Château Lafon-Rochet

Lafon-Rochet is one to watch in St-Estèphe. It offers fine quality and excellent value thanks to its superb location and forward-thinking winemaking. The estate sits on the same gravel outcrop as Cos d’Estournel, with a core of Pomerol-esq clay, and overlooks Château Lafite. It has been owned by the Tesseron family since 1960, the same family who own Pontet Cantet. They resurrected Lafon-Rochet from a state of neglect, courtesy of several decades of changing hands and little investment. The vineyard was replanted and the château buildings demolished and rebuilt. In 2000, the château was painted in a vibrant shade of yellow, and Lafon-Rochet’s labels and packaging were updated to mark these changes. Today, Basile Tesseron is at the helm and help is on hand from ex-Pétrus winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet - Lafon-Rochet was the first property to tempt him across the Gironde Estuary. Basile has overseen a brand-new purpose built winery and an increasing focus on parcel vinification, and experimenting with organic and biodynamic farming.