The chai circulaire at Château Lafite Rothschild. Photograph: Chris Floyd
Château Lafite Rothschild has a storied history, but the women running it are decidedly future-focused, says Sarah Adwalpalkar. Here, she reports from a day on the ground at this Pauillac First Growth.
It’s an early spring morning in March 2023 and we’re rolling through the gates of Château Lafite Rothschild. The sun glints off the château’s weathervane, which bears the Rothschild family’s five-arrow symbol. I’m with noted photographer Chris Floyd and his crew (and no fewer than 10 bags of equipment). We’re just weeks away from the launch of Bordeaux 2022 En Primeur, and we’re here to meet some of the women running this renowned First Growth.
Lafite is the jewel in the crown of the Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) group, the family portfolio of wineries that also includes nearby Ch. Duhart-Milon, Ch. L’Evangile in Pomerol and Ch. Rieussec in Sauternes – along with famed estates in the South of France, Argentina, Chile and China.
First impressions
As we arrive at Lafite, I’m struck by its quiet industrialism rather than its grandeur: groups of workers, mainly female, tend the vines; renovations are underway ahead of the upcoming En Primeur season.
We first meet with Manuela Brando, a self-effacing Columbian who oversees research and development here. She has been
This Article was originally published on Barry's Wine Blog
