I am going to make a bold statement: 2016 Chateau Lafite Rothschild is the greatest wine I have ever tasted.

[JimHow]

So I bought 22 bottles of 2016 Chateau Lafite Rothschild on sale in tax free New Hampshire, without even having tasted one. I did this solely on faith, based on my past experiences with this property and with the 2016 vintage. My guess was that the combination of Lafite + 2016 would be something special. With my friend Nic from Quebec in town, it was time to crack one open. We popped and poured. It was obvious from the get-go that this is such a beautifully elegant Lafite, amazingly approachable and giving now, but obviously with the backbone to age for many decades. It was amazingly balanced. The color was a stunning Lafite ruby/purple, so identifiable over the years. Classy on the nose, with cedar and Pauillac lead pencil. It is 13% alcohol. It is stunningly smooth on the palate, an absolutely brilliant, brilliant, goose-bumps-inducing wine. As I told Nic: "It is so twenty-sixteen!" Absolutely stunning. Everything I look for in Bordeaux. I am thrilled to have 21 more bottles in the cellar, this is another example to me that Bordeaux is still alive and very well. Wow! What a Lafite. 2016, what a vintage. This may be the greatest wine I have ever tasted. Rating: 100+ points.

[sisler]

Based on your notes, I am wondering whether the Duhart Milon 2016 might be a smart purchase?

[JimHow]

I think that is a good bet sisler. Somebody described this 2016 Lafite as “ethereal” on cellartacker, I think that’s a very good descriptor.

[Ianjaig]

Thanks for the note, Jim - sounds amazing.

Based on your notes, I am wondering whether the Duhart Milon 2016 might be a smart purchase?

I tasted the DM 16 at a tasting, and it was easily the WOTN for me, so elegant and just beautiful. Pichon Lalande is the other 16 I was super impressed by.

[stefan]

When Lafite is on, no other Bordeaux wine can beat it. Good score you made in New Hampshire. Congratulations!

[marcs]

I recently picked up a few bottles of this at auction for $600/bottle all in. A splurge but I’m trying to get fewer but better wines, and it feels like eventually people will catch on to the quality of 2016 and start pricing it higher. But nothing compared to Jim’s score on this wine!

The greatest wine I’ve ever tasted - where will you go from here on superlatives when you kill baby Bordeaux Jim!

[JimHow]

A splurge but I’m trying to get fewer but better wines....

Yes I'm leaning in that direction myself, marcs. You made an excellent purchase. I was just so amazed at how complete and balanced that bottle was the other night with Nicola. I was bowled over from the first sip. It literally had everything I look for in Bordeaux.

[Claudius2]

Well I don’t have any 2016 Lafite but I DO have quite a few cases of classed growths from that vintage and even the lowly CBs are so good. I am pretty sure the Lafite will live for a very long time. Do you plan on a regular tasting, eg, every year or two?? With 21 more it would be a pity to leave it.

I’ll keep my eye out for any deals on the Lafite but folks, please don’t talk it up anymore as prices will only go higher.

Cheers
Mark

[JimHow]

Good question, Mark. I'll play it by ear. I'm turning 66 next month, I'll see how things are going in my seventies. Hey, I can't take them with me. But if I die suddenly my heirs will have a nice investment, they can drink them, sell them, etc., etc. I'll probably hold off on the next one for another five years, maybe my 70th birthday. But one of the big hallmarks of this vintage is how well it is drinking right now!

[JeanFred]

I'm not surprised by what Lafite 2016 could offer. And happy for you, with your 21 remaining…

A possible comparison with the 1996 a day apart would have been interesting...

JeanFred

[JimHow]

Indeed, JF, the second night was going to be grilled steaks and it would have been fun to uncork the 1996 Lafite for a comparison. This 2016 is high in cabernet, 92%, which I believe is a similar situation with the 1996. Ah well, next time!

[Claudius2]

Jim
I have been eyeing off an auction catalog.
There isn't any 2016 Lafite but there IS 2016 Mouton (6xOWC) with the min price being quite reasonable (I mean for a Premier Cru).
Any ideas on whether it is worth buying?

having said that, prices have eased a bit here (more for Burgundy which was getting totally overpriced) but there are quite a lot of 2016's in OWC (6 or 12) that seem to be fairly priced. My general pattern at auction is to bid below the supposed starting price and still end up with most of them.

Are there any non-PC's that stand out in this vintage?
I already have quite a few wines from 2016, but the auction is offering numerous second growths plus a few 5ths (Lynch, GPL, PC) as well as well known right bank wines like Canon, Gazin, Larcis Ducasse, Valandraud, Troplong Mondot, La Mondotte, Beausejour etc.

cheers
Mark

[JimHow]

Ha ha, Claudius, I bought three six-bottle owc cases -- 18 bottles -- of the 2016 Mouton Rothschild, based primarily on Musigny151's report that he thought it was the best young Bordeaux he had ever tasted, or something like that. Indeed, the price for it seems to have come back to earth a bit. I have not cracked open any of my cases yet, though....

I went quite heavy on the 2016 vintage, as it is quite possibly the best vintage in my lifetime, in my opinion. My experience with the 2016 Lafite did nothing to dissuade me from that viewpoint. So light on its feet, ethereal, perfectly balanced.

[Claudius2]

Jim
Wow, you are one lucky guy to have that much Lafite AND Mouton!

I've just checked the list of wines in storage.
I bought 9 cases of 2016's (12xOWC) on EP and six more later.
No Premiers crus - the most expensive is LLC, two are unclassified wines (Labegorce, Sociando Mallet) and the rest are middle ranking wines like Branaire, Giscours, Prieure Lichine, Malescot, and several similarly ranked right bank wines
I also have a few odd bottles of several other wines, picked up on local clearance sales or auction.

I am quite tempted to put a low ball bid in on the 2016 Mouton, but at the same time, I can get Ducru, Pichon C de L and good right bank wines for about a third the price. And there is some Lynch Bages as well at a price similar to EP price some years ago, and well below current EP on 2023 (not sure that makes sense) for about a fifth of the price of Mouton. I also feel that there is a greater chance that I will be able to drink the cheaper wines when mature. In the meantime, I have started drinking the 2009's and a few 2010's (which are slower to mature) which will both still last for many years.

cheers
Mark

[DavidG]

I have 8 mixed cases worth of 2016 Bordeaux. More than any other vintage currently on hand, in part because I haven’t opened many yet. Mostly 3s, 4s, and 6s and a mix of EP and post-release purchases.

My only 2016 FGs are 3 bottles of Haut Brion. Something about that Pessac profile that I just can’t resist. If I had to pick a single favorite wine it would be Haut Brion. Jim picked them up at a very sharp price in NH and then hand-delivered them to my home in MD. It doesn’t get any more BWEish than that.

[JimHow]

Ha I remember in those earliest days of BWE, some guy named Emil, aka "brodway," offered to ship me a case of 1996 Ducru by US Mail, and I could "pay him later." Yeah, right.... A week later, the case was delivered to my office by my local letter carrier. Legendary generosity and good will has personified Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts over the past quarter century!

[JCNorthway]

I seem to recall that in the early days of BWE there was a pretty extreme amount of "enablement" going around. Most of the Bordeaux wines that I own can be traced to BWE!

[Nicklasss]

That 2016 Lafite was awesome Jim! Really.

[JimHow]

Indeed, Nic, it was profound on several levels, bit it really hit me over the head that Bordeaux has survived Parker and modernization, it is still capable of making balanced efforts like this. To me this was the perfect bottle of wine. I can’t think of any aspect of it that was anything less than perfect in balance, class, complexity, the color and bouquet were just penultimate Lafite, the lengthy but not dominating finish. Truly “ethereal” and stunningly “light on its feet.”

[Claudius2]

Guys
How much would 2016 Lafite cost in the US or Europe?.
I have been offered a 6 bottle case which seems ok here but I’m not up on prices.
Local price is $SG900 each, or about €600 or USD650.
May have some bargaining room.
Cheers
Mark

[stefan]

Retail in the USA for 2016 Lafite is $800+. WineBid is not much lower, if at all lower. Go for it, Mark! Buy, buy, buy.

[JimHow]

I got it for about $600 tax free in NH but I bought them out of their last 22 bottles. Like Stefan said, it is going for well over $800+ here in the US. Buy like the wind!

[Claudius2]

Guys
I’ll see what I can do.
Will leave the Mouton for now
Thanks
Mark