The 2005 Lafite stands as a model of purity and restraint in a vintage defined by power. The nose is seamless from the first moment — an elegant weave of blackcurrant, graphite, cedar, violets, and crushed gravel, all delivered with the kind of quiet confidence that feels unmistakably Lafite. With air, subtler tones appear: black tea, pencil shavings, a faint herbal lift, and a cool ferrous trace that hints at profound depth.
On the palate, the wine is effortlessly balanced, almost weightless in its precision. The fruit — dark, pure, and finely sculpted — is carried by vivid acidity that keeps the wine poised and vertical. Tannins are abundant yet extraordinarily refined, forming a silky but commanding frame that shapes the wine without imposing on it. Every element feels in perfect alignment: the cassis, the tobacco, the mineral line, the delicate oak imprint.
The finish is long, composed, and whisperingly persistent, echoing stone, cedar, and cool black fruit. A wine of grace rather than force, still youthful in expression, and destined for a very long arc of evolution.
