Chateau Lafon-Rochet

Château Lafon-Rochet is a 4ème Cru Classé St-Estèphe estate. It was under the ownership for the Tesseron family from 1960 until 2021. The property had been neglected and Guy Tesseron extensively replanted, as well as building a completely new château in "chartreuse" style.

In 2021, Château Lafon-Rochet was acquired by the Lorenzetti family. It joins another trio of Bordeaux estates in the Vignobles Cruse-Lorenzetti portfolio: Châteaux d'Issan, Pédesclaux, and Lilian Ladouys. After a 24-year stint at neighbouring estate Château Lafite-Rothschild, Christophe Congé is now the Managing Director at Château Lafon-Rochet.

Lafon-Rochet's vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon 56%, Merlot 40%, Cabernet Franc 4%) lie on clay-gravel soils and are superbly sited in the south of the commune opposite Château Lafite. The wines are matured in oak barriques (40% new) for 18 months.

Although historically viewed as excessively tannic, improved viticultural techniques and a greater percentage of Merlot in the final blend has led to purer expressions of fruit and the wines being generally more supple and elegant. Lafon-Rochet needs at least 10 years of bottle ageing to show at its best.