Wine Details
This blend of 86.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13.5% Merlot is a classic example of Lafite. Extremely elegant, medium-bodied, with intense concentration, richness, and sweet tannin, it appears to be on a rapid evolutionary track, at least in comparison to recent Lafite vintages that have been far more backward and powerful. The classy 2001 should be at its finest between 2007-2020."
- Robert Parker, <i>The Wine Advocate</i>

Chateau Lafite Rothschild is perhaps the most famous wine label in the world. The estate achieved wide popularity in the 1750s when it became the favorite wine of King Louis XV. Thomas Jefferson was also a steadfast customer and even visited the estate.

In 1868, Baron James de Rothschild became the owner of Lafite. He was a born dilettante, and it suited him to be the master of what, in 1855, was classified as first among the great wines of Médoc. Today, Baron Eric de Rothschild presides over this most famous Bordeaux estate.

&nbsp;

Viticulture

The gravel-based soils of Pauillac are key in creating the structured wines produced there. Like most of Bordeaux's left bank,<a title="Cabernet Sauvignon" href="http://www.wine.com/v6/Cabernet-Sauvignon/Red-Wines/learnabout.aspx?class=1&amp;varietal=1">Cabernet Sauvignon</a> is the leading grape. Some typical descriptions of wine from Pauillac include: concentrated, full-bodied, powerful, firm tannins, ability to mature. Not all of the Pauillac wines are top price collectibles that you can only find at auctions. There are great values in the lower level crus, like the fifth growth, Chateau Lynch-Bages, as well as great Cru Bourgeois such as Chateau Pibran. These wines are more affordable and often mature a bit sooner.

<strong> </strong>