Icon Icon Opinion :

Saskia de Rothschild is to be thanked for bringing together in a beautiful book the history of this Château, which produces the most sought-after Sauternes wines in the world. This book, Almanach Château Lafite 1868, retraces the fascinating adventure of a vineyard which in 2018 celebrated 150 years of vines, wines, encounters, hazards and battles!

Author:  Saskia Rothschild (de)

Publishing House: Flammarion

Publication Date: December 2020

Description : Winemakers Éric and Saskia de Rothschild lead readers through 150 vintages of Château Lafite, revealing key moments since the family arrived in 1868, along with scientific and climatic data and visual memories from the château’s archives. 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-from vineyard workers to barrel makers, and harvesters to winemakers. 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. Space to record personal tasting notes allows readers to make this book their own, building their wine knowledge over time.