Château Lafite Rothschild Pauillac 1855 1er Cru 1975

Dominated by animal, soy, peat and earth aromatics. The fruit character is open and warm, a little jammy and younger in expression than the 1970 but with less finesse, and will benefit from an hour in a carafe before drinking to soften things up. This was a hot and dry year, and the tannins were plentiful right from the start, full of promise but they took a few decades to soften. They are still a touch dry, although there is plenty of fruit and as it opens there is a clear blast of mint leaf that ensures freshness. I have tasted a number of 1975s recently, and they often make me wonder how many people will have ever opened them at the exactly right moment – most would have either been waiting for the tannins to soften or caught them on the way down. This still has a lot to enjoy, and remains on the plateau for drinking. The first year with Jean Crété as Estate Manager – and a difficult year globally after the oil crisis of the early 1970s (over in London Michael Broadbent held an auction of ex-chateau Lafite vintages from 1945 to 1971 to inject some momentum into the market). 17hl/h yield.