Château Lagrange: Vineyards
The Château Lagrange vineyards account for approximately 9 hectares of the Pomerol appellation. The Moueix family describe the soils as dominated by gravel and clay, over a deeper blue clay, a description which obviously calls to mind the button of smectite clay which lies beneath the vineyard of Petrus, another property long associated with the Moueix family. Having viewed the vineyards for myself, while they are indeed located close to some of Pomerol’s famous names, the easiest way to describe their position is sandwiched between those of Château Rouget on one side and the vines behind Château Le Gay and those of Château Lafleur-Gazin on the other, on the slopes that run down to the Barbanne.
The lower down the slope you go the lighter and more gravelly the soils become, veering towards sandy at the very lowest levels. To my eye those at Château Lagrange look to be dominated by a light and fine gravel, soils which can still be exploited very usefully, as seen at Château Rouget next-door, although it is worth noting that on the other side at Château Le Gay the fruit from the vines between the château and the Barbanne is used exclusively for the estate’s second wine. It is also worth remembering that vines in this position are vulnerable to frost, as was seen at Château Le Gay in the 2017 vintage.
