Château Lafite-Rothschild is a very famous winery in France currently owned by members of the Rothschild family.
Only five wine-producing Châteaux of Bordeaux achieved the much-coveted First Growth status in the famous 1855 Classification. Of those, the first one in the list and perhaps the most famous is Château Lafite-Rothschild, a consistent producer of one of the world's greatest and most expensive red wines.
Situated in the great wine-producing village of Pauillac in the Médoc region to the north-west of Bordeaux, the estate has been occupied since at least the 14th century. In the 17th century, the property of Château Lafite was purchased by the Ségur family, including the 16th century manor house that still stands. Although vines almost certainly already existed on the site, around 1680, Jacques de Ségur planted the majority of the famous vineyard.
In the early 18th century, Marquis Nicolas Alexandre de Ségur refined the wine-making techniques of the estate, and introduced his wines to the upper echelons of European society. Before long he was known as the "Wine Prince", and the wine of Château Lafite called "The King's Wine" thanks to the influential support of the Maréchal de Richelieu . Towards the end of the 18th century, Lafite's reputation among the world's finest wines was assured and even Thomas Jefferson visited the estate and became a lifelong fan.
Following the French Revolution, the period known as Reign of Terror led to the execution of Nicolas Pierre de Pichard on June 30 1794, bringing an end to the Ségur family's ownership of the estate. In 1797 the vineyards were sold to a group of Dutch merchants.
The first half of the 19th century saw Lafite in the hands of the Vanlerberghe family and the wine reached new heights of perfection, including the great vintages of 1795, 1798 and 1818. On August 8 1868, the Château was purchased by Baron James Mayer Rothschild for 4.4 million francs, and the estate became Château Lafite-Rothschild. Baron James, however, passed away just 3 months after purchasing Lafite. The estate then became the joint property of his three sons: Alphonse, Gustave and Edmond.
The 20th century has seen periods of success and difficulty, coping with post-phylloxera vines, and two world wars. During the Second World War the Château was occupied by the German army, and suffered heavily from plundering of its cellars. Succeeding his uncle Élie de Rothschild , Lafite has been under the direction of Eric de Rothschild since 1977.
The vineyard is one of the largest in the Médoc at around 1 km², and produces around 35,000 cases annually, of which between 15,000 and 25,000 are of its famous first growth. Its vines are around 70 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 25 percent Merlot, 3 percent Cabernet Franc, and 2 percent Petit Verdot, whereas the final wine is between 80 and 95 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 5 and 20 percent Merlot, and up to 3 percent Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Occasionally exceptions are made, such as the great 1961 vintage which was 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition to the first growth, around a third of the wine is labelled as the second growth Carruades de Lafite.
The greatest Lafite vintages include (with exceptional vintages in bold):
- 1795, 1798, 1801, 1802, 1814, 1815, 1818, 1834, 1841, 1846, 1847, 1848, 1858, 1864, 1869, 1870, 1876, 1899, 1900, 1906, 1926, 1929, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1975, 1976, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000.
The name Lafite comes from the Gascon term 'la hite' meaning 'small hill'.
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