Château Lafite Rothschild

Few names carry the weight of Château Lafite Rothschild. Ranked a First Growth in the 1855 classification and in Rothschild hands since 1868, the estate occupies Pauillac's northern edge, where 110 hectares of vines share the property with some 300 hectares of woodland and marsh. Its finest fruit comes from a deep gravel plateau — the core of the grand vin — while the neighboring Plateau de Carruades lends its name to the second wine. Cabernet Sauvignon leads the plantings at around seventy percent, supported by Merlot and touches of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Under Saskia de Rothschild, the latest generation to steward the property, Lafite pairs tradition — barrels raised at its own cooperage — with a modern cellar of steel and concrete built for the 2011 harvest. The result is Pauillac at its most refined: perfumed, precise and famously long-lived.