Description
La Chapelle de Lafon-Rochet, Saint-Estèphe Grand Vin
Grand Cru Classé. Let that sink in. Even though there are only 61 “Classified Growth” châteaux in Bordeaux’s Médoc, we often take the designation for granted. It’s an embarrassment of riches, this little peninsula in Southwest France, and we’re all a bit spoiled, snapping up pedigreed wines like this one from Château Lafon-Rochet like it’s our birthright.
Lafon-Rochet is a Fourth Growth château in Saint-Estèphe situated on the same gravelly plateau as Cos d’Estournel (Second Growth) and Cos Labory (Fifth Growth), and then there’s First Growth Lafite-Rothschild immediately to the south in Pauillac—so yes, I’m inclined to judge today’s wine by the company it keeps. But there’s more. Dig a little deeper into the story behind this modestly priced bottle and you learn of a radically transformed property in both the vineyards and newly remodeled cellar, courtesy of the long, passionate stewardship of the Tesseron family. This Cabernet-driven second wine, named for a tiny chapel on the manicured estate, is both polished and soulful, crafted with the help of famed consultant Jean-Claude Berrouet (of Pétrus fame). Everything about it is first class, save for the price, so if you want to cap off 2022 in grand style, look no further!
Like so many Bordeaux estates, Lafon-Rochet has a history going back to the 16th century, but for our purposes, it suffices to focus on Guy Tesseron’s acquisition of the property in 1960. Tesseron had enjoyed huge success in the Cognac business and began rebuilding Lafon-Rochet straight away, constructing the now-iconic manor house depicted on the label. Guy’s son, Michel, succeeded him in 1999 (eventually repainting the house a striking yellow color) and is widely respected for having taken the château’s wines to another level, replanting vineyards and isolating different blocks for micro-vinifications. Michel’s son, Basile, came aboard in 2007 and initiated a conversion to organic viticulture (although they didn’t apply for certification), and the pair completed a spectacular, architect-designed renovation of the winery in 2015. In an article for Decanter in 2016, writer Jane Anson mused as to whether Lafon-Rochet was “one of the [1855] Classification’s most improved estates.”
The Lafon-Rochet vineyards, totaling about 40 hectares in a single block, are toward the southern end of Saint-Estèphe in soils of deep gravel over clay and some limestone. The Tesserons found some pockets of dense blue clay, the type found in Pomerol, which encouraged them to plant a little more Merlot and increase the percentage of Merlot in their blends. Bringing on a famous “Right Bank” in Berrouet was widely remarked upon at the time, but there was no arguing with the results: The La Chapelle bottling, driven by 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, is still Left Bank through and through, bearing all the markers of Cabernet from this terroir: cassis, blackcurrant, graphite, tobacco…the list goes on!
Toward the end of 2021, real-estate investor Jacky Lorenzetti and family acquired Lafon-Rochet, making it the fourth Médoc estate in their growing portfolio, which also includes Third Growth Château d’Issan in Margaux. Basile Tesseron moved on to his wife’s family’s property, Château Larrivet in the Haut-Médoc, leaving Lafon-Rochet in the hands of new director Emmanuel Cruse (co-owner of Issan).
Basile’s legacy of conscientious viticulture and careful craftsmanship is summarized beautifully in this seamless, sumptuous 2018. In the spirit of second wines, it is luscious and inviting, styled for earlier consumption, but there’s a serious streak to it as well. Shining a deep ruby in the glass, it’s starting to show more than just saturated primary fruit like blackberry, plum, and cassis—the savory side of the wine is starting to emerge, with notes of crushed gravel, dusty earth, graphite, tobacco and baking spices (it aged 15-20 months in 40% new oak). It has a huge, even rigid structure, so give it a 30-60-minute decant if enjoying a bottle now. It’ll continue to evolve until its 10th birthday and beyond, so if you’re like me, and appreciate two-digit prices for three-digit quality, stock up. This is everything you could possibly want in a Left Bank Bordeaux!
