The Story
Château Lafite Rothschild’s second wine, Carruades de Lafite presents similar characteristics to the Grand Vin, but with its own personality linked to a higher proportion of Merlot and to specific plots that are used to produce Carruades. The name comes from the Carruades plateau, a group of plots acquired in 1845 just next to the vines on the Château hilltop.
-From 50 to 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 to 50% Merlot, 0 to 5% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
-From 18 to 20 months, 80% in oak barrels (10% new).
-20,000 cases.
Vintage 1878
Bordeaux: Harvest began September 19th. Very good quality wines. Often described as the last pre-Phylloxera vintage in the Médoc (although the first reported instance of a Phylloxera infection came in the southern Rhône in 1866 and this was also the first year that laws officially sanctioning grafting of vines onto American rootstock were passed in France, although not in Bordeaux for another three years). Ulysse Gayon was appointed professor of chemistry at the Faculté des Sciences in Bordeaux, where he would develop the Bordeaux mixture for treating down mildew.
