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  • Country ranking ?

    1 161
  • Producer ranking ?

    56
  • Decanting time

    3H
  • When to drink

    from 2020
  • Food Pairing

    Beef

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The Story

The Château Lafite estate run by the Rothschilds is, with its 100 hectares of cultivated land, the largest of the main Pauillac vineyards.

It is located in the highest part of the area and the view from its château, with its conical towers that appear on the label, takes in the banks of the River Gironde, which flows nearby. The wines are a blend of four different varieties of grape – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Lafite matures slightly earlier than other Premier Cru wines in the region on account of the generous amounts of Merlot used, and it is this that also makes the wine more delicate and subtle than those wines which are completely dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon.

“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 


Of the five Premier Cru wines in the region, Château Lafite to my mind has managed to produce the year’s best wine in many of the top years in 1900th centrury. The times I have spent in the company of a 1934, 1953, 1959, 1982 and 1986 have been unforgettable. And it was then that I always remembered how many wine critics fondly describe Lafite as ‘the perfection of elegance’.

Vineyard soil: fine gravel mixed with aeolien sands on a bedrock of tertiary limestone
Production area: 103 ha
Grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon (71%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet Franc (3%) and Petit Verdot (1%)
Average age of vines: 30 years
Harvest method: hand picked
Winemaking: the vinification is nowadays done with all the sophisticated instruments which modern oenology has created. Fermentation takes place in large oak vats in which the musts remain for 18 to 25 days.
Ageing: the wines are aged entirely in new barrels for 18 to 24 months. During this time,the wine is racked 7 times and is fined with the whites of 6 eggs per barrel. Only certain vats are selected to make the Grand Vin, Lafite. The others are used to make the second wine of Lafite, the “Carruades de Lafite”.

 

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Wine Information

Vintage 2007
Plentiful rain during the winter replenished the groundwater levels and the end of the cold damp winter was marked by very early budburst. The temperatures in March and April were quite high, which was good for growth. From then until August the weather was grey and mild, without extremes. Luckily the weather in September was good and settled which allowed the grapes to ripen well in calm conditions. Complete ripening for the sugar, tannins and skins was only achieved 125 days after flowering – a vegetative cycle longer than usual in a year with 13 lunar cycles.
Very ripe red fruit on the nose. Closed at first, then full and open. Elegant and charming, still somewhat discreet, good length. Integrated oak.

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Average Bottle Price

2017 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
634€ +14.4% 554€ -8.0% 602€ -10.5% 673€ -3.6% 698€ -20.6% 879€ -27.2% 1 208€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

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Written Notes

The 2007 Lafite-Rothschild is a strong performer in what was a challenging growing season. At 11 years of age the 2007 is beginning to drink well with blackberry, briary, graphite and smoke on the nose, perhaps still that old touch of antique bureau. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins and tobacco, well balanced yet typically understated on the finish. The 2007 is not the greatest Lafite-Rothschild for sure, but it should offer 15 to 20 years of drinking pleasure. Tasted blind at dinner in Bordeaux.

  • 93p

Deep ruby, bright ruby rim, blackcurrants, cigars, leather, such elegance, vanilla, almost cedar touch, seductive already, very complex and layered. Fantastic mouthfeel, mouthwatering, ripe tannins, so elegant and complex, with the almost transparent layers n the palate as well, sheets of flavours, fantastic long length. As with the Margaux of this vintage, those seeking blockbusters, look somewhere else, here is only pure elegance. 92

  • 92p

Tasted at BI Wine Spirits' 10-Years-On tasting, the 2007 Lafite-Rothschild has an elegant cigar box bouquet, with dusky black fruit and a touch of antique bureauùjust classic Lafite. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, cedar and tobacco infusing the black fruit, classic in style with a conservative yet focused finish that lingers in the mouth. This is certainly the most subtle First Growth, but one of the most refined tooùa sophisticated but understated Lafite-Rothschild that will age with discrete style. Tasted February 2017.

  • 94p
Lafite Rothschild 2007 (barrel sample) 93-94p Tasted in April 2008. Elegant style, lighter than usual which is understandable because of the history of the vintage. Silky fruit and tannin, well-balanced and quie long finish. To drink before the big vintages are ready.
  • 93p
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Origin

Pauillac, Bordeaux
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