Château LAFITE ROTHSCHILD 2016
“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
In 1815, Guillaume Lawton said of Château Lafite, “I consider it to be the the most elegant and delicate, with the finest substance of the three (Premier Crus). The location of its vines is one of the finest in the Médoc”. In 1855 the Château was ranked as a Premier Grand Cru in the famous classification that was prepared for the Universal Exhibition of that year
80 to 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5 to 20% Merlot, 0 to 5% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Note that there are some exceptional cases such as the 1994 vintage (99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot) or the 1961 vintage (100% Cabernet Sauvignon).
Château Lafite 2016 was characterized in Bordeaux by a very uniform climate, resulting in a good quality vintage for the entire region. Bud break occurred around the normal time, although the spring was rather rainy and cold. June was particularly overcast and cool, but flowering nevertheless took place in good conditions. The summer was hot and very dry, almost too dry at the beginning of September, with ripening becoming hindered in some cases due to water stress. Lafite’s superb terroir was perfectly able to cope with these conditions, and we were able to wait without undue concern for the very welcome rain on 13 September. This created optimal conditions for the final ripening of the grapes, which were able to reach exceptional levels of maturity.