Château Lafite Rothschild 2003

Critic scores

• Wine Advocate100
• James Suckling98
• Vinous96

The 2003 vintage in Pauillac

Vintage benchmark: 88/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: The historic heatwave halted ripening in young vines: very ripe, low-acid wines, at their best in Saint-Estèphe, where the clays held on to freshness.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Pauillac. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

The color is dark and the nose expresses very ripe red fruits. On the palate, this vintage is particularly rich, deep and creamy with very round tannins. The finish is long and persistent.

Blend of the 2003 vintage

Figures from the 2003 sheet

• 12 % vol.Alcohol
• 40 yrsVine age
• 200,000 bottlesProduction

Winemaking

Fermentation takes place in two vat rooms: the traditional vat room, fitted with large oak vats, and the modern vat room, fitted with stainless steel vats. Blending is carried out when the barrels are first racked in March.

Ageing

The wine then begins its ageing and maturation in the cellar, a stage lasting 18 to 20 months.

Terroir

The vineyard comprises three main areas: the slopes around the Château, the Carruades plateau adjoining it to the west, and a 4.5 ha parcel in the neighbouring commune of Saint Estèphe. The vineyard covers 112 ha of fine, deep gravel soils mixed with aeolian sands over a Tertiary limestone subsoil, well drained and well exposed. The grape varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet Franc (3%) and Petit Verdot (2%). The average age of the vines is 38 years overall, but it should be noted that vines under 10 years old (20 ha) do not go into the grand vin, so that the average age of the vines contributing to the grand vin is closer to 45 years. The oldest parcel, known as « La Gravière », was planted in 1886.