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Chateau Lafon-Rochet

The origins of Lafon-Rochet date back to the 16th century, when the land here was part of a vast estate, the Fief de la Vallée Roussillon, which came into the ownership of Janot Bernard de Leyssac in 1557. Janot was a wealthy merchant, and he proceeded to enlarge his estate with the purchase of a number of adjacent plots, thus setting the scene for the creation of Lafon-Rochet as we known it today. He bequeathed his impressive estate to his daughter Françoise, who subsequently went onto marry Hellies de Lahaye in the latter years of the century. The two established themselves as proprietors of the estate and cared for it for many years. Françoise survived her husband, who died in 1593, and went on to partition the estate between her children. One part of the estate, commonly referred to as Rochet because of the rocky soils that existed there, was ceded to her daughter, Adrianne de Lahaye. She married Charles de Guillamotes and the estate subsequently passed to Etienne de Lafon, a local parliamentarian of some standing, when he married their daughter, Antoine de Guillamotes. This was the beginning of Lafon-Rochet.

Following Antoine's death she had intended the estate be returned to her family, as the couple had no heir, but perhaps unsurprisingly this process led to a legal struggle for control of the land. The result was that it was partitioned even further, and Etienne was left with an even smaller plot. Nevertheless, it was precisely this plot that became the Lafon-Rochet of today, and it was Etienne that bears most responsibility for establishing the vineyard. He was an absentee landlord, preferring to remain in Bordeaux, but he appointed a manager named Pierre Delage who purloined nearby land to increase the area of the estate, and who planted vines. Meanwhile, Etienne married again, and his son from this union, Pierre, inherited the estate in 1720. The estate remained with the Lafon family for much of the century, coming to his widow and one of his many sons, Jean Lafon, when Pierre died. Jean took on the name of Jean Lafon-Rochet, and maintained control of the estate during the years of the Revolution, being insufficiently noble to catch the attention of the new citizens of France.

Jean Lafon-Rochet had three brothers, and as the 18th century drew to a close, and the turbulent dust of the Revolution was settling, the four decided to divide up their estate once more. The major part of the estate, where the chateau and outbuildings were situated, came to Joseph and Arnaud. The latter subsequently ceded his part to Joseph, who thus became the proprietor of Lafon-Rochet during the early years of the 19th century. He died not many years later, in 1810, and bequeathed the property to his wife, Anne Paignon, who was independently wealthy herself. She maintained control of the vineyard before, in 1824, passing control to her entire estate, of which Lafon-Rochet was just part, to her own children. The vineyard in question, having contracted somewhat under her tenure, was passed to her fils aîné, Louis Arnaud Blaise Lafon de Camarsac. Together he and his wife, Marie-Chevalier Pages, set about establishing the vineyard once more, with considerable success, although only as a result of many decades of tiresome work. It was thanks to their efforts that the wine was a success, and sold well at a decent price, sufficient to see the estate ranked as a quatrième cru in the 1855 classification. Upon the death of Louis Arnaud, the estate remained in the ownership of Marie-Chevalier and their son, Pierre Alcide, with the former holding a two-thirds majority. Pierre was little interested in viticulture and wine, preferring instead to study art in Paris, and so it was perhaps a wise move by Marie-Chevalier to bequeath the majority of her portion, upon her death in 1888, to her granddaughter Lucie, such that she owned the majority stake in the family business. The estate went from strength to strength, and were it not for the usual litany of vineyard disasters, namely oidium and phylloxera, this situation may well have continued. But as it was the two were forced to sell the property in 1895, and this the ownership of Lafon-Rochet by the descendents of Etienne Lafon came to an end.

The new owner was Frederic Audon, who acquired the property including its 26 hectare vineyard, and with some suitable investment it was once more a productive and fruitful venture. It remained with Audon until 1924, when due to his divorce from Marie Madeleine Lucie Buttura, the property was sold to Marcel Ricard and his wife Catherine Marguerite Eyssand. Catherine subsequently died, but her family held onto the estate for a few years, before also selling it on in 1938, this time to Elie and Berthe Nafrechoux, who passed it on two years later to Charles Louis Duquenoy–Legry, a French brewer. Like Etienne Rochet before him, Duquenoy–Legry was an absentee landlord, entrusting the running of the estate to a Fernand Revon. It is not an uncommon story for the 20th century in Bordeaux. War and depression, a lack of demand for the wine, a rapid succession of disillusioned proprietors and a lack of investment. The vineyards shrank, production fell, and by the middle years of the century it was in a sorry state. At this point it was purchased by the current owners, the Tesseron family. Guy Tesseron was from a Chanterais family, farmers and landlords, who specialised in the production, blending and selling of Cognac. His move to Bordeaux was motivated by several events, firstly the award of unique distillation rights to his competitors which left Tesseron disadvantaged and, secondly, his marriage to Nicole Cruse, of the Cruse dynasty who owned d'Issan. His acquisition of Lafon-Rochet brought him some untidy vineyards and a collection of derelict buildings. Remarkably, the latter he dealt with by demolition, replacing it with a newly constructed edifice in the 18th century chartreuse style. Today the chateau is notable for having been painted a vibrant yellow hue, matching the newly designed labels and capsules on the bottles. In 1975 he subsequently acquired Pontet-Canet, which the Cruse family could no longer maintain following the Bordeaux scandal of the early 1970s. Both chateaux subsequently passed to the next generation with Lafon-Rochet coming to Michel Tesseron. Michel had cut his teeth first working in Cognac, then in Bordeaux for Barton & Guestier, and for the négociants Chantecaille, before joining the family business in 1987.

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 expanded to cover the 41 hectares that they do today, on soils of Quaternary gravel which typically consists of a mix of quartz, flint, volcanic lydianite, millstone grit, sand and clay over a calcareous bedrock. The vines are 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, with an average age of 30 years, and planted at a density of up to 9200 vines/ha. The rows are co-planted with grass in many instances, and treatments are limited to those absolutely necessary, although when chemical sprays are required Tesseron does not hesitate to put them into use. The harvest of the fruit is by hand with the eventual yield in the order of 50 hl/ha, and it goes over two sorting tables before fermentation, kick-started using cultured yeast, in stainless steel controlled to a maximum temperature of 30ºC, with pumping over to submerge the cap as required. The whole process occurs in a state of the art cellar, equipped in 2000. Subsequently the wine is macerated for up to two weeks, before malolactic in tank and barrel, prior to ageing the entire crop in oak barrels, half of which are new each vintage, for up to twenty months. The wine is bottled following fining with a light filtration. The grand vin is Chateau Lafon-Rochet, (typically 11000 cases per annum), the second wine, once known as Numéro 2 de Lafon-Rochet now goes under the name of Pélerins de Lafon-Rochet and is produced in similar quantities.

I think Lafon-Rochet produces, certainly from the 1990s onwards, good value wines with plenty of structure, flavour and appeal. It does not rival its near neighbours Cos d'Estournel and Lafite Rothschild (in Pauillac on the other side of the Jalle du Breuil) in terms of sheer quality, despite being located on the same gravel mound as the former. But this is perhaps not surprising, and we should not judge the property against such Bordeaux greats. Lafon-Rochet today offers excellent value for money (in recent vintages at least) for those that enjoy the firm style that is typical of St Estèphe. It seems to perform very consistently, putting on a good show in vintages as diverse as 1996, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Today Lafon-Rochet is once more an estate to look out for. (21/10/03, updated 23/5/07)

Contact details:
Address: Chateau Lafon-Rochet, 33180 St Estèphe
Telephone: +33 (0) 5 56 59 32 06
Fax +33 (0) 5 56 59 72 43
Internet: www.lafon-rochet.com

Chateau Lafon-Rochet - Tasting Notes

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Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 2009: This wine has a vibrant appearance, with a bluish rim. The nose shows a grainy layer of alcohol above the fruit. And the palate follows in the same vein, showing lots of heat and alcohol here too. Underneath it all there is some supple fruit, but the wine has a huge extraction, the squishy fruit slowly disappearing beneath a massive sea of tannins. The soft acidity doesn't help. Not a great showing, but that's not unusual in the commune in this vintage. From my 2009 Bordeaux primeur assessment. 14-15/20 (March 2010)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 2008: A meaty and rather farmyardy nose here, with a little vegetal edge. Fairly big and structured on the palate, with good texture. The fruit character mirrors that presented on the nose. Not a strong effort here. From my 2008 Bordeaux primeur assessment. 14.5-15.5+/20 (April 2009)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 2007: Not very expressive on the nose here, hot fruit and gravel presented in a very subtle, distant style. A hard structure, no generosity here, ungiving and quite lean in terms of fruit. A touch of bitterness through the midpalate too. Not a great success. From a tasting of 2007 Bordeaux at two years of age. 13.5+/20 (October 2009)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 2007: This has an unusual character on the nose, nutty and gamey. There is some spiced, rather plummy fruit, but no flesh or flattery through the midpalate, This is very firm, overtly St Estèphe in style, and shows a very bare, hard structure through the midpalate. Hard, aggressive grip, and a sweet and gritty finish. A difficult wine. From my 2007 Bordeaux en primeur assessment. 13.5-14.5+/20 (April 2008)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 2006: A dry and oaky edge to the nose here, alongside dark, sweet cherry fruit. It has a nicely bright palate, which possesses a good tannic backbone well covered by blackberry fruit. Slightly austere structure through the midpalate, a serious style of wine with a lot of grip. Nevertheless it has a good composition. From a tasting of 2006 Bordeaux at two years of age. 16+/20 (October 2008)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 2006: A nice nose here, quite complex, with a good depth of fruit. Attractive palate, rounded, textured, some good flesh to cover the tannins. Decent acidity. This has good character and is an interesting wine. From my 2006 Bordeaux assessment. 16-17/20 (April 2007)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 2005: Sweet and aromatic fruit, bright, gravelly, lifted, vibrant but not confected. Red fruit character, with notes of chalky redcurrant. Nice texture, supple weight and firm tannins at the core. A very well composed palate, a good presence in keeping with the seam of tannins beneath, and nicely firm acidity. A little gravelly, not really exciting but this is certainly very typical of the appellation, of good quality and very likely to give some very rewarding drinking in the future I would think. From a 2005 Bordeaux tasting at four years of age. 17+/20 (November 2009)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 2005: This has a lovely, characterful, smoky nose full of dense, pure fruit. The palate is dark and extracted, and has a rather chunky style. There are piles of extract which dominate the palate, and the acidity is shifted a little towards the low side. It has a good density, but a very big, chewy, warm vintage style which may hold this back from greatness. From my tasting of 2005 Bordeaux at two years of age. 16+/20 (October 2007)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 2005: A vibrant red-purple hue with, with a blue rim. There is a lot of toffee-oak on the nose here, with sweet, rather damsony fruit, and yet it maintains an appealing freshness. Full and grippy palate, showing plenty of ripe and rather soft tannin, although all smothered in jammy damsons. Not the finest example of Lafon-Rochet, but close in quality to the 2003. Good. From my 2005 Bordeaux en primeur tasting. 16-17/20 (April 2006)

Chateau Lafon Rochet (St Estèphe) 2004: Youthful and spicy fruit, with toasted oak, with little smoky and minerally elements. Supple start on the palate, gentle, moderate weight although it does have a little fat in the midpalate, and nice texture and grip too. Rather firmly structured, but overall a good character, nice flesh and spicy fruit finish. Good. From a 2004 Bordeaux tasting at four years of age. 16+/20 (November 2008)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 2004: Rather reserved on the nose, but there are faint echoes of black fruits backed by a little oak; this is just rather closed down today. Rather a middleweight on the palate, very well put together, a balanced tannic structure, nicely covered in a well textured layer of fruit. Grippy finish with notes of blackberries. This is good. From my 2004 Bordeaux assessment. 16+/20 (October 2006)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 2003: Another chance to try this wine. An impressive nose, with a lovely, deep presence of fruit. Ripe and deep and concentrated on the palate, yet still very firm, with a slightly hard, core of tannin. But there is a great presence of fruit which is more than a match for it, it seems. This has fine potential indeed. 16.5+/20 (April 2007)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 2003: A really deep, glossy colour here. Rich and intense on the nose, with ripe fruit in abundance, with a floral, slightly exotic, pickling spice note. Ripe, supple entry, although this favourable impression fades a little through the midpalate, although it maintains a healthy presence of super-ripe fruit and succulent texture. Piles of tannins, quite an exposed unknit structure, but I think there is the fruit and substance to cope with this in the cellar. Very good potential. From my 2003 Bordeaux assessment. 16.5+/20 (October 2005)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 2000: A new label and matching capsule for the 2000 vintage. This is a dense, glossy, youthful looking wine, with a very expressive nose, throwing out aromas of coffee, chocolate, exotic spices and sweet fruit pastilles. This all says 2000 to me. The palate is full, sweet and rich. There is a good structure although the tannins do not dominate, and only make a strong showing on the finish. It is big, dense, and packed with fruit and creamy texture, although still with a St Estèphe hardness. Balanced. 17.5+/20 (October 2003)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 1998: From half bottles. Nice colour, and an interesting nose; a slightly burnt character, a little edge of green, but with some nice slightly toffee-toned fruit. Mature, slightly treacly character. Savoury blackcurrant fruit and black olives as well. It has a lovely full character, full and complete, with good substance. It has lots of grip, is dry but textured, and possesses a tannic and grippy finish. There is a little length too. This is good. From a tasting of 1998 Bordeaux. 16.5/20 (August 2008)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 1998: From half-bottles. This wine demonstrated a little maturity in colour. Like the 1996 this wine displays some exotic black olive notes, with sweet black fruit, but with a more elegant air. The palate is rounded, very dry, with great structure in evidence. Although it has just a little less tannin than the 1996 (just), with a hard character typical of St Estèphe, this is balanced out by a sweet wealth of fruit. This youthful wine has a good length and potential. 16.5+/20 (October 2003)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 1996: Young, but well priced compared with many more illustrious names on the list, and I've always enjoyed the 1996s, even in their youth, for the classic, left-bank Cabernet character that they show. This was no disappointment. Decanted shortly before dining. Full colour, classic stony black fruit nose, and a surprisingly full, ripe, almost creamy texture. Very well poised though, still some youthful fruit, but a nice backbone of approachable tannins, and a lovely, hard and stony St Estèphe character to it. This has moved on somewhat in the last three years, but will still benefit from cellar time. Very good. Tasted at Number One. 17.5+/20 (March 2006)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 1996: A youthful hue. I thought this an open, expressive wine, with exotic notes of black olive and Asian spices, although others were less taken. More tannin than the 1995 on the palate, but matched by a good texture, medium body, firm sweet fruit and correct acidity. The tannins win on the finish though. A lovely, altogether wine which needs time in the cellar. 17.5+/20 (October 2003)

Chateau Lafon-Rochet (St Estèphe) 1995: From half-bottles. The most mature colour of the four wines tasted gives some clue as to the age. The nose is classic although quite dense. It starts off with a touch of sweet fruits and some notes of oak, but opens out to reveal vegetal notes of arriving maturity. On the palate it is rounded, a touch grippy, with a little unresolved tannin, although overall it has a loose, open-knit feel to it. Low to moderate acidity. At present seems poorly integrated and awkward – “muddy” is a description that comes to mind – like some other 1995s I have tasted recently. 16+/20 (October 2003)