Château Lafon-Rochet
Let’s face it, in a head-to-head competition of which of the St Estèphe estates boasts the most dramatic, unusual or exotic château, Château Cos d’Estournel would win hands down, every time. With its mish-mash of exotic themes, including stone and topiary elephants from India, ornate tiered pagodas which feel more reminiscent of the Far East, and intricately carved wooden doors delivered here from the palace of Zanzibar, Cos d’Estournel seems to hold all the aces.
If you continue along the D2 past Cos d’Estournel and Cos Labory though, as the road curves round to the right, your trajectory swinging round to point you north, in the direction of the vineyards of the Médoc appellation, you will see another visually imposing view to the left. This is Château Lafon-Rochet, and although this estate is somewhat more traditional in design than its near-neighbour it still makes for a very arresting sight. It is not just the beautiful sweep of vines that lies in front of the château. Nor is it just the modern sculpture – some sort of horizontally slice yellow cow – that sits there. No, it is the vibrant yellow colour scheme that will first catch your eye.
How and when did this property acquire such a visually distinctive facade? And, more importantly, what of its wines? For many years under the management of a branch of the Tesseron family, the same family that propelled Château Pontet-Canet to stardom, the quality of the wines made here climbed, perhaps not to the same level of its Pauillac half-sibling, but it was an undeniable ascent all the same. And then there were wobbles, as the property went into organics, and then out again. Today, however, the Tesseron era is at an end, and the property has a new owner and a revitalised team. And organic viticulture is back on the menu.
In this profile I provide information on its current proprietor, and set out to answer some of the questions I have asked in this opening paragraphs. First, though, I kick off in my customary manner with some detail on the history of the estate and its origins which are, in this case, complex and somewhat convoluted.
