Château Lafite Rothschild Pauillac 1855 1er Cru 1985

The finest of tannins draws this out slowly and confidently, capturing scents of crushed roses, incense, tobacco leaf and white truffle alongside sage, salted cracker, mint, blackberry and raspberry fruits, everything so fully integrated that you can barely tell where one flavour ends and the next begins. Captures the finesse, subtlety and elegance that is such a signature of Lafite when it is fully mature and in an extended drinking window – and from experience I would say that it will stay in this moment for a good few decades more. Driest September on record at the time. Baron Eric de Rothschild heading up the estate at the time, Gilbert Rokvam technical director, Charles Chevallier had joined from Rieussec a few years before. The vineyard was 90ha in the mid 1980s, so around 20ha smaller than today.