Baron James de Rothschild (1792-1868) purchased Château Lafite, one of the four great premier cru estates of France in summer 1868, but sadly died in November of the same year. After the Second World War, Baron Elie de Rothschild (1917-2007) led a programme to restore the vineyard.
From 1974 until 2018, Château Lafite was under the direction of Baron Eric de Rothschild who took a keener look at Lafite and its commercial possibilities. The result was a reorganised winemaking group, operating as Domaines Barons de Rothschild, under the control of Lafite. In South America, Les Domaines Barons de Rothschild took the bold step in 1988 of acquiring a 2000 hectares estate, VinalosVascos, in the Mount Caneten Valley close to the Chilean coast. This venture was followed up in 2001 by the announcement of a joint venture with Nicolas Catena, creator of a flagship winery in Mendoza, to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec blend near Godoy Cruz in Mendoza from grapes sourced from several Catena vineyards.
In April 2018, Baron Eric's daughter, Saskia de Rothschild became the youngest person to lead a first growth Bordeaux estate, also becoming the first female chairwomen of Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite).
