Chateau Lafite Rothschild is a famous French wine estate which locates at the wine village of Pauillac in the Haut-Medoc region to the north-west of Bordeaux. In 1855 the Chateau was ranked as a Premier Grand Cru in the famous classification that was prepared for the Universal Exhibition of that year.
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". The Segur family organised the vineyard in the 17th century, and Lafite began to earn its reputation as a great winemaking estate.
When the third generation of the Segur family died, the Chateau Lafite suffered a series of inheritance difficulties and a long period of chaos, but it continued to produce fine wines. Until 1868, Baron James de Rothschild purchased Chateau Lafite, which had been placed under public sale through the inheritance of Ignace-Joseph Vanlerberghe. From then on, the Chateau Lafite is under the ownership and operation of the Rothschild Family. The legendary history of Chateau Lafite continues.
The vineyard of Chateau Lafite consists of three main areas: the hillsides around the Chateau, the adjacent Carruades plateau to the west, and 4.5 hectares in neighbouring Saint Estephe. The vineyard covers 112 hectares and is well-drained and well-exposed, with soil made up of fine deep gravel, mixed with aeolian sand on a subsoil of tertiary limestone. It is well-drained and well-exposed to the sun.
The grape varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet Franc (3%) and Petit Verdot (2%). The average age of the grapevines is 39 years old. But it should be noted that vines younger than 10 years old are not used in the Grand Vin. This means that the average age of the vines used in the Grand Vin (Chateau Lafite Rothschild) is closer to 45 years. The oldest plot, called "La Graviere”, was planted in 1886.
In the cellar, the grapes from each plot are fermented in separate vats in order to preserve the identity of the terroir on which the grapes have ripened. At Lafite, tradition and technical progress go hand in hand, fermentation takes place in two vat rooms: one with traditional large oak vats, and the other with modern stainless steel vats, with integrated cooling/heating rings and automated centralized temperature control.
Upon completion of alcoholic fermentation, the cuvee-wines are tasted before being drawn off to the fine wine vats. The free run juice and the pomace are separated and the pomace is pressed independently in order to extract the "press wine". A second fermentation phase, called malolactic fermentation, takes place in vats before the wine is transferred into barrels by batches.
All of the barrels come from the Domaines cooperage, with a special "toasting" during manufacturing suited to the characteristics of the wine. Several tastings from each vat are carried out to make the selection for the Grand Vin. Blending takes place after the first racking of the barrels in March. Then the ageing phase of the wine begins in the cellar, which takes between 18 and 20 months. During this period, the cellar master racks the wines regularly in order to clarify them. Four to six lightly beaten egg whites are added to each barrel, which absorb floating particles and pull them down to the bottom of the barrel. The wine is then ready for bottling, which takes place in June.
Some of the best vintages of Chateau Lafite Rothschild：1982, 1986, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2008, 2009 and 2010.