Ch.Lafon Rochet 2009 750ml

Wine Advocate # 199 (Feb 2012)
This wine seems to be one of the few that has not yet recovered from bottling. In a somewhat monolithic, latched-down style, it has plenty of stuffing, lots of structure and an impressive dark ruby/purple color, but it is very hard to coax from the glass. It is a rather classic St.-Estephe made by the Tesseron family, with its distinctive blood orange label, but this wine seems to beg for another 5-7 years of bottle age. The final blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc has some impressive fruit, but the wine just seems slightly more clipped and narrow than I remember it from barrel. Hopefully, time will mellow out this impression. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2035.

Chateau Lafon Rochet in St. Estephe dates back to the middle of the 17th century. The estate was founded In 1650, when Antoinette de Guillemotte, brought the land of Rochette as her dowry to her husband, Pierre de Lafon. de Lafon with well-known in the region as he was a member of the Bordeaux Parliament. Shortly after they were married, following the custom of the day, the property was renamed, taking the name family name and Chateau Lafon Rochet was born.
While many Bordeaux vineyards were confiscated during the French Revolution, that did not happen to Lafon Rochet. In fact, the Left Bank estate remained the property of the same family for more than two centuries. In 1880, Madame Lafon de Camarsac died. Her death caused Lafon Rochet to drift into all changed in 1959 when the Tesseron family purchased and completely renovated Lafon Rochet from top to bottom. That began the modern era of Lafon Rochet.
Tesseron had his work cut out for him at his Medoc property. The vineyards were in poor shape. Much of the land needed to be replanted. Because the wine making facilities had also become dilapidated, Tesseron was forced to build all new wine making facilites. Even the Chateau had to be replaced!

Vegetables, Mushrooms