Château Lafite: The Almanac

Book excerpt: Winemakers Éric and Saskia de Rothschild lead readers through 150 vintages of Château Lafite, sharing scientific and climatic data and visual memories since the family's arrival in 1868. Over the past 150 years, six generations of the Rothschild family have attended to the winemaking tradition, developing Château Lafite's reputation and transforming this classified Premier Grand Cru into a benchmark for fine wine in Bordeaux. Discover how this occurred and what actually lies behind Lafite's label through stories from the tightly-knit team of men and women who tend to Lafite wines. A chronology introducing each of the 150 vintages includes informative tasting notes, meteorological aspects, and the grape blends that mark each vintage. An archival gem has been unearthed for each year: from the harvesters' menu in 1922 to portraits by master photographers like Robert Doisneau, Richard Avedon, and Paolo Roversi. A fold-out original illustration by M/M Paris tracing the winemaker's month-by-month activity from vine to wine. The Lafite story--illustrated here with historical documents, press clippings, and photographs--combines deep respect for tradition with a commitment to evolve with the times, protecting Lafite's singular, vibrant, and evolving legacy for the next 150 years.