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| | "It’s not often a Bordeaux first growth releases a new wine.
Indeed, you’d have to go back more than 100 years to the end of the 19th century, when Château Lafite Rothschild created its second wine – formally settling on the name 'Carruades' in the 1980s. So the unveiling of Anseillan was bound to get people talking. |
| | | | | | Not technically a ‘new wine’ as such, as the 12-hectare 'Anseillan' vineyard zone that can be used for production has been an integral part of the Lafite estate since it was purchased, along with the adjoining 16th-century hamlet of the same name (that also features on the strikingly modern label), by Baron Elie de Rothschild in 1970.
The grapes had historically been used in the blends of both Château Lafite and Carruades, and may be again, given the right conditions; however, in 2014, a blending session hinted at the possibility of a new expression of the Lafite terroir. This in turn gave birth to the project that has culminated in the first release of Anseillan [with the 2018 vintage] – coincidentally, the same year that marked 150 years of family ownership and a clear signifier that traditions are not standing still at this Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac estate.
Situated just across Bordeaux’s famous D2 ‘Château route’ road, within direct sight of Lafite’s prestigious Château building and lush grounds – and around the corner from Cos d’Estournel in the neighbouring Saint-Estèphe appellation – the Anseillan plot extends on steep, north-facing slopes reaching a peak that measures roughly the same height as both the Lafite and Carruades plateau at about 27 meters ....
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| | | Within the Anseillan land, a special 0.6ha planting program named Phare ('Lighthouse') is also underway. The area is being used to house the estate’s massal selection vines that have been painstakingly gathered from Lafite’s pre-1970 vines (propagated via cuttings from high-quality existing stock on the estate) over a five-year period ....
Ultimately, ‘we’re telling a different story with this wine’, Saskia [de Rothschild] says. ‘The [first] vintage of Anseillan is the first step for us in a project we are building for the next 50 to 100 years to come. The objective for this wine, with its accessible price, is to be shared at tables in restaurants around the world, where it has sometimes been forgotten how good it is to open a bottle of Bordeaux.’
A noble effort, and wines worth seeking out next time you see them on a list."
Georgie Hindle, Decanter Magazine |
| | ‣ "Dark chocolate and floral notes on the nose. This has an appealing density on the palate, lovely weight, with a sculpted feel to the softly chewy tannins and dark fruit. Less immediately lively, bright and accessible than the 2018 but still stylish with a sense of character. Cool blue fruits meld with mint, liquorice, flint and touches of toast. A blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in ex-Lafite barrels as well as stainless steel and cement vats." Georgie Hindle, Decanter Magazine
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