Baron Guy de Rothschild, a lifelong banker linked to Bordeaux chateaux Lafite and Mouton Rothschild, died in Paris on Tuesday.
Born in Paris in 1909, Guy de Rothschild was the son of Baron Edouard de Rothschild.
Guy’s great-grandfather James bought Lafite in 1868. He established the family’s French branch but soon after the purchase of the chateau he died, leaving it to his three sons.
Guy inherited Lafite in 1946 along with Alain, Elie and Edmond de Rothschild. Elie oversaw the estate’s recovery from the damaging effects of World War II.
In 1974, Baron Eric de Rothschild, Elie’s nephew, became manager of Domaines Barons de Rothschild. He was part of the fifth generation to inherit Lafite, along with Barons David, Edouard, Robert, Nathaniel and Benjamin.
What in 1990 became Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA, with multiple holdings, originated in 1853 when Nathaniel, who founded the family’s English branch, bought Chateau Brane-Mouton, renaming it Mouton-Rothschild.
Lafite was often poured at Guy’s country home near Paris, the Château de Ferrieres, and its successor, Hotel Lambert, on the Île St. Louis, in the Seine, where France’s elite were common guests.
Written by Howard G Goldberg in New York
