Lafite Rothschild 2007 Lot n° 1

6 Btls Cht Lafite Rothschild OWC 2007 This wine takes its name from the family Lafite, estate's owner until the early eighteenth century. However, it was in 1680 that Jacques de Ségur planted a vineyard on the land. His son, Nicolas-Alexandre, is the fruit of the union of châteaux Lafite and Latour. By improving wineries' techniques and releasing his wine in Versailles and abroad, he earned the nickname of "Prince of vines". Thanks to Marshal Richelieu, governor of Guyenne, Château Lafite became the "Wine of King Louis the XVth". Its reputation for excellence crossed borders and seduced, among others, Thomas Jefferson. The Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1855 recognized it as "first cru". The early nineteenth century saw a succession of several owners, until that Baron James de Rothschild bought the vineyards on August 8, 1868. The same year, the barrel's price reached the exceptional price of 6,250 francs, a record which would last until mid-twentieth century. Thereafter, the phylloxera, the mildew, the two world wars and the economic crisis depressed the market sustainably and imposed the reduction of the planted areas. It was only after 1945, with Baron Elie de Rothschild, that the Château Lafite Rothschild regained its former nobility. He completely reorganized the property's administration and promoted worldwide the great wines of the Médoc. The 1955, 1959 and 1961 vintages appear to be the flagships of this renewal. Finally, his nephew, Baron Eric, overcame the 1973-1976 crises, by constructing a new cellar and constantly searching the best winemakers, and imposed Château Lafite Rothschild as a reference of the Bordeaux best great wines. The château also produces a top quality second wine: Carruades de Lafite. LAFITE ROTHSCHILD By Robert M. Parker, Jr "The competition that now exists between the famous first growths of the Médoc is something to behold. They are all pushing the envelope of quality, but certainly none more than Charles Chevalier at Lafite Roths