Chateau Lagrange 2020
- JD
- WE
- D
- WW
- JS
- WS
- RP
- V
- RP
- D
- JS
- JD
- RP
- JS
- V
- JD
- D
- D
- WE
- RP
- JD
- JS
- WS
- JD
- RP
- D
- WE
- JS
- WS
- WE
- RP
- JD
- JS
- WS
- D
- RP
- D
- WW
- JS
- JD
- WS
- WE
- WE
- JS
- RP
- D
- JD
- WS
- WE
- JS
- V
- RP
- D
- WE
- JS
- WW
- WE
- JS
- JS
- D
- W&S
- WE
- WS
- RP
- WE
- JS
- WS
- W&S
- RP
- WS
- W&S
- WS
- RP
- WE
- WS
- WS
- RP
- RP
- WS
- RP
- WS
- RP
- WS
Winemaker Notes
The 2020 is a vintage of contrasts, a vine grower's vintage. They harvested the smallest crop in 30 years. The extraordinary freshness in this wine, produced the hottest vintage in modern history, is real proof of the buffer effect of their terroir. The precision of the fruit transpires with lovely notes of black cherry, black currant, and licorice. The tense tannic structure is reminiscent of the great 2010, with a more creamy, smoother mid-palate. A truly classic vintage that will be enjoyable earlier yet maintain a remarkable aging potential. A focused, finely tuned expressive wine showing great purity.
Blend 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesComing from depressingly low yields of just 26 hectoliters per hectare (the lowest since 1991), the 2020 Chateau Lagrange checks in as 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot that was raised in 60% new French oak. It's a gorgeous, complete Saint-Julien offering remarkable purity in its cassis, violets, chocolate, and leafy tobacco-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, with terrific balance, a pure, focused mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and beautifully integrated oak, it's going to benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and cruise over the following 2+ decades in cold cellar. Best After 2027.
Rating: 95+
Barrel Sample: 92-94
Barrel Sample: 93
Dark fruits with a spicy character and licorice, dark chocolate and black olives. Some wet earth, too. Medium-bodied, polished and textured with fine-grained tannins and a juicy fruit core underneath. Flavorful and attractive with a creamy finish.
Very sleek, with a racy iron edge driving through in lockstep with cassis and cherry coulis flavors. Reveals a subtle black tea accent on the finish, with the minerality eventually holding center stage. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.
The 2020 Lagrange (Pomerol) wafts from the glass with aromas of sweet berries, cherries, loamy soil and new oak, followed by a medium to full-bodied, velvety and fleshy palate with a gourmand core of fruit framed by powder tannins that assert themselves on the finish. Best after 2025.
Grapes have been grown at Chateau Lagrange, St.-Julien, for over 600 years. Third Growth in the Classification of 1855, its vineyard stretches over two Gunzian gravel slopes where the highest point of Saint-Julien thrones on the beautiful estate. It was acquired in 1983 by Suntory, the family Japanese wine and spirits conglomerate, which has spared no effort or expense in extensively replanting and renovating the estate. The property is planted with 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. An uncompromising quest for excellence, such is the philosophy here. For several decades now the exceptional terroir has inspired a unique approach where precision and innovation are paramount. Today, Chateau Lagrange is under the direction of winemaker Matthieu Bordes since 2013.