CHATEAU LAFITE ROTHSCHILD
Chateau Lafite is
arguably the most revered of the First Growths,
both as a wine to savour and as a secure,
highly-profitable investment. Occupying the finest
crests in Pauillac, Chateau Lafite has one of the
largest vineyards in the Medoc, at over 100
hectares, and produces about 35,000 cases
annually, of which between 15,000 to 25,000 are of
the first wine.
The Chateau is steeped in history, having
been cultivated by Jacques de Segur in about 1680
and had developed its reputation as the King’s
Wine by the early 18th Century. The archives of
Thomas Jefferson also reveal that he frequently
purchased the wines of Lafite for the first
president of the United States, George Washington.
In the vineyard, the grapes are hand harvested by
hand from one of the three plots: one collection
of vines surrounding the Chateau, those on the
Carruades plain, and a tiny plot in St Estèphe.
103 hectares are under vine, with the varieties
dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, with
smaller quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petit
Verdot. The Cabernet dominance is reflected in the
wines but blending varies from year to year:
sometimes as little as 57% Cabernet Sauvingon
reaches the blend but, in other vintages, it makes
up 90%. At harvest time a particularly severe
selection process is applied and, in plentiful
vintages, as much as half of the crop is
discarded.
Chateau Lafite is fermented in 27 vats of
Bosnian oak and matured for between 24-30 months
in Bordelaise oak barriques. The entire process,
from picking the grapes to bottling, is strictly
supervised by Eric de Rothschild, the present
administrator on behalf of the family.
Chateau
Lafite wines produced:
- Lafite Rothschild
- Carruades de Lafite (2nd wine)
Top Chateau Lafite vintages produced
1945, 1959, 1961, 1982, 1985,
1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005