Château Lafite Rothschild has been named the ‘Wine of the 2016 Vintage’ according to Liv-ex's annual Bordeaux En Primeur survey.
Lafite Rothschild won overwhelmingly, according to the survey, being named the first choice pick by more than 20% of voters. Almost 50% of respondents chose it as one of their top two favourites.
The achievement marks something of a comeback from Château Lafite Rothschild, which has not made the top spot since 2010. It was followed closely by its sister wine, Mouton Rothschild.
In terms of value (i.e wines expected to release at a price of less that £500 per case) Grand Puy Lacoste took the top spot for the seventh year in a row.
In second place was the Calon Segur, which expert James Suckling described as “the Calone we have been waiting for!”.
Liv-ex members awarded the 2016 vintage 95.9 points (using the Parker scoring method), which makes it the third best vintage in the last ten years, falling behind the 2009 and 2010 vintage, which both scored 96 points (coincidentally when the Lafite was last the strongest wine).
Even still, members of Liv-ex suggested that 2016 was unlike other previous vintages that they have tasted.
Members agreed that the vintage was strong in areas of the Right Bank of Bordeaux. One respondent surmised the 2016 experience saying “great for Medoc, correct for Right Bank."
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aidan O'Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
