In the wine world, Château Lafite-Rothschild is in a category all its own. Located northwest of Bordeaux in Pauillac in the Médoc region, this ultimate wine producing region and can trace its history as far back as 1234. Owned by Gombaud de Lafite, Abbot of the Vertheuil Monastery, it was purchased in the 17th century by the Ségur family, with Jacques de Ségur credited with planting the majority of the vineyard in the late 1600s. In 1695, Jacques’s heir, Alexandre, married Marie-Therese de Clausel, the heiress of Château Latour, and the birth of their son, Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur, anchored an historic connection between Lafite and Latour for centuries to come. Nicolas-Alexandre brought his products to what were then the privileged classes of European society. The Château’s distinguished wines became known as "The King's Wine," with London being an especially captive audience. The French eventually grew to appreciate the Château’s inspired wines, and by the end of the 18th century, Lafite's reputation was untouchable. It enjoyed great buzz from international figures as well, including Thomas Jefferson, who became a lifelong enthusiast after he visited the estate in 1787. Lafite was one of four wine-producing Châteaux of Bordeaux originally awarded First Growth status in the 1855 Classification. In 1868, Baron James de Rothschild purchased the estate, which it is still run by the Rothschild family. It remains a consistent producer of the world's most expensive and revered red wines, known for their smoky richness, density and purity of dark red fruits. Nothing says elegance like “Lafite.”