Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2011 Pauillac Premier Grand Cru Classe《Terroir Collection - ZTF911B》

Region : Pauillac

Grapes : 80% Cabernet Sauvignon，20% Merlot

Alcohol : 12.5% vol

Website:   https://winedirectory.lafite.com/en/the-wine-directory/product-NF4DDE-chateau-lafite-rothschild/

🌟 Premier Grand Cru Classe

🏅 Wine Enthusiast 96 pts

🏅 Wine Spectator 94 pts

🏅 James Suckling 94 pts

🏅 Wine Advocate 90-93 pts

🏅 Vinous 92+ pts

🏅 Vivino 4.5

History

Situated in the wine-producing village of Pauillac in the Médoc region to the north-west of Bordeaux, the estate was the property of Gombaud de Lafite in 1234. In the 17th century, the property of Château Lafite was purchased by the Ségur family, including the 16th century manor house that still stands. Although vines almost certainly already existed on the site, around 1680, Jacques de Ségur planted the majority of the vineyard.

In the early 18th century, Nicolas-Alexandre, marquis de Ségur refined the wine-making techniques of the estate, and introduced his wines to the upper echelons of European society. Before long he was known as the "Wine Prince", and the wine of Chateau Lafite called "The King's Wine" thanks to the influential support of the Marechal de Richelieu. Towards the end of the 18th century, Lafite's reputation was assured and even Thomas Jefferson visited the estate and became a lifelong customer.

Following the French Revolution, the period known as Reign of Terror led to the execution of Nicolas Pierre de Pichard on 30 June 1794, bringing an end to the Ségur family's ownership of the estate which became public property. In 1797 the vineyards were sold to a group of Dutch merchants.

The first half of the 19th century saw Lafite in the hands of the Vanlerberghe family and the wine improved more, including the great vintages of 1795, 1798 and 1818. In 1868 the Château was purchased by Baron James Mayer Rothschild for 4.4 million francs, and the estate became Château Lafite Rothschild. Rothschild, however, died just three months after purchasing Lafite. The estate then became the joint property of his three sons: Alphonse, Gustave and Edmond Rothschild.

The 20th century has seen periods of success and difficulty, coping with post-phylloxera vines, and two world wars. During the Second World War the Chateau was occupied by the German army, and suffered heavily from plundering of its cellars. Succeeding his uncle Élie de Rothschild, Lafite has been under the direction of eric de Rothschild since 1974.

At the 5 December 1985 Christie's auction, a new record price of approximately US$156,000 was paid for a bottle of wine – a 1787 Château Lafite which was thought to be owned by Thomas Jefferson.[6][7][8][9][10][11] The authenticity of the bottle has been challenged. On 29 October 2010 the record was broken at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong – three bottles of 1869 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild were sold for HK$1.8M (US$232,692) each.

The vintage

The vineyard cycle began with a cold, relatively wet winter, resulting in a slightly later bud-break than in 2009, in mid-April. Growth was then boosted by dry, sunny weather in April.

May and June were characterized by alternating periods of rain and sunshine. June began with a cold spell that complicated the flowering of the Merlot, resulting in flower abortion and uneven grape size.

Fortunately, July was very dry (less than 20 mm of rain) with relatively high temperatures, which helped the vines to catch up from the delays caused during flowering. August and September were very dry, with beautiful daytime temperatures and cool nights creating ideal conditions for the grapes to slowly reach optimum ripeness.

Location

Pauillac is located on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, approximately 40km North of Bordeaux. With the tempering influence of the estuary and a great diversity of soils originated from both the Massif Central and the Pyrenees, Pauillac boasts exceptional climatic and geological conditions to make outstanding wines.

Terroir

Chateau Lafite Rothschild is located to the north of the appellation, bordering Saint Estèphe. Lafite's best terroirs stretch on the 50ha Plateau des Carruades to the west of the Château. This plateau, which is the highest point of the Pauillac appellation, is well-drained and enjoys optimal sun exposure. Its clayey gravel soils offer excellent water regulating abilities, and provide optimal ripening conditions for the Cabernet Sauvignon.

Some 4.5 ha planted in the neighbouring Saint Estephe appellation, count amongst the oldest vines of the property and provide year after year grapes of outstanding quality for the Grand Vin.

Winemaking

In order to reveal the magic of Lafite’s terroir, every step of the wine elaboration is carried out with the greatest precision. Depending of their provenance and level of ripeness, grapes will be transferred into either wooden, stainless steel or concrete vats. Alcoholic fermentation is conducted at controlled temperature, with regular pumping over to gently release all the phenolic compounds in the grapes. Each vat is carefully monitored and tasted daily in order to determine the best racking time. The maceration period variesfor each tank but is around 20 days in total.

After malolactic fermentation wines are transferred into French oak barrels. Lafite has its own cooperage in Pauillac, la Tonnellerie des Domaines, which contributes to its unique style. The selection for the grand vin is made in March, once the wines have settled and start revealing their full potential. Every barrel is tasted individually and only the best ones are set aside for the final blend.

Once blended, the wine is aged for a further 20 months in barrels, primarily of new oak.

TASTING NOTE:

Fine, concentrated colour.

Solid and dense in the mouth, presenting good structure and well-defined tannins.

A long, lingering wine with notes of violets on the finish. The 2010 is an elegant wine with excellent balance.

🏅 Wine Enthusiast 96 pts

The wine shows the power typical of a Lafite but within the context of the fruity 2011 vintage. The immensely dense tannic structure gives the wine a solid feel that is lifted by so much ripe black currant and berry fruits. At the back, the wine has a more brooding, dark character that suggests great aging potential. 

🏅 Wine Spectator 94 pts

This delivers pronounced tobacco and bay leaf notes up front, with a core of steeped plum and currant fruit and a fleshy edge through the charcoal-lined finish. There's some serious buried minerality, which should emerge with cellaring.

🏅 James Suckling 94 pts

Love the nose on this, with sweet tobacco, delicate currant, cedar and blackberry. Full body with integrated tannins and a juicy, fruity, subtle finish. The texture to this wine is beautiful. Better than I remember from barrel. 

🏅 Wine Advocate 90-93 pts

A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot (harvested between September 3-21), the 2011 Lafite Rothschild came in at 12.6% natural alcohol (considerably lower than in 2010 and 2009). Exhibiting a deep ruby/purple color, lots of crushed rock, red and black currant, forest floor and underbrush characteristics, moderate tannin and medium body, it is built somewhat along the lines of the 1999 and 2001. It should be a 20- to 25-year wine, but it is not at the level of the 2008, 2009 and 2010. Fresh acids give the wine a somewhat more clipped feeling than most great Lafites have exhibited. Nevertheless, there is a lot of freshness and vibrancy to this vintage.

🏅 Vinous 92+ pts

Good full ruby-purple, this really stains the glass. Highly expressive aromasof blackberry, crushed strawberry, flint, cedar, pepper and herbs. Rich andbright in the mouth, with pungent minerality and a cedary note keepingthe dark and red fruit flavors fresh. The long finish features lovely florallift and substantial but ripe tannins. This strikes me as a very successfulLafite.