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One bottle of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, 1953
The first thing to say, as is evident from the photo, is that this old lady is not in good condition. The label is very badly browned (although the chateau name and vintage are clearly visible), the capsule and neck have the very dusty remains of the bottle's paper sticking to them, and the level is definitely *low* shoulder (that is, exactly at the point where the shoulder of the bottle meets the sides - I'm sorry if the photos don't show this clearly, but I have been reluctant to try to clean the bottle at all, since I suspect that would not improve its look).
The wine itself is of course from one of the best ever vintages for claret.
In Michael Broadbent’s _Pocket Vintage Wine Companion_ (2007), where the claret section covers 1784 to 2005, only nine clarets ever get his extraordinary top mark of six stars (three Ch. Lafites (1789, 1870 and 1953), three Ch. Mouton Rothschilds (1945, 1953 and 1959), two Ch. Latours (1959 and 1961) and one Ch. Palmer (1961)). This, the 1953, is the youngest of the three Lafites to earn that accolade. Broadbent’s tasting note reads, in full: “A wine of exquisite charm and finesse, Lafite at its beguiling best. Most recently: fully mature, open, rosy-hued; perfect fragrance; touch of sweetness, lovely, soft yet beautifully balanced. Top claret. July 2006 ****** (6 stars). Now past its peak and unless a perfect bottle from an ideal cellar one can expect some frailty.”
Robert Parker’s note from The Wine Advocate reads thus: “99 points. On two occasions I rated the 1953 100 and on another occasion, nearly perfect. It possesses that extraordinary Lafite fragrance of minerals, lead pencil, cedar, and spice. It is velvety-textured, wonderfully round, and sweet, but so well-delineated and balanced. It is best purchased today in magnum and larger formats unless you can be assured that the wine came from a cold cellar and has not been traded frequently”.
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