Definition: Lafite-Rothschild (château)

A 100-hectare Pauillac Premier Cru Classé. This former seigneury, which belonged to the influential Ségur family, was purchased in 1868 by James de Rothschild. It still belongs to his descendants and today forms the centre of a vast estate. This great red wine, with its long ageing potential, is a true legend of elegance and aromatic complexity.

The story goes that banker James de Rothschild bought Lafite, which was also spelled Laffitte at the time, on a whim. He was simply seduced by the similarity to Rue Laffitte, where his bank's headquarters were located in Paris. This explanation may seem simplistic when one considers the 414,000 gold francs he had to pay for this acquisition, which has become part of Bordeaux mythology.

The name Lafite comes from the Gascon word "la hite", meaning "the hill". Nicknamed "Prince of the Vines", Nicolas Alexandre de Ségur was committed to promoting his wine at the Court of Versailles and in the finest French and European restaurants. Thanks to Marshal de Richelieu, an ardent defender of Lafite, it was awarded the title of "Vin du Roi" (Wine of the King). Madame de Pompadour, then Madame du Barry, served it at their tables. In 1785, the anonymous author of a memoir on the "Seigneurie de Lafite" referred to it as "the most beautiful vineyard in the universe". In 1797, half a century before the 1855 classification, on the occasion of the auction of the Château, the estate was described as "the premier cru of the Médoc, producing the finest wine in Bordeaux".

The history of the Lafite vineyard goes back a long way. On an estate that already had vineyards, Jacques de Ségur structured the vineyard at the end of the 17th century and the reputation of this wine was already well established. His son Alexandre expanded the estate by marrying the heiress of Château Latour in 1695. This union produced Nicolas-Alexandre, who built Lafite's prestige and reputation in the early 18th century, with the wine being highly acclaimed at Versailles and already popular across the Channel. After his death, Lafite underwent a succession of owners and was sold at auction after the Revolution, but the quality was maintained at the highest level thanks to the care of its managers, the family of Joseph Goudal. Château Lafite was thus classified as a 1st growth in 1855. In 1868, Baron James de Rothschild acquired the estate, once again at auction, and it has remained in the family ever since.

Finesse and aromatic complexity:

In addition to its exceptional terroir (deep gravel soil resting on marl and limestone subsoil), the quality can be explained in particular by the average age of the vines (over 40 years old), low yields per hectare and very strict selection. In the 1960s and 1970s, the wines were of lesser quality due to less stringent management of the estate and the winemaking process. Since 1975, the château, celebrated by wine lovers around the world, has been producing magnificent wines, thanks to the dynamic leadership of Éric de Rothschild and the talented management of Charles Chevalier. Exceptionally refined, these wines display fabulous aromatic complexity. With impressive substance, they have impressive ageing potential.

As if to confuse people, the excellent Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte has a different spelling.