Rothschild and Lafite2010-12-08 15:48 The Rothschild Lafite Chateau (CHATEAU LAFITE ROTHSOCHILD) is located along the west coast of France. History on the earliest record of Lafite can be traced back to 1234 AD, this era of France, the abbey all over the size of villages and towns, located in Bordeaux Pauillac village in the north of the village of Vertheuil (Vertheuil) Abbey is today's Lafite Rothschild is located. Since the 14th century, Chateau Lafite has been the property of medieval lords. In the Gasconian dialect (Gascon, the old name for the Pyrenees region of southwestern France), "la hite" means "small hill", hence the name "Lafite". The name "Lafite" was given to it. It is likely that vines were already being planted on the land at this time. But it was not until the 17th century that the Segal family arrived. It was in their hands that Lafite became known as a great vineyard.
Jaques de Segur was the first to establish a vineyard at Lafite, from around 1670 to the early 1680s. His son Alexandre inherited the estate in 1695 and, through a marriage, took control of another famous neighboring estate, Chateau de Latour. This was the first chapter in the history of Lafite and Latour, the two great Bordeaux chateaux **** together.
Chateau Lafite's wines were introduced to the London market at the beginning of the 18th century, and in 1707 the name Lafite appeared in the official London Gazette. From the merchant ships controlled by the pirates of Great Britain and the Royal Navy (at a time when the War of the Spanish Succession was in full swing), Lafite entered the public auction in London. The gazette named Lafite with its "companions" - the other French wines in the auction - as "New French claret The bulletin named Lafite and its "companions" - the other French wines in the sale together - "New French clarets" with a special indication of origin and, shortly afterwards, a vintage. The success was so brilliant that Robert Walpole, the British Prime Minister from 1732 to 1733, purchased a barrel of Lafite every three months! Perhaps surprisingly, the French were not yet proud of Bordeaux - that would be another 20 or 30 years away!
In order to consolidate this initial success and refine his winemaking skills, particularly to raise the prestige of the great wines on foreign markets and in the Palace of Versailles, the Marquis Nicolas Alexandre de Ségur, the fruit of a marriage between Alexandre de Ségur and Chateau Latour, threw himself into this ambitious project from 1716 onwards. With the support of Prime Minister Marechal de Richelieu, Nicolas received from Louis XV the title of "Prince of the Vine" and the wines of Chateau Lafite Rothschild were elevated to the status of "Wine of the King". The wine of Chateau Lafite Rothschild was elevated to the status of "Wine of the King".
1755, Richelieu was elected governor of Guyana (Guyenne), before his departure, a doctor in Bordeaux for him to open a unique "prescription": often drink Lafite's wines, which is to make the face of the most effective and the most wonderful health "medicine". This is the most effective and wonderful "medicine" for a rosy and healthy face. This "medicine" was so effective that it even attracted the attention of the king. Ri Shiliu returned to Paris, one day, Louis XV especially to him: "Dear Marechal, I really have to say, since you went to Guyana to take office, you look at least twenty-five years younger! For his part, Richelieu replied, "Does my king not know that I have found the spring that restores youth? I have found the wines of Lafite to be an almighty and delicious tonic, comparable to the jade that the gods drink on Mount Olympus!"
It wasn't long before the whole of Versailles began to talk only of Lafite, for it was in the king's favor! Everyone wanted to drink it, and Madame de Pompadour used it to entertain the distinguished guests at the small dinners she held. A little later, it was even said that Madame Du Barry had imposed a special "duty" on herself: she no longer drank anything else to quench her thirst - except Lafite!
The Marquis de Sigur had no children, and the chateau was divided between his four daughters. Lafite was then separated from Latour, but remained in the same family until 1785 and was run by the same manager. After passing into the hands of Nicolas Marie Alexandre de Ségur, son of the Marquis' eldest daughter, the estate declined for a while, and in 1785, the author of an anonymous memoir entitled "The Lords of Lafite" praised Lafite in his book "the most beautiful vineyard in the world". However, things went a bit wrong for the Comte de Sigur. He became heavily indebted and was forced to sell his orchard in 1784. Fortunately, Nicolas Pierre de Pichard, president of the first Bordeaux parliament, intervened and made it possible for the Segur family to buy back the land by legislating on the "family's right to reclaim".
On the eve of the Revolution, Lafite had risen to the top of the wine world, as Thomas Jefferson, who later became president of the United States, wrote. Thomas was ambassador to Versailles for the "young United States of America". Mr. Jefferson, a plantation owner, merchant, politician, jurist and diplomat, was so fascinated by the wine culture at the French court that he wanted to develop it in his own country. 1787, he came to Bordeaux in May, and stayed there for five days, which was enough for him to visit the biggest wine merchants of the Chartrons and to collect enough information for him to be able to make a good wine. Five days were enough for him to visit the largest wine merchants in the Chartrons (which flowed through Bordeaux) and to gather enough information to take back home with him. The top four chateaux in the Médoc wine classification he had drawn up himself - including Lafite - were the first four in the 1855 classification. He himself has since become a big fan of Bordeaux's top wines.
The French Revolution swept up everyone's destiny, including the chateaux. With the execution of Nicolas Pierre de Pichel on the 12th day of the 12th month of the French **** calendar (June 30th, 1794), the fortunes of the Chateau rapidly declined. An "auction notice" was posted in the vestibule of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, announcing that Lafite Rothschild would be sold at public auction on September 12, 1797, as confiscated state property. The "description of the lot" described Lafite as "a top Médoc chateau producing the finest wines of Bordeaux". Lafite was won by a Dutch citizen, who soon sold it again to three other Dutchmen. Over the next sixty to seventy years, Lafite changed hands, including a food supplier to Napoleon's army. The best vintages of Lafite during this period were 1795 and 1798, but the best were 1801, 1802, 1814 and 1815, especially the 1818 vintage.
In 1815, Mr. Lawton, the famous Bordeaux wine broker, created the first classification of Bordeaux Médoc wines in a journal that bore the same name as his firm, and Lafite was at the top of the list. The table was quite similar to the 1855 classification. "I put Lafite at the top of the list because of the first three (top wines), Lafite is the most elegant and refined, and it is the most delicate of the wines." He added that "Lafite's vineyards are located in the most scenic part of the Médoc." Of this period, the 1834 Lafite was outstanding, the 1841 was even better, and the 1846 is considered the most beautiful.
In 1855, the World's Fair was held in Paris. In order to promote the French wine culture, the then King of France, Napoleon III, ordered the Chamber of Commerce of Bordeaux to rank the wines of the Bordeaux region. After some Parisian twists and turns, this classification system served as the official standard to establish Lafite's "Premier Grand Cru" status and would usher in an era of unprecedented prosperity for the Médoc. After 1855, Lafite was unanimously recognized in various classification standards and less formal tastings. The best vintages of this period are 1847, 1848, 1858, 1864, 1869, 1870 and especially 1876.
August 8, 1868 was a memorable day for the Rothschild family. On this day, Baron James de Rothschild purchased the chateau at a public auction held by the former owner of Lafite. Baron James was part of the Rothschild family that grew in France. Unfortunately, the Baron himself died three months after buying Lafite. His three sons*** inherited the estate, including Baron Edmond, who would later make a monumental contribution to the development of the estate. At the time, the estate had 74 hectares of vineyards.
The year 1868 was a memorable one for Lafite in several senses: it saw the arrival of a new owner, a boom period for the wine, and, as a further achievement, the highest price ever paid for a Lafite wine, 6,250 francs, equivalent to 4,700 euros today. This price has not been surpassed in the century since. Of course, at the end of the twentieth century, the prices of fine wines went through the roof and the 6,250 francs of that year have been greatly exceeded. The Médoc's Belle époque lasted roughly fifteen years from the time Lafite entered the Roth family.
The global nightmare of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: phylloxera infestations, the spread of mildew in the grapes, fake wines from the Grand Vin, the First World War, the severe economic crisis ...... all of which led to the chateau's fortunes hitting rock bottom. Chateau Rothschild Lafite decided to downgrade certain vintages from 1882 to 1886 and from 1910 to 1915. In order to combat the counterfeiting of the best wines, which were bottled at the chateau, the 1914-1918 world wars saw the chateau's development suffer as a result of the mobilization of the war effort to limit supplies, and the unprecedented financial crisis of the 1930s forced the vineyards to cut back on their plantings. Fortunately, there are still a few bright spots on the black background: the 1899, 1900, 1906 and 1926 and 1929 vintages are all excellent.
The Second World War continued to have its ups and downs, and with the fall of France in June 1940, the Médoc region was occupied by the Germans, and Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Mouton Rothschild were not spared by the German presence. The Rothschilds' chateaux were seized and became public property. The Provisional Government expropriated Lafite for an agricultural school in 1942 to protect it from the Germans. The expropriation of the chateau, the looting of the vintages, the lack of energy and the shortage of supplies during the war, all of which Chateau Lafite Rothschild had to endure, was finally restored to Lafite Rothschild at the end of 1945, with Baron Elie at the helm of the revitalization project, and the 1945, 1947, and 1949 vintages are the highlights of the reconstruction period.
Under the direction of Baron Elie, a series of reconstruction works were carried out in the vineyards and cellars, along with a complete reorganization of the management, and in the 1950s a herd of dairy cows was purchased to reclaim the meadows behind Chateau Lafite Rothschild and to provide fertilizer for the grapes. Baron d'Ely played a major role in the restoration of the estate to the production of top quality wines. He was an active participant in the earliest tastings in London and was one of the founders of the Winegrowers' Association in 1950.
The exceptional 1955 vintage could be seen as a sign of revival. However, the Bordeaux vineyards could not escape the terrible frosts of February 1956 before the real recovery began with the arrival of two outstanding vintages in 1959 and 1961, and the 1960s were a time of real growth and recovery, with the expansion of markets, particularly in the United States, and the recovery of prices, which were boosted by the rivalry between Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The 1960s were a time of real recovery and growth, especially in the United States.
After the Bordeaux crisis of 1973-1976, Chateau Lafite Rothschild was placed at the helm of Baron Eric de Rothschild, the nephew of Baron Elie, and the two exceptional vintages of 1975 and 1976 consolidated the results of the estate's renewed development. In his quest for excellence, Baron Eric has been actively involved in building up the technical capacity of the winery: replanting and restructuring of the vineyards with a scientific fertilizer program; selection of suitable additives for the treatment of the wines; installation of stainless steel fermentation tanks in the cellar to complement the oak barrels; and the creation of a new circular wine cellar for storing the vintage wines. Designed and built by Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill, this revolutionary and aesthetically pleasing wine cellar has a capacity of 2,200 large oak barrels.
In 1985, also to promote the development of the winery, Baron Eric made Chateau Lafite Rothschild and photographers to shake hands, Lafite entered a number of photographers, including Jacques Henri Lartigue (Jacques Henri Lartigue, France's famous photographer), Irving Penn (Irving Penn, the master of the United States of America's fashion photography), Robert Doisneau (Robert Doisneau, France's favorite fashion photographer). Doisneau, one of France's most popular and prolific reportage photographers, and Richard Avedon, a highly regarded American fashion photographer. The Baron also succeeded in expanding Chateau Lafite Rothschild by purchasing chateaux in other parts of France as well as vineyards abroad, and the decade of the 1980's saw a succession of great vintages: 1982, 1985, 1986 and 1990 were all excellent vintages, and prices were set at record levels.
The 1990s were even more promising for Chateau Lafite Rothschild. The turn of the century was silent, the cellars held the promise of good things to come, and the 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 vintages, the finest of the last decade of the twentieth century, were to be honed over time and to shine. This intellectual optimism is based on the constant quest for excellence that Chateau Rothschild Lafite Rothschild has been pursuing for almost 150 years
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