Chateau Lafite Rothschild

While the first known reference to Lafite dates to 1234, Lafite earns its reputation as a great winemaking estate in the 17 th century, when the Segur family organized the vineyards. In 1855, Chateau Lafite was named to be one of the four First-growths. Later in 1868, Baron James de Rothschild purchases Chateau Lafite, and his sons continued to improve the quality of wines produced writing their own legacy.

Lafite strictly controls the yields, manual harvests, and little or no use of chemical fertilizers, and careful use of organic fertilizers to allow the vines to reach an advanced age. The grape varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon(70%), Merlot(25%), Cabernet Franc(3%), and Petit Verdot(2%). The average of grapevines is 39 years old, but the vines younger than 10 years old are not used in the Grand Vin, so the actual average age is closer to 45 years. The oldest plot “La Graviere” was planted in 1886, and the vines are generally pulled out when they reach 80 years old. The grapes from each plot are fermented in separate vats in order to preserve the identity of the terroir on which grapes have ripened.

The fermentation takes place in two vat rooms: one with traditional large oak vats, and the other with modern stainless steel vats intergrated with automated temperature control. After the fermentation, wines age in 100% new barrels that come from the Domaines cooperage for at least 18months. When the wines are bottled, an authentication seal, which cannot be reproduced, is placed on all capsules to guarantee the authenticity. 2018 vintage has received 98-100points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.