“Lafite has a soul, a beautiful, generous, kindly soul. Lafite turns bare earth into heaven. Lafite is harmony, a harmony between man and nature, because without our magnificent winegrowers, nothing would be accomplished.”
Baron Eric de Rothschild

In 1815, Guillaume Lawton said of Château Lafite, “I consider it to be the the most elegant and delicate, with the finest substance of the three (Premier Crus). The location of its vines is one of the finest in the Médoc”. In 1855 the Château was ranked as a Premier Grand Cru in the famous classification that was prepared for the Universal Exhibition of that year.

GRAPE VARIETIES
80 to 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5 to 20% Merlot, 0 to 5% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Note that there are some exceptional cases such as the 1994 vintage (99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot) or the 1961 vintage (100% Cabernet Sauvignon).

AGEING IN OAK BARRELS
18 to 20 months in 100% new barrels.

AVERAGE ANNUAL PRODUCTION
16,000 cases

2011
80% Cabernet Sauvignon20% Merlot
The weather conditions for the 2011 vintage were unusual and required all of our technical teams’ vigilance and expertise.
This was a very early vintage, with an exceptionally hot spring, low rainfall at the beginning of the year, but then more in the summer, and a persistent threat of powdery mildew (a vine disease that is usually quite rare in the Bordeaux region). Finally, just as we were getting ready to harvest, a huge hail storm in the north of Pauillac and Saint Estèphe on 1 September obliged us to reorganize the picking schedule. The plots that had been affected had to be picked first; fortunately, as a result of the conditions, the grapes had ripened early, and quality was not compromised.

TASTING NOTES (AT BOTTLING):
Intense, deep crimson colour.
Dense nose, aromas of red and black fruit, boxwood and spicy notes.
Very dense on the palate with fine intensity. Very complex finish.