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Chateau Lafite-Rothschild |
| Newstime：2009-08-03 09:51:58 Befrom： Writer： |
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History
The Ségur Family
While the first known reference to Lafite dates to 1234 with a certain Gombaud de Lafite, abbot of the Vertheuil Monastery north of Pauillac, Lafite’s mention as a medieval fief dates to the 14th century. The name Lafite comes from the Gascon language term “la hite”, which means “hillock”. There were probably already vineyards on the property at the time when the Ségur family organised the vineyard in the 17th century, and Lafite began to earn its reputation as a great winemaking estate. Jacques de Ségur is credited with the planting of the Lafite vineyard in the 1670’s and in the early 1680’s. In 1695 Jaque’s son Alexandre was wed to Marie-Thérèse de Clauzel, heiress to Chateau Latour, and by this route the Ségur family owned, by marriage, two of the greatest vineyards in Bordeaux, adding Calon-Ségur, Phélan-Ségur and, for a short period even Mouton, along the way. Their son Nicolas-Alexandre improved the winemaking techniques and above all enhanced the prestige of fine wines in foreign markets and the Versailles court. He became known as “The Wine Prince”, and Lafite’s wine became “The King’s Wine”, with the support of an able ambassador, the Maréchal de Richelieu. In 1755, Maréchal de Richelieu was appointed Governor of Guyenne, and consulted a Bordeaux doctor, who advised him that Château Lafite was “the finest and most pleasant of all tonics.” On Richelieu’s return to Paris, Louis XV told him, “Maréchal, you look twenty-five years younger than you did when you left for Guyenne.” Richelieu responded “Does his Majesty not yet know that I’ve at long last found the Fountain of Youth? I have found that Château Lafite wines make invigorating cordials: they are as delicious as the ambrosia of the Gods of Olympus.” Soon, Lafite was the subject of much ado at Versailles, honored as it was by the King’s high approval. Everyone sought to procure Lafite wines. Madame de Pompadour had it served with her small evening receptions, and later, Madame du Barry made a point of drinking “only the King’s Wine”.
From the early 18th century, Lafite found its market in London. Between 1732-1733, Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister, purchased a barrel of Lafite every three months. The Marquis did not have any sons, and his property was divided between his four daughters. And it has undergone disintegration, but eventually returned to the Siegel family.On the eve of the French revolution, Lafite was at the height of its winemaking legacy, as witnessed in the exceptional authorship of Thomas Jefferson, future President of the United States. While serving as ambassador for the young United States Republic to the Versailles Court. He stayed in Bordeaux in May 1787, and five days would be time enough for him to visit the major Chartrons merchants and gather a mass of information that he would report in his travel memoirs. He detailed the hierarchy of the growths, highlighting those that would go on to be the four leading wines. Château Lafite was among them. Jefferson remained a steadfast customer of Bordeaux wines until the end of his days.The Ségur family’s stewardship of Lafite ended brutally with the execution of Nicolas Pierre de Pichard during the chapter of French history known as the Terreur, on the 12th Messidor of year 2, under the short-lived Republican calendar (30 June 1794). In the lobby of Château Lafite is an ancient poster announcing the public sale of the property on 12 September 1797. The estate was then described as “the leading Médoc wine, producing the finest wines in all of Bordeaux”. The purchaser, Jean de Witt, was a Dutch citizen, who was soon forced to sell Lafite to three merchants, who were also Dutch. After Jean de Witt’s short ownership, Château Lafite soon hosted a remarkable line of stewards, whose greatest was Joseph Goudal. Goudal was masterful in his supervision of the estate in the early part of the 19th century. As of 1800, the three owners were Baron Jean Arend de Vos Van Steenvwyck, Othon Guillaume Jean Berg and Jean Goll de Franckenstein.In 1815, Mr. Lawton published an initial classification of Médoc wines in his brokerage house log. It was apparently an accurate assessment, as it was very similar to the 1855 classification. Lafite was already at the top of the list: “I ranked Lafite as the most elegant and delicate, with the finest fruit of the three (leading wines).” He added that “its wines are the most superb in all of Médoc.” The vintage rankings of the Universal Paris Exposition in 1855 officially gave Lafite the rating as “Leader among fine wines”.
The Rothschild Family
On 8 August 1868, Baron James de Rothschild purchased Château Lafite, which had been placed under public sale through the inheritance of Ignace-Joseph Vanlerberghe. Baron James, who was head of the French branch of the Rothschild family, passed away just 3 months after purchasing Lafite. The estate then became the joint property of his three sons: Alphonse, Gustave and Edmond. The estate then boasted 74 hectares of vineyards. As a sign welcoming the new owner, Lafite vintage 1868 goes down as a record in many ways. It was the highest priced wine of its vintage year (6,250 of that period’s francs, or 4,700 of today’s euros the ‘tonneau’ of 900 liters). This early wine’s high price would remain a record for the entire century, before being far surpassed at the end of the 20th century.
The end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century were turbulent. The crisis of phylloxera and ravaging mildew impacted the vineyard. Then came World War I and the Great Depression which led to a freefall in prices. Suffering heavily from mildew, Château Lafite Rothschild took measures and disclassified certain vintages from 1882 to 1886, and including 1910 and 1915. Bottling at the Château was also implemented for more effective combating of fraud.
World War II caused an ordeal in a different league, with the June 1940 defeat leading to the occupation of Médoc. A German garrison was entrenched for the entire length of the occupation at Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild. The Rothschild family properties were confiscated and placed under public administration. To avoid German greed, and through the care of provisional administrators, the winemaking estates were finally dismissed in 1942 to serve as agricultural vocational schools. The shortages and restrictions were made worse by requisitions and veiled ransacking of ancient vintages: these were painful blows to the Château. The Barons de Rothschild recovered possession of Château Lafite Rothschild at the end of 1945, and Baron Elie was responsible for recovering the estate’s business. A series of excellent vintages in 1945, 1947, and 1949 would welcome the reconstruction effort. Baron Elie led a program to restore the vineyards and the buildings, and to fully restructure the property’s administration. He took practical steps, like adding a herd of dairy cows in the 1950s in order to use the prairies below the château as organic fertilizer supply. Baron Elie was a major shaper of events in the difficult reconstitution of the fine wine market. After the 1973-1976 mini-crisis that hit Bordeaux, the recovery was heralded by very fine 1975 and 1976 vintages and the management of Château Lafite Rothschild by Baron Eric de Rothschild, nephew of Baron Elie. Baron Eric’s management of the estate made strides forward through research for excellence and the gradual addition of a new technical team. In the vineyard, the replanting and restoration work was mirrored by reevaluated fertilizing and limited herbicide treatment. In the chais, a stainless steel tank complex was installed alongside oak tanks, and a new circular aging chai was constructed under the supervision of Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill. This new design style would be acclaimed for its innovative character and uncompromising spirit, and can hold 2,200 barrels. In the same artistic spirit, in 1985 Baron Eric began a tradition of inviting fine-arts photographers to photograph Château Lafite. These include such artists as Jacques Henri Lartique, Irving Penn, Robert Doisneau, and Richard Avedon. He would also extend the horizons of the Domaines through new acquisitions both in France and abroad (see History of the Barons de Rothschild Domaines).
Nowadays’ Owner: Domaines Barons de Rothschild
Technique Information
Location: The vineyard features three major areas: the hillsides around the Château, the adjacent Carruades plateau to the west, and 4.5 hectares in neighboring Saint Estèphe.
Appellation: Appellation Pauillac Controlee
Neighboring Château: Chateau Mouton Rothschild(1st Growth of Pauillac in 1855)
Acreage: 103 hectares (totally 178 hectares)
Soil: deep fine gravel mixed with aeolien sands on a bedrock of tertiary limestone. They are well drained and well exposed to the sun.
Grape Varieties: 71%Cabernet Sauvignon, 25%Merlot, 3%Cabernet Franc and 1%Petit Verdot.
Wine Grape Varieties:
Château Lafite Rothschild (First Label): Cabernet Sauvignon 80 to 95%, Merlort 5 to 20%, Cabernet franc and Petit Verdot 0 to 3%. Note that there are a few differing cases such as vintage 1994: 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot, vintage 1961: 100% of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Carruades de Lafite (Second Label): Grapes blended in the wine: Cabernet Sauvignon 50 to 70%, Merlot 30 to 50%, Cabernet franc and Petit Verdot 0 to 5%
Average age of vines: 30 years old, Grand Vin (Château Lafite Rothschild itself) average 40 years.
Cultivation Density: 10,000 vins/ha
Viticulture: Strict mastery of yields, harvesting by hand, and undertaking constant maintenance throughout the year. Little or no chemical fertilizers are used and sparse use of organic fertilizers.
Winemaking: The grapes of each plot are fermented in separate tanks, two vats systems: the traditional vats complex made of vast oak vats and a modern vats complex with stainless steel vats.
Château Lafite Rothschild (First Label): aged in the 100% new oak barrel for 18 to 20 months.
Carruades de Lafite (Second Label): aged for 18 months, including 10/15% in new barrels the rest in two year old barrels.
Yield: 5,000hl/ha.
Brand: Château Lafite Rothschild(First Label)(A.O.C. Pauillac)
Carruades de Lafite(Second Label)(A.O.C. Pauillac)
Pauillac(Generic)(A.O.C. Pauillac)
Annually production: Château Lafite Rothschild (First Label): 15,000-25,000 cases.
Carruades de Lafite (Second Label): 20,000-30,000 cases.
Character:
Château Lafite Rothschild (First Label): Dark ruby color, ripe black currants, almonds, violets and vanilla, spicy, oaky scents. The wine has great finesse and a particular softness imparted by the Merlot. It tends to be firm yet delicate and supple, great elegance develops with age.
Carruades de Lafite (Second Label): Personality linked to a higher percentage of Merlot in its composition, and plots of land that are clearly identified as producing Carruades，a very popular second wine.
Best vintages:
Château Lafite Rothschild (First Label): 1953 , *1959 , 1961 , 1966 , 1970 , 1979 , *1982 , 1983 , 1985 , *1986 , 1988 , 1989 , *1990 , 1994 , *1995 , *1996 , 1997, *1998, *1999, *2000, *2001, 2002, *2003, 2004, *2005, 2006
Awards: 1st Growth of Pauillac in 1855
Website: http://www.lafite.com/
Serving Suggestion
Cellar Humidity and Temperature: 75-85%, 15 ℃
Serving Temperature: 17-19 °C
Optimum Drinking and Ageing Potential: 10-50 years.
Food match:
Château Lafite Rothschild (First Label):
Western Food: Beef, poultry, cheese, pasta with cream sauce, hearty stew, pizza, pork, veal, game, duck, lamb and all red meats. Pare with tender and tasty lamb you are as close to culinary perfection as possible. Rack of Lamb (the lamb is marinated in butter and herbs for six hours) or enjoy the Grilled Colorado Lamb Chops (seared at 1800℃).
Carruades de Lafite (Second Label):
Western Food: Beef, poultry, cheese, pasta with cream sauce, hearty stew, pizza, pork, veal, game. Best match lamb, braised sea cucumber, shark fin & abalone.
Next Chateau Latour
Pre Chateau Haut-Brion
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