drunk now but should last an age. More solid and stolid than most Lafites.

The tannins remain evident, fully in tact, and overall this 1986 is young, profound, full of spiced herbs and freshly turned-over earth. It needs time in the bottle or carafe, because although there is more evident charm in the 1985 on first opening, this is the vintage of the pair that will be around for the longest. Dense black fruits abound, along with cigar box, black tea and slate. In its youth it was described as tannic, solid, almost austere, and it is astonishing how it has kept that character over the decades. There are still nuaces here that will be revealed over the decades to come, so be sure to give it time to unwind if you are opening any time over the next decade. 45hl/h yield. The famous Ricardo Bofill circular cellar was under construction at this point.

Tasted at the château, the 1986 Lafite-Rothschild continues to offer an exquisite bouquet at 30 years of age. This is beautifully defined, still full of energy, with copious blackberry, clove, leather and graphite aromas that seem to gain momentum in the glass. The palate is extremely well balanced with a crystalline quality, filigree tannin, perfectly pitched acidity, a quintessential Lafite-Rothschild with a sense of energy and focus undiminished by time. This finish displays immense purity and refinement, one of the most mineral-driven Lafites that I have encountered, whilst the aftertaste seems to linger for over one minute. It must rank as one of the finest wines from the estate. Tasted July 2016.

The 1986 Lafite-Rothschild is a great wine although assessing the wine over several recent bottles I have never regarded it as a perfect wine (indeed, this was put into sharp relief when compared to the 1953.) This mirrored the bottle I tasted at the property in 2016: blackberry and graphite on the nose, gawky at first but coalescing with time. The palate is well balanced with firm tannins, strong graphite scents unfolding with time, superb energy if not delivering quite the finesse and precision that the very best Lafite-Rothschild will bestow. This is a wine that benefits from long decanting, say five or six hours, though it never quite reaches the ethereal heights that it could have done. Tasted at the International Business & Wine First Growth Dinner at the Four Seasons.

The 1986 Lafite Rothschild unfurls in the decanter and glass with aromas of earthy blackcurrant fruit mingled with notions of cigar box and red berries. Richer and darker in profile than the 1975 drunk alongside, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and concentrated, displaying a velvety attack and a lively core of fruit, with just a touch of the tannic asperity that often defines this vintage in the Médoc making itself felt on the finish. As it approaches its 40th birthday, the 1986 Lafite still needs several hours' decant to show its best.