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It's impossible to talk about the great wines of the Médoc without mentioning Château Lafite-Rothschild. A Domaine steeped in history, whose reputation and prestige are matched only by the legendary wines born there.
Ancient medieval seigneury, it was under Jacques de Ségur, from a family of Bordeaux parliamentarians, that the first vines were planted in the 1670's. The wine gradually acquired an excellent reputation thanks to technical progress, at the royal court of Versailles but also across the Channel with the expansion of trade with England. Then in 1787, Thomas Jefferson, US ambassador to France at the time, praised it in his travel notes.
The Château Lafite was promoted to the rank of Ier Grand Cru Classé in 1855 on the occasion of the Paris Universal Exhibition, a distinction it shares with the Château Latour, Château Haut-Brion and Château Margaux, as well as the Château Mouton Rothschild since 1973.
The subsequent rise of Château Lafite owes much to the Rothschild family, with Baron James de Rothschild acquiring the estate in 1868 and attaching his name to it from that date. When Baron Eric took over the reins in 1974, everything was gradually put in place with the aim of modernizing and improving performance, in order to reveal the exceptional potential of the terroir. Today, his... See more ...
"Carruades de Lafite: Second wine of the prestigious Château Lafite Rothschild, Carruades de Lafite 2023 presents itself to us in a deep purple color. The nose is superbly fruity and complex, with aromas of redcurrant, raspberry, cocoa and vanilla. The palate is full-bodied, with good tension. The grain of the tannins is silky, perfectly underlining an aroma dominated by red fruits. The long, delicate finish leaves a lovely fruity imprint on the palate. “ - Marie, Oenologist Premium Grands Crus - April 2024
Carruades or Running two Hares at once
Defining the right harvest dates for the Lafite parcels was one of the challenges of the vintage. Some of the Cabernet came before the Merlot, in a duet dance where the two grape varieties relied on each other to help us define the ripeness and profile of the wine. We would taste the berries of one, then the other, to decide when the plots would be ready.
The result? In our quest to make a great Carruades that tells its vintage story, this is not a 4-varietal Carruades this year. There’s just Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon, looking at each other and telling their complementary stories.
In the end, we managed to catch both these hares at the right time. This year, “Caudeyrac”, a legendary plot on the Lafite plateau, gives our Carruades a more Pauillac character than ever.
For ageing, we are experimenting with the use of wooden vats from our historic vinification vat-house for part of our Carruades blend.
Harvest 7 to 29 September
Find all the information about Bordeaux Primeurs on our dedicated page
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