Lafite, or Château Lafite (full name: Château Lafite Rothschild), is one of the world's top wineries, located on a gravel hill north of the village of Boulé de Boulé in the Bordeaux region of France, with unique climatic and soil conditions. Covering an area of 178 hectares, it is the largest of the five first-class wineries and is larger than most second- and third-class wineries.
Winery introduction
Founded in 1354, the Château de la Lafitte got its name from its location on the high ground on the right bank of the Garon: the word Lafitte means "hill" at the time. Since 1868, Sir Baron James Rothschild has won the bid for a sky-high price of 4.4 million francs at a public auction. The family owns La Féry Estate to this day and has been able to maintain its reputation for the quality of La Fée and the world's finest wines to this day. The current owner, Baron Eric Rothschild, took office in 1974, and his innovative and painstaking management has allowed Lafite wines to rise to their peak from the mundane of the 60s and 70s.
Château Lafite's vineyards are spread over three main areas: the hills surrounding the castle, the Kashade Terrace to the west of the castle and a plot of about 4.5 hectares adjacent to the village of Saint-Estève. The vineyard covers an area of 112 hectares, with good orientation and sufficient sunshine, and the subsoil is Tertiary limestone, covered with a thick layer of fine gravel, mixed with wind-formed sand, providing excellent drainage conditions.
Grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet France (3%) and Wildo Jr. (2%).
Average age of the vines: 39 years old, although it should be noted that those young vines under 10 years old are not used to cultivate top wines. In other words, the average age of the vines producing genuine wine is around 45 years old. The grapes on a plot called "Quarry" are the oldest and were planted in 1886.
Brewing process
Located in the Bordeaux region of France, Château Lafite is one of the top five wineries in the world, with a long and glorious history of winemaking, and the wines produced in Château de Lafite are considered to be a guarantee of quality in terms of origin and winemaking technology.
Immediately after the harvest of the grapes, the grapes from each plot enter each barrel and ferment independently to preserve the flavor of the land in the first place. Technicians rely on their own tasting abilities to determine the timing of harvesting, fermentation and decanting. All wines must be fermented in oak barrels, which take 18 to 25 days.
Fermentation, tasting of wine, into barrels of fine wine fermentation tanks. Separation of grape juice and pomace, extraction of wine (grape juice pressed the first time), followed by pressurization of the remaining pomace, thus pressing out the wine, called "pressed juice" (the wine pressed for the second press). A second fermentation process called malolactic fermentation is carried out, after which the wine is loaded into vats in batches.
The winery uses all barrels from the vineyard's own cooperage. Each barrel where the wine is aged is subjected to several tastings to select the best quality wine. The wine is decanted for the first time in March of the following year, at which time the mixture is carried out. It then takes 18 to 24 months to age in the cellar, during which a series of decanting is used to separate the wine from the lees.
Finally, to remove those remaining suspended particles, add four to six beaten snowflake egg whites to each barrel of wine before bottling to allow it to condense and sink to the bottom of the barrel. In June, the Lafite Estate bottles itself and all the wine is filled in one go.
Tasting
Château Lafite's genuine wine, Tannin, is rich and can be hidden for a long time. Lafite is the most elegant of the Bordeaux wines, with a rich consistency, perfect balance, and a complex and delicate palate, with a pronounced fruity aroma and a continuous ripening tannin and oak notes.
Château Lafite also has the largest wine cellar in the world, and every year a certain percentage of the wine produced is retained in the cellar. In the past 150 years spanning three centuries, only three years are missing, and it is undoubtedly a valuable "famous wine museum".
Best years: 1982, 1986, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010