Chateau Lagrange
Saint-Julien is the smallest of Médoc's four communal appellations, and Château Lagrange, located to its west, extends in one single block. Although vines have been cultivated here since the early 16th century, the wine enjoyed today is the result of a major revitalization effort undertaken by its Japanese owners, who acquired the property in 1983 and made substantial investments in the château, cellars, and vineyards.
Cabernet Sauvignon leads the Grand Vin, supported by Merlot and Petit Verdot, and the wine is aged in oak barrels for 21 months. Although red wine is the flagship product, Lagrange also produces white wine under the Bordeaux appellation. Thanks to the gardens, forests, and a lake surrounding the vineyards, the estate exudes the atmosphere of a park as well as a winery.
The history
Since the first grapevines were planted at Lagrange in the early 16th century, this estate preserves approximately four centuries of Médoc's history, predating modern changes. In the 1855 classification, it was designated as Third Growth, a classification that has remained unchanged ever since.
However, the estate's fortunes took a turn. In the early 1960s, the estate faced financial difficulties, and as a result, white wine production was halted. Château Lagrange completely ceased white wine production to focus on red wines.
Then, in 1983, Suntory, the Japanese wine and spirits corporation, acquired the vineyard and, according to reports at the time, invested a massive sum, approximately $40 million, to renovate the château and winemaking facilities. Marcel Ducasse joined as director immediately after the acquisition.
Since then, ownership has remained Japanese. And Château Lagrange is quite straightforward about that period: the uncompromising pursuit of quality began in 1983.
One single block, and forty hectares of park
Château Lagrange's vineyard lies in a single block on the western edge of Saint-Julien, not a patchwork of plots scattered across the commune. Around it sit forty hectares of gardens and woodland, plus a lake, which is why the estate reads as parkland from the road.
Work is organised parcel by parcel, and the oldest vines on the property are set aside for the grand vin.
Not every corner of the vineyard suited blue grapes. One four-hectare section never reached good ripeness for them, so rather than rip it out the estate T-budded it over to white varieties. T-budding is a field graft: the variety is switched on the existing trunk, which avoids the three or four years of lost production that a full replant costs.
A small appellation, crowded with classified growths
Although Saint-Julien accounts for only 6% of the Médoc terroir and is the smallest of the four communal appellations, it has an astonishingly high concentration of Grand Cru-level wines. This area is regarded as the heart of Médoc, and Château Lagrange is situated right within that small area.
This winery emphasizes continuity. The terroir cultivated here since 1855 has remained unchanged. The only variable is precision; rather than altering the structure of the vineyards, the winery focuses on maximizing the potential of each plot and each vintage.
Three blue grape varieties, three whites
Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the Grand Vin of Château Lagrange, and there are two varieties that support this:
- Cabernet Sauvignon: Always accounts for the largest proportion
- Merlot: Fills the middle portion
- Petit Verdot: Included in small quantities
The exact proportions vary by vintage. For example, the 2015 vintage blend consisted of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 8% Petit Verdot.
For white wines, this winery uses the Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and Muscadelle varieties. When production resumed in the late 1990s, the blend consisted of 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Sémillon, and 10% Muscadelle.
The winemaking
Balance, power, and precision, this is Château Lagrange's take on Grand Vin. The wine is aged in oak barrels for 21 months, with half of the barrels replaced with new ones each year. The grapes are harvested from the winery's oldest vines.
In terms of style, this wine makes a bold first impression but gradually softens; its nuanced flavors are designed to unfold slowly over years, not just months.
White wines are handled differently. Fermentation takes place in oak barrels (half of which are new), followed by 11 months of barrel aging and 6 months of bottle aging before release.
Following tradition where it works and adopting new methods where they help: this is roughly how the winery has described its approach since its major overhaul in the 1980s.
The wines
Château Lagrange, the grand vin, is a Third Classified Growth. It is a red wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon-led grapes harvested from the winery's oldest vineyard.
In addition, this winery produces a second wine, Les Fiefs de Lagrange.
There is also the white wine Les Arums de Lagrange, which has resumed production after more than three decades. This wine is simply labeled as Bordeaux, which is the standard designation for white wines grown in the Médoc region. This is because the region's communal appellation applies only to red wines. The name is derived from the arum (calla lily) that grows around the château, and it also alludes to the word arôme, which means fragrance in the French language.
