This cellar, with a capacity for 2000 casks, buried beneath the vineyards, is linked by a tunnel to the other cellars of the château. The ground plan, an octagon inscribed in a 50-m square, forms a crypt sustained by columns and illuminated by a central skylight at ground-level in the vineyard above. The slightly sloping cellar ceiling features 14-metre beams that converge in the centre. Around where the casks are stored, a raised gallery allows people to visit the cellar without disturbing the people at work below. Next to the cellar dependencies have been built for bottling, sampling and storage. The design of such elements as doors, columns, balustrades and so forth is based on variations of the octagon.
Client Château Lafite Rothschild
Total area: 4,000 sqm
Status: Built
Location: Pauillac, FR
