Château Lagrange: Tasting & Drinking
Château Lagrange has demonstrated the success that outside investment can bring to an struggling Bordeaux château. Long gone are the days when the grand families of Bordeaux could afford to maintain both a fine old château and the extensive holding of vineyards that comes with it. There are a few exceptions, I admit, but the majority of the grander Bordeaux châteaux are now in the hands of big business conglomerates or insurance and pension companies, and many are probably the better for it. Suntory have restored this château and vineyard to something resembling its glory days, and now they are pushing quality higher with new investment.
My tasting experience with Château Lagrange stretches back to the early 1980s, but the vintages of the 1990s and 2000 onwards feature much more prominently. There are many fine wines here, with the 2000 being particularly strong. I was once a little concerned about the 2001 vintage, as in youth it seemed remarkably forward, but a much more recent tasting put any such concerns to bed. At fifteen years of age the wine was showing very well indeed, and on this one tasting occasion it even managed to eclipse the 2000.
Even more curious, however, was the 2003 vintage; when tasted at two years of age this wine seemed confected and estery; on this basis, it was one to avoid, in what was a difficult vintage for many Bordeaux properties. Retasting in late 2006, however, this seemed like a totally different wine, showing typical (not necessarily wholly admirable) characteristics of the vintage, but certainly much more palatable. Like many wines of the 2003 vintage, it has continued to pick up pace since that time. The 1996, which features in my cellar alongside the 2002 (bought for a song, I must say), is also very good, but it remained remarkably youthful when tasted in 2005. Revisiting it at twenty years of age, however, it showed very well.
Looking to younger vintages, 2005 is most impressive, although 2010 comes close. The 2011 and 2012 are fine results for the vintage in question, while 2014 starts a climb in quality which is a delight to behold. The results in 2015 and 2016 are good, but things continue to get better, with these vintages outclassed by 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022, with 2023 not far behind. Of course, along the way there were some misses as well as hits, but 2013 was a washout for everybody, and the frosts of 2017 and 2021 were not kind to these westerly vineyards (although, I have to say, the wine produced here in 2021 was pretty good, and outclasses the 2017 by a mile).
The higher level of quality achieved in these vintages is testament not just to the years themselves, but also Suntory’s investment, and the hard work of Matthieu Bordes and his team. Château Lagrange is a domaine worth knowing, because the wines usually have that tell-tale St Julien reserve and classicism, with a touch of supple approachability. While they might not cut through in the way that Château Ducru-Beaucaillou and Château Léoville-Las-Cases can do, they have great drinkability, super typicity and, as I suggested in my opening paragraphs, they also remain good value. This is one estate I will continue to follow closely in coming years. (23/3/04, updated 15/3/07, 30/9/16, 31/7/26)
