“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

2012
91% Cabernet Sauvignon8,5% Merlot0,5% Petit Verdot
2012 was characterized by difficult weather conditions in the Bordeaux region.
After a relatively mild winter, the spring was mostly wet and rainy, especially April, with a hail storm on the 24th. Such conditions hampered fertilization, leading to fears of reduced yields. Work in the vineyard was as vital as ever.
June and July alternated heat and humidity. The weather became more stable from the beginning of August, enabling the healthy grapes to finish ripening in good conditions.
Nevertheless, there was considerable variation in their degrees of ripeness and a great deal of sorting work was carried out by our teams from the end September.

TASTING NOTES (AT BOTTLING):
The nose is closed at first, then the fruit is expressed, with a slightly dominant woodiness. On the palate, the texture is tight and dense. Then the heart of the wine comes through, with solid, compact balance. Very dense finish, and yet the tannins are “almost light and airy”! Great length with long, lingering flavours.