Château Lafite-Rothschild: The Lafite Phenomenon
No modern profile of Château Lafite-Rothschild would be complete without some mention of the Lafite phenomenon, by which I mean the staggering escalation in prices the wines of this estate saw during the early years of the 21st century. Much of the driving force behind this was a feverish demand from Asia for the wine, although unusually the obsession initially focused on the second wine, Carruades de Lafite, rather than the grand vin.
Within a few years what was once little more than a decent and perhaps decent-value deuxième vin became vinous hot property; increasing in value more than ten-fold. And with the Asian market seemingly hoovering up every last bottle, many merchants couldn’t get enough of it. Some UK wine merchants and brokers put out calls for anyone with bottles to sell to get in touch; one friend of mine that took the invitation was offered £200 per bottle, for wines he had acquired only a few years before at a price of less than £20 each.
Before long the effect spread, first to the grand vin Château Lafite-Rothschild, which soon joined the super-pricy elite of Bordeaux properties, with cases of wine changing hands for sums akin to those more commonly associated with Château Ausone or Le Pin, the major difference being that Château Lafite-Rothschild has more than 100 hectares of vines at its disposal and the corresponding production figures are huge compared to the likes of Ausone (which has no more than about 7 hectares) and Le Pin (where there is little more than a hectare of vines).
