Tasted blind as a vintage comparison at the Valandraud vertical, the 1993 Lafite-Rothschild is a vintage that has never really appealed to me and this bottle did nothing to alter that view. It has a very austere, foursquare bouquet that leaves you wondering where the fruit went. The palate actually starts well with crisp acidity that leads into what feels like the vestiges of fruit that feel a little raw and green. Then it feels rather hollow in the middle, the finish a husk of what it might once have been. Not a successful wine for the estate, I would consume bottles in the near future. Tasted December 2016.

Because Lafite-Rothschild (1) tends to lack the weight of many wines of the northern Medoc, and (2) is never a flashy, ostentatious style of wine, it is often more difficult to evaluate when young than some of its neighbors. A successful wine for Lafite, this dark ruby/purple-colored 1993 is tightly-wound, medium-bodied, with a closed set of aromatics that reluctantly reveal hints of sweet blackcurrant fruit, weedy tobacco, and lead pencil scents. Polished and elegant, with Lafite's noble restraint, this is an excellent, classy, slightly austere wine. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2020.

Very polished and well-crafted black cherry, toast, earth and mineral flavors, all in nice proportions. Medium body, supple tannins. Slightly disappointing for Lafite. Best after 1997.