Château Lafon-Rochet: Vineyards
The vineyard in the 1960s comprised just 15 hectares of Merlot, so it is perhaps not surprising that the reputation of the wines had floundered. With a suitable program of planting the vineyard was expanded to nearly three times this size. Today there are 41 hectares of vineyards here, of which the vast majority surrounds the château. These vineyards sit on a gravel plateau which they share with the vineyards of near neighbours Château Cos d’Estournel and Château Cos Labory, both of which lie to the north-east. To the north-west sits Château Lilian-Ladouys, the first property in Bordeaux that was acquired by Jacky Lorenzetti. It is also worth noting that Château Lafite-Rothschild has 4.5 hectares of vines in St Estèphe, in a parcel adjacent to the vines of Château Lafon-Rochet.
To the south there is a marshy drainage ditch, the Jalle de Breuil, which separates the vineyards of St Estèphe from those of Pauillac. Meanwhile, further west, beyond a patch of woodland, are the vines and estates of the Haut-Médoc appellation; one notable property here is Château Larrivaux, owned and run by Bérangère Tesseron, Basile’s wife.
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