Château Lafite Rothschild Grand Cru Classé - Pauillac 2007
The name Lafite comes from the Gascon "the hite", ie the hill. The classification of vintages classified for the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1855 officially established Lafite's place as the "first of the first vintages". This ranking was to constitute the point of reference for an era of prosperity unprecedented for the Médoc. Among the vintages of this period, we must quote the 1847, 1848, 1858, 1864, 1869, 1870 and 1876 in particular. On August 8, 1868, Baron James de Rothschild acquired Château Lafite, which was put up for public sale as part of a succession, and transformed it into Château Lafite-Rothschild. The end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century are generally calamitous: the phylloxeric crisis and the development of mildew in the vineyard, but also organized fraud at the expense of the grands crus, the first world war and the great economic crisis which led to the collapse of course. The Second World War was going to be a different event. The shortages and restrictions, in addition to the requisitions and disguised plundering of the old bottles, harshly affect the Castle during this period. A series of remarkable vintages 1945, 1947 and 1949 will give heart to the work of the reconstruction. The 1960s saw the revival of the period as a result of the wider opening of markets, especially the United States. After the Bordeaux crisis of 1973-1976, the revival is confirmed with the very beautiful vintages 1975 and 1976 and the taking in hand of the destinies of Château Lafite Rothschild by Baron Eric de Rothschild. The very fine vintages of the 1980s and 1990s, especially 1982, 1986, the 1988, 1989 and 1990 trilogy, then 1995 and 1996, were to be welcomed by strongly rising prices. The passage of the century was done in serenity given the promises of the vintages being aging in cellars and cellars. This reasonable optimism is based on the continuing quest for excellence that has gone through the history of Château Lafite Rothschild.