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Château Lafon-Rochet 2014

It is not every day – or even every year – that a château listed in the 1855 Classification of the Médoc changes hands, and consequently it is quite newsworthy when it does. The most recent to go through this upheaval was none other than Château Lafon-Rochet, back in 2021. The fact that the incumbent proprietor Basile Tesseron, who I had visited at the property several times, had been doing such a great job only served to amplify the sense of surprise at the property changing hands.

The truth is though, the ownership of a Bordeaux château can be complicated, and sometimes there are many family members involved, each one claiming a slice of the pie. While they are all content to work together, or let one of their number take on the responsibility while the rest kick back (and presumably reap some reward), all might remain well. But if a persuasive investor comes waving a cheque book (thinking of a certain famous property in Sauternes), or one of the family members decides they need a larger slice of the pie, maybe a slice sufficiently large to give them complete control (thinking of a certain famous property in St Emilion) or if one member of the clan decides to sell, and the rest can’t afford to buy them out (which is what happened here at Château Lafon-Rochet), then the period of ownership can come to an abrupt end.

As detailed in my profile of the estate in 1960, ownership of Château Lafon-Rochet shifted from the exotically named Charles Louis Duquenoy-Legry, who made his money in brewing, to the Tesseron family. The Tesserons also came from outside the wine world, in their case Cognac. It was Guy Tesseron who handed over the cash, responsibility coming first to his son Michel Tesseron, and subsequently to his grandson Basile Tesseron (there is obviously a lot more to it to that, but I will direct you to my profile for more detail).

Château Lafon-Rochet 2014

Basile Tesseron was a hands-on winemaker at heart. When his technical director resigned, rather than hiring a replacement Basile decided to take on the responsibility himself. And when he parted company with his consultant, in his stead he hired Jean-Claude Berrouet, previously of Petrus, perhaps giving us a hint of the direction in which he wished to take the estate. He was also not afraid of swimming against the tide, switching to organic viticulture in 2008, and then – unusually – back to conventional viticulture in 2018. He made the move because of concerns about the build up of the heavy metal copper in the soil, copper sulphate being a mainstay of organic viticulture. I admired his commitment to the vineyard and estate, and to his bravery in making these sorts of decisions.

Sadly, however, not that long ago an aunt – Michel Tesseron’s sister – who had a stake in the property decided the time was right to cash in (or should that be cash out?). Presumably none of the other Tesserons could afford to buy her out (these classed growth pies are expensive, even by the slice), which meant that the property was essentially up for sale. In 2021 it was acquired by Jacky Lorenzetti.

Jacky was already the owner or had a stake in a number of other noteworthy properties, including Château d’Issan in Margaux, Château Pédesclaux in Pauillac (both properties classified in 1855) and Château Lilian Ladouys, a high-ranking Cru Bourgeois property (elevated to Exceptionnel status in 2020) in St Estèphe. The addition of Château Lafon-Rochet to his portfolio was something of a Bordeaux coup de grace. And change soon followed. Having decided it would be too much for the talented Vincent Bache-Gabrielsen to take on – he already had his hands full with Pédesclaux and Lilian Ladouys – he hired Christophe Congé, previously the oenologue at Château Lafite-Rothschild, to take over the running of the estate. And this was followed by the announcement that the vineyards would be switching back to organic viticulture, perhaps not a surprise after several years of successful trials at Pédesclaux.

While I look forward to returning to Bordeaux in a few weeks, to retaste the 2021s from Château Lafon-Rochet and peers, I thought this weekend I would pull the cork on the 2014 Château Lafon-Rochet. This is a vintage that the wine trade seemed to love on release, although I have always had rather muted feelings for it, so it will be interesting to see how these wines turn out as they approach maturity; consider this note a precursor to a more extensive review of the 2014s at ten years of age, next year. Right now it shows a modest concentration in the glass, which to me seems to be in keeping with the character of the vintage, although it still displays a vibrant cherry-red rim. The nose is charming and scented, with nuances of white peach, raspberry and white pepper, infused with scented tobacco, balsa wood and powdered chalk. It feels cool and finely grained from the outset on the palate, with a restrained substance, elegantly formed with a very fine core of lightly powdered tannins, which leads into a perfumed, dry and lightly gripped finish. Elegant and ready to go now, at close to ten years of age, although this will undeniably improve over the next five or ten (or more) years. The alcohol declared on the label is 13.5%. 93/100 (11/12/23)

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