Wine 101: Château Lafite Rothschild Part I: A Mound in the Marsh

Much like the tale of Château Haut-Brion, Château Lafite Rothschild’s story begins with a mound of earth. Thirteenth-century Médoc — a subregion on the western side of Bordeaux — was entirely marshland with a nearly unnavigable topography of water, reeds, and mounds of gravel. While other areas of Bordeaux were being built up by wealthy families, land in the Médoc was largely owned by monasteries and abbeys, and they would plant grapevines there to make wine for religious purposes.

A powerful cleric named Gombaud gained renown in the region for owning one of the mounds in Médoc, and as such, was christened with the name “Gombaud de Lafite.” In the old Occitan language that was spoken in southwestern France, lafite means “small hill.” The spot itself eventually became known as “Lafite,” as did the vineyard planted there.

Today on “Wine 101,” Keith lays the groundwork for the story of Château Lafite Rothschild. He begins with the property’s religious origins and explains how ownership of the land eventually shifted to French royalty and aristocracy.

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“Wine 101” was produced, recorded, and edited by yours truly, Keith Beavers, at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big old shout-out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin for creating VinePair. Also, Darby Cicci for the theme song. And I want to thank the entire VinePair staff for helping me learn something new every day. See you next week.

*Image retrieved from Château Lafite Rothschild

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