Château Lafite Rothschild
| Vintage: | 2016 |
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| Description: | Tasting Notes\r\n\r\n\r\nDeep purple-black in color, it slowly reveals the most gorgeous perfume of kirsch, lilacs, black raspberries and warm blackcurrants with underlying nuances of cigar box, rose hip tea, cloves, licorice and pencil lead plus a waft of garrigue. Medium-bodied and built like a brick house with a firm yet beautifully ripe, finely pixelated tannic backbone and seamless freshness supporting the amazing intensity of black fruits and floral layers, it finishes very long and provocatively perfumed.\r\n\r\n\r\nBlend: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot\u00a0 \r\nJames Suckling 100 Points \r\nRobert Parker 99 Points \r\nWine Enthusiast 99 Points\r\nAbout Ch\u00e2teau Lafite Rothschild\r\nWhile the first known reference to Lafite dates to 1234\u00a0with a certain Gombaud de Lafite, abbot of the Vertheuil Monastery north of Pauillac, Lafite\u2019s mention as a medieval fief dates to the 14th century. The name Lafite comes from the Gascon language term \u201cla hite\u201d, which means \u201chillock\u201d. There were probably already vineyards on the property at the time when the S\u00e9gur family organised the vineyard in the 17th century, and Lafite began to earn its reputation as a great winemaking estate. Jacques de S\u00e9gur was credited with the planting of the Lafite vineyard in the 1670s and in the early 1680s. In 1695, Jacques de S\u00e9gur\u2019s heir, Alexandre, married the heiress of Ch\u00e2teau Latour, who gave birth to Nicolas-Alexandre de S\u00e9gur.\u00a0The\u00a0wine histories of the\u00a0fiefs of Lafite and Latour were thus joined at the outset.\r\nTHE \u201cNEW French CLARETS\u201d\r\nFrom the early 18th century,\u00a0Lafite found its market in London. It appeared in the very official London Gazette of 1707 as being \u201csold at public auctions in the City of London, after being offloaded from foreign merchant ships seized by British corsairs as well as by the vessels of the Royal Navy\u201d (the era was in the grip of the Spanish War of Succession). The London Gazette described the Lafite wine and its counterparts as \u201cNew French clarets\u201d. Between 1732-1733, Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister, purchased a barrel of Lafite every three months. It was only much later that France began to take an interest in Bordeaux\u2019s red wines.\r\nTHE KING\u2019S Wine And The Wine PRINCE\r\nFrom 1716,\u00a0Marquis Nicolas Alexandre de S\u00e9gur consolidated Lafite\u2019s initial success. He improved the winemaking techniques and above all enhanced the prestige of fine wines in foreign markets and the Versailles court. He became known as \u201cThe Wine Prince\u201d, and Lafite\u2019s wine became \u201cThe King\u2019s Wine\u201d, with the support of an able ambassador, the Mar\u00e9chal de Richelieu. In 1755, Mar\u00e9chal de Richelieu was appointed Governor of Guyenne, and consulted a Bordeaux doctor, who advised him that Ch\u00e2teau Lafite was \u201cthe finest and most pleasant of all tonics.\u201d On Richelieu\u2019s return to Paris, Louis Xv told him, \u201cMar\u00e9chal, you look twenty-five years younger than you did when you left for Guyenne.\u201d Richelieu responded \u201cDoes his Majesty not know that I have discovered the Fountain of Youth? I have found Ch\u00e2teau Lafite\u2019s wine to be a delicious, generous cordial, comparable to the ambrosia of the Gods of Olympus.\u201d Soon, Lafite was the subject of much discussion at Versailles, honoured as it was by the King\u2019s high approval. Everyone sought to procure Lafite\u2019s wines. Madame de Pompadour had it served with her supper receptions, and later, Madame du Barry made a point of drinking \u201conly the King\u2019s Wine\u201d.\r\nINHERITANCE\u00a0DIFFICULTIES\r\nThe Marquis did not have any sons, and his property was divided between his four daughters. Lafite was thus separated from Latour, despite its remaining in the family and being governed by the same steward until 1785. Lafite was inherited by Count Nicolas Marie Alexandre de S\u00e9gur, the son of the Marquis\u2019 oldest daughter, who had married a cousin, Alexandre de S\u00e9gur, who was provost of Paris. In 1785, the anonymous author of a memoir on the \u201cLafite Seigniory\u201d spoke of the \u201cfinest vineyard in the world\u201d. Things did not turn out so well for the Count de S\u00e9gur, though. With outstanding debts, he was forced to sell Ch\u00e2teau Lafite in 1784. As a relative of the seller, Nicolas Pierre de Pichard, the first president of the Bordeaux Parliament, used the \u201ckinship rights\u201d legislation to purchase the estate.\r\nTHOMAS JEFFERSON\r\nOn the eve of the French revolution,\u00a0Lafite was at the height of its winemaking legacy, as witnessed in the exceptional writings of Thomas Jefferson, future President of the United States. While serving as ambassador for the young United States Republic to the Versailles Court, this multifaceted individual \u2013 farmer, businessman, politician, lawyer, architect, diplomat and founder of the University of Virginia \u2013 acquired a passion for winemaking and thought about developing it in his own country. He stayed in Bordeaux in May 1787, five days was enough time 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. Ch\u00e2teau Lafite was among them. Jefferson remained a steadfast customer of Bordeaux\u2019s wines until the end of his days.\r\nDUTCH PROPERTY\r\nThe S\u00e9gur family\u2019s stewardship of Lafite\u00a0ended brutally with the execution of Nicolas Pierre de Pichard during the chapter of French history known as \u201cthe Terror\u201d, on the 12th Messidor of year 2, under the short-lived Republican calendar (30 June 1794). In the lobby of Ch\u00e2teau Lafite is an ancient poster announcing the public sale of the property on 12 September 1797. The estate was then described as \u201cthe leading M\u00e9doc wine, producing the finest wines in all of Bordeaux\u201d. 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\u2019s short ownership, Ch\u00e2teau Lafite 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.\r\nTHE Vanlerberghe MYSTERY\r\nIn 1818,\u00a0the new owner of Lafite was Madame Barbe-Rosalie Lemaire, whose husband was Ignace-Joseph Vanlerberghe, a leading grain merchant and supplier of Napoleon\u2019s armies. A mystery came about upon the death of Ignace-Joseph Vanlerberghe, when Mme Lemaire officially sold the Lafite estate to the British subject Sir Samuel Scott in 1821. Scott and his son would effectively manage the estate until 1867. In reality, Samuel Scott Senior and Junior were only representatives of Aim\u00e9-Eug\u00e8ne Vandelberghe, son of Madame Lemaire and Ignace-Joseph Vanlerberghe. During the inheritance of Aim\u00e9-Eug\u00e8ne Vanlerberghe in 1866, the title was produced to prove the deceased\u2019s ownership of the property. After a half-century of secrecy, the name Vanlerberghe would be written into Lafite\u2019s history of owners. In this period, vintages that made history include: 1795 and 1798, of outstanding quality, 1801, 1802, 1814, 1815 and especially 1818.\r\nTHE 1855 CLASSIFICATION\r\nIn 1815, Mr. Lawton published an initial classification of M\u00e9doc 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: \u201cI ranked Lafite as the most elegant and delicate, with the finest fruit of the three (leading wines).\u201d He added that \u201cits wines are the most superb in all of M\u00e9doc.\u201d The 1834 vintage was particularly successful, as was 1841, and especially 1846. The vintage rankings of the Universal Paris Exposition in 1855 officially gave Lafite the rating as \u201cLeader among fine wines\u201d. This ranking would be the benchmark for a new and astonishing era of success for M\u00e9doc vineyards. The period\u2019s finest vintages include 1847, 1848, 1858, 1864, 1869, 1870 and 1876.\r\nOn 8 August 1868,\u00a0Baron James de Rothschild purchased Ch\u00e2teau 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 three 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, the\u00a0vintage\u00a0produced in\u00a01868 went down as a record on several counts. It was the highest priced wine of its vintage year (6,250 of that period\u2019s francs, or 4,700 of today\u2019s euros the \u2018tonneau\u2019 of 900\u00a0litres). This early wine\u2019s high price would remain a record for the entire century, before being far surpassed at\u00a0the end of the 20th century. Fortunately for Barons Alphonse, Gustave, and Edmond de Rothschild, the \u201cgolden age\u201d of M\u00e9doc would go on for another fifteen years after the purchase of Lafite.\r\nDISASTERS, Wars And CRISES\r\nThe end of the 19th century\u00a0and the first half of the 20th century were turbulent. The\u00a0phylloxera\u00a0crisis and mildew severely impacted the vineyard. Then came World War I and the Great Depression which led to a freefall in prices. Suffering heavily from mildew, Ch\u00e2teau Lafite Rothschild took measures and declassified certain vintages from 1882 to 1886, and also 1910 and 1915. Bottling at the Ch\u00e2teau was also implemented for more effective combating of fraud. During World War I, the estate was severely impacted by the draft and by supply restrictions. The Great Depression of the 1930s would also be painfully felt in the vineyard, with the market riding a sustained low, and an unprecedented financial crisis that led to a reduction of vineyard area. A few exceptions to this dark period include 1899, 1900, 1906, then 1926 and 1929, which are of excellent quality.\r\nWORLD War Ii And OCCUPATION\r\nWorld War II\u00a0caused an ordeal in a different league, with the June 1940 defeat leading to the occupation of the M\u00e9doc. A German garrison was stationed for the entire length of the occupation at Ch\u00e2teau Lafite Rothschild and Ch\u00e2teau 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 Ch\u00e2teau. The Barons de Rothschild recovered possession of Ch\u00e2teau Lafite Rothschild at the end of 1945, and Baron Elie was responsible for re-establishing the estate\u2019s successful operation. A series of excellent vintages in 1945, 1947, and 1949 gave strength to the reconstruction effort.\r\nBARON Elie: RESTRUCTURING\r\nBaron Elie led a programe to restore the vineyards and the buildings, and to fully restructure the property\u2019s administration. He took practical steps, like adding a herd of dairy cows in the 1950s in order to use the fields below the ch\u00e2teau as a supply of organic fertilizer. Baron Elie was a major shaper of events in the difficult reconstitution of the fine wine market. He was an active member of \u201ctasting\u201d events in London, and one of the founding members of the Bordeaux wine guild, the Commanderie du Bontemps of the M\u00e9doc, in 1950. The very fine 1955 vintage was evidence of the wine\u2019s rebirth, but the Bordeaux vineyard suffered terrible frosts in February of 1956 before producing a new cycle of exceptional vintages in 1959 and 1961. The 1960s rounded out the renaissance with new markets, particularly in the United States. Prices rose, do in part to a healthy rivalry between Ch\u00e2teau Lafite Rothschild and Ch\u00e2teau Mouton Rothschild.\r\nBARON Eric: RENEWAL\r\nAfter the 1973-1976 mini-crisis that hit Bordeaux, the recovery was confirmed by the very fine 1975 and 1976 vintages and the management of Ch\u00e2teau Lafite Rothschild by Baron Eric de Rothschild, Baron Elie\u2019s nephew. Baron Eric\u2019s management of the estate made strides forward with a search for excellence and the gradual addition of a new technical team. In the vineyard, replanting and restoration work was mirrored by re-evaluation of fertilizing and reduced herbicide treatments. In the cellar, a stainless steel vat complex was installed alongside oak vats, and a new circular ageing cellar was constructed under the supervision of Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill. This new design style was 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 Ch\u00e2teau Lafite. These include such artists as Jacques Henri Lartique, Irving Penn, Robert Doisneau, and Richard Avedon. He also extended the horizons of the Domaines through new acquisitions both in France and abroad. Very fine vintages for the 80s and 90s decades, were notably 1982, 1986, the trilogy 1988, 1989 and 1990, and then 1995 and 1996. |
| Price: | $ 999.99 |
| Price in original currency: | None |
Available from BASSER’S Fine Wine
| Address: |
6240 Coral Ridge Drive Coral Springs, FL 33076 United States |
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| Telephone (regular): | 954-840-3122 |
First added to 1000 Corks on September 10, 2020.
