CorkonomicsThe economics of wine production, collection, and vineyards
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Vineyard land · Pauillac≈$2,798,250 a hectare▼ down 17% on 20232024Opening price · Château Lafite Rothschild 2025≈$376 a bottle▲ up 17% on the year beforeSold at auction · Romanée-Conti Grand Cru, DRC 2019$22,917 a bottleSotheby's, Sep 2026Cost to make one bottle · Burgundy grand cru (Pinot Noir)$48–283US duty on wine from · Canada+50%since Aug 2026Everyday bottle in a US shop$13.77 a litre▼ down 1.3% in a yearSep 2026Vineyard land · Margaux≈$1,567,020 a hectare▼ down 7% on 20232024Opening price · Château Cheval Blanc 2025≈$376 a bottle▲ up 22% on the year beforeSold at auction · La Tâche Grand Cru, DRC 2018$5,417 a bottleSotheby's, Sep 2026Cost to make one bottle · Champagne prestige cuvée$26–89US duty on wine from · Australia+12.5%since Jul 2026Vineyard land · Côte-Rôtie≈$1,511,055 a hectare▲ up 8% on 20232024Opening price · Château Mouton Rothschild 2025≈$336 a bottle▲ up 19% on the year beforeSold at auction · Richebourg Grand Cru, DRC 2012$3,542 a bottleSotheby's, Sep 2026Cost to make one bottle · Bordeaux classified growth (2nd–5th)$17–61US duty on wine from · New Zealand+12.5%since Jul 2026Vineyard land · Côte de Nuits grand cru≈$7,275,450 a hectare2019Opening price · Château Palmer 2025≈$268 a bottle▼ down 19% on the year beforeVineyard land · Pomerol≈$2,238,600 a hectare2023
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Château Lafite Rothschild

The grand vin of Lafite: the most traded first growth of the 2000s and the wine that defined the Bordeaux bubble and its collapse.

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Château Lafite Rothschild, Bordeaux
Jordi Muray · Adobe Stock · Adobe Stock Standard License

Château Lafite Rothschild's grand vin is a Cabernet-led Pauillac aged 18–20 months in new oak. Production is not published; trade reporting has long put it at 15,000–20,000 cases. It sells en primeur through the Place de Bordeaux and is the reference wine for Bordeaux liquidity: every vintage of the last forty years trades continuously at auction and through merchants.

Made by
Château Lafite Rothschild
From
Pauillac, Bordeaux
Style
RedCabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot
Bottles made in a typical year
210K
The kind of wine

Bordeaux first growth

A red from one of the five top-ranked estates of Bordeaux. Every barrel is new, the grapes are picked by hand, and the wine waits more than a year and a half before bottling.

What a bottle like this costs to make

A decanter and a glass of red wine on a white tablecloth in a panelled dining room

Good years and bad

One square for each year. The darker the square, the better the weather was for the grapes. Tap a year to read about it.

202520242023202220212020201920182017201620152014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999199819971996
ExceptionalExcellentVery goodGoodMixedDifficult
The essentials

Price history in outline

Lafite's 2000s were extraordinary: Chinese demand from 2005 drove prices of every vintage far above the other first growths', peaking with the 2009 and 2010 releases. The reversal from 2011 to 2015 cut the price of those vintages roughly in half in trade reporting — the largest drawdown of any first growth. Release prices since have been set closer to the market for older vintages.

Supply

Around 112 hectares of vineyard supply both the grand vin and Carruades de Lafite; the split between them is a selection decision made each vintage and is not published.

Every year in a tableHow each year was rated, and the price the producer first asked
VintageHow the year was ratedRelease priceHow rare (0–100)The growing season
2025Excellent ≈$376 31A wet winter, a very dry spring and a very hot summer, with two 'saviour rains' for…
2024Mixed ≈$322 32Weeks of battles against mildew from April to June, then a fine late season that let the…
2023Very Good ≈$443 32Rain through the spring — the estate sprayed against mildew every week in May — then two…
2022Exceptional ≈$649 32Hot, dry summer; small berries, low yields, high concentration.
2021Mixed ≈$526 33Frost, mildew and a cool summer; variable quality and small crops.
2020Excellent ≈$532 33
2019Excellent ≈$443 34
2018Excellent ≈$526 34
2017Good ≈$470 35
2016Exceptional — 35Wet spring then a dry summer; a large, balanced crop widely rated with 2009 and 2010.
2015Excellent — 35
2014Very Good — 36
2013Difficult — 36Cold wet spring, poor flowering, rot at harvest; small crops and severe selection at the…
2012Good — 37
2011Good — 37
2010Exceptional — 37Cool nights and a dry summer gave high tannin and acidity; released at prices above 2009…
2009Exceptional — 38Warm, dry, long growing season; widely described as one of the great modern vintages…
2008Very Good — 38
2007Mixed — 38
2006Very Good — 38
2005Exceptional — 38
2004Good — 39
2003Mixed — 39
2002Good — 39
2001Very Good — 39
2000Excellent — 40
1999Good — 40
1998Very Good — 40
1997Mixed — 40
1996Excellent — 40
1995Very Good — 41
1994— — 41
1993— — 41
1992— — 41
1991— — 42
1990Exceptional — 42
 Release price is what the producer first asked for a bottle. A dash means no price was published.

Find by year and rating

Release price by vintageWhat the producer asked for a bottle, year by year

Each dot is the price the producer asked for one bottle when that vintage was first offered, as reported in the trade press. A falling line is the producer cutting its opening price, usually because the previous vintage sold slowly; a rising one is confidence after a strong year.

$200$300$400$500$600$70020182019202020212022202320242025Release price · 2017-07-01 · $470Release price · 2018-07-01 · $526Release price · 2019-07-01 · $443Release price · 2020-07-01 · $532Release price · 2021-07-01 · $526Release price · 2022-07-01 · $649Release price · 2023-07-01 · $443Release price · 2024-07-01 · $322Release price · 2025-07-01 · $376$ per 75 cl bottle at first offerVintage yearVintages 2017–2025 with a reported release price · sources listed in the table above · ≈ converted to USD at the 9 Oct 2026 rate
as reported, in the currency of release, per 75 cl bottleSource: named publications, cited on each vintage page
What does this wine cost to make?Our estimate: $28–$95 a bottle

We estimate it costs about $28 to $95 to make one bottle of a wine like this. The price in the shop is far higher because the land is scarce, the name is famous, and many hands take a share on the way to you.

ComponentLowHigh
Imputed land cost$11.34$43.88
Vineyard operations$3.31$10.24
Oak barrels$0.56$1.61
Winemaking labour and cellar work$2.50$5.00
Cellar aging$1.20$2.96
Bottle, closure, label, case and bottling$4.90$13.40
Winery overhead$3.00$7.00
Financing over the aging period$1.61$10.89
Estimated winery production cost$28.42$94.98
 One standard bottle, at the winery door. Built in US dollars and shown in your chosen currency.

See the full breakdown

Recent auction resultsWhat bottles of this wine fetched when collectors sold them
Sale dateVintageHouse and saleFormatLot pricePer bottle
Sep 20262003Sotheby'sFinest & Rarest Wines (PF2662) · lot 23 × 75 cl≈$2,798≈$933 with premium
Sep 20262001Sotheby'sFinest & Rarest Wines (PF2662) · lot 11 × 150 cl≈$1,959≈$1,959 with premium
Jul 20262015Christie'sThe Cellar of an Obsessive Collector Part III: Online (sale 24946) · lot 41 × 75 cl≈$637≈$637 with premium
Jul 20262011Christie'sThe Cellar of an Obsessive Collector Part III: Online (sale 24946) · lot 31 × 600 cl≈$3,504≈$3,504 with premium
Jul 20262009Christie'sThe Cellar of an Obsessive Collector Part III: Online (sale 24946) · lot 21 × 600 cl≈$6,690≈$6,690 with premium
Jul 20262009Christie'sThe Cellar of an Obsessive Collector Part III: Online (sale 24946) · lot 11 × 600 cl≈$6,690≈$6,690 with premium
Jul 20261990Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 10611 × 75 cl$688$688 with premium
Jul 20261995Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 10601 × 150 cl$1,375$1,375 with premium
Jul 20261996Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 10591 × 150 cl$3,000$3,000 with premium
Jul 20262001Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 10571 × 150 cl$1,000$1,000 with premium
Jul 20262002Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 10566 × 150 cl$5,625$938 with premium
Jul 20262003Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 10552 × 75 cl$1,375$688 with premium
 Prices are in the currency of each sale. Christie’s and Sotheby’s include the buyer’s fee; Hart Davis Hart shows the price before it.

All lots on record

The detailsClassification, grapes, bottle sizes and the rest
Producer
Château Lafite Rothschild
Region
Bordeaux
Appellation
Pauillac
Classification
Premier Grand Cru Classé, 1855
Style
Red · Cabernet-led Left Bank blend, 100% new oak, 18–20 months
Grape composition
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot≈ 80–95% depending on vintage
Bottle sizes
375 · 750 · 1500 · 3000 ml
Bottles made in a typical year
210,000 bottlesNot published by the estate; The Wine Cellar Insider puts the grand vin at 15,000–20,000 cases a year — Corkonomics uses the midpoint, 17,500 cases (210,000 bottles)
First vintage made
1868
Great years
13 of 32 rated excellent or exceptional

Comparable wines

Compare →

Wines from the same appellation or region that collectors weigh against this one.

Château Latour, Pauillac, Bordeaux

Château Latour

The grand vin from the Enclos — 47 hectares around the château — released only when the estate judges it ready since it left en primeur with the 2011 vintage.
Château Lynch-Bages

Château Lynch-Bages

The fifth growth with the deepest secondary market below the first growths — large production, every vintage traded.
Château Mouton Rothschild

Château Mouton Rothschild

The artist-label first growth: the largest grand vin production among the five, and a collectible market that prices the label as well as the wine.

Sources

  1. Château Lafite Rothschild — producer profile, The Wine Cellar Insider, 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2026. typical annual production
  2. Château Lafite Rothschild — the vineyard, 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  3. 1855 classification, Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855, 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
Last reviewed: September 2026Report an error on this page