Chateau Lagrange St. Julien Bordeaux Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Lagrange St. Julien, Third Growth, with wine tasting notes and wine with food pairing tip. Learn the best vintages, a history of the property, information on vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Lagrange History, Overview

Chateau Lagrange started out life as Maison Noble de Lagrange Monteil as far back as the middle ages. Historical documents mention the vineyard as far back as 1631. During the 18th century, the picturesque estate was the property of Baron de Brane.

The Baron was better known for counting among his holdings, Brane Cantenac and Brane Mouton, which we are more familiar with as Chateau Mouton Rothschild today. When the Baron was in charge of the estate, the wines were sold as Baron St. Julien.

Like most Bordeaux vineyards, the property passed through numerous hands. For a time, it belonged to John Lewis Brown who owned Chateau Cantenac Brown in Margaux, as well as Chateau Brown in Pessac Leognan.

However, Chateau Lagrange did not become well-known for producing wine until 1842. That is when the owner, Count Duchatel added a drainage system in the vineyard. This helped improve the wine immensely. While drainage in vineyards is commonplace today, that was very forward-thinking in 1842.

Deep in debt, the owners began breaking up the estate, selling portions of their vineyard to survive. The first major sale took place in 1840. Those sales caused Chateau Lagrange to downsize from its massive 280 hectares to a manageable 157 hectares. That sale would not be the last time Chateau Lagrange reduced their Medoc vineyards.

In 1970, 32 hectares were sold to Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou. Other parcels were sold to Henri Martin for use in Chateau Gloria. By 1983, the remaining holdings of Lagrange were purchased by the large, Japanese company, Suntory from the Cendoya family, who had owned Chateau Lagrange since 1925.

Chateau Lagrange the Modern Age

The sale was a good decision for the Left Bank chateau. Suntory brought the funds needed to renovate the wine-making facilities and replant the vineyards.

Once the new owners took over the property, they spent massive sums of money to modernize the wine-making facilities and replant the vineyards. They had no choice as the buildings were dilapidated and of the vineyard was in dire need of replanting.

Under the direction of Marcel Ducasse, the director of Chateau Lagrange from 1993 to 2007, the vineyard expanded from 48 planted hectares to 138 planted hectares. The vine density was also increased as more than 100,000 new vines were added to the vineyard. In 1985, the new owners also began producing a second wine, Les Fief de Lagrange.

Chateau Lagrange made numerous improvements in 2008 and underwent extensive renovations again that included modernizing their entire wine-making facilities and cellars in 2013. All the effort and investment expended by Suntory has allowed Chateau Lagrange to produce a much better wine.

Chateau Lagrange Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The massive 182-hectare estate of Chateau Lagrange has 118 hectares under vine. The vineyard is planted to 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, and 7% Petit Verdot. The Petit Verdot was added to the vineyards in 1988. Over the years, the vineyard has continued to increase its percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon.

The vineyard is one massive block of vines that can be divided into 102 different parcels. However, the easiest way to think of Chateau Lagrange is by knowing all their vines are dispersed over 2, gently sloping, gravel hillsides.

The slopes are well placed in the west of the Saint Julien appellation, close to Chateau Gruaud Larose and Chateau Branaire Ducru. At the peak of their vineyards, the hillsides reach up to 24 meters, which puts their vines at the highest elevation in the entire Saint Julien appellation.

Today, the average age of the vines is more than 35 years of age. The terroir is gravel, sand and clay soils. There are also parcels with deposits of iron. The vineyard is planted to a vine density of 8,500 vines per hectare. They use optical sorting technology during the harvest.

Chateau Lagrange Winemaking

To produce the wine of Chateau Lagrange, vinification takes place temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats that range in size. The 98 vats range in size allowing for parcel by parcel vinification. The smallest vats are 66 hectoliters with the largest vats coming in at 220 hectoliters.

The grapes are vinified using co-inoculation. The selection of the press wine is performed by adding it on a vat by vat basis. The wine is aged in 60% new, French oak barrels for up to 21 months before bottling.

White Wine of Chateau Lagrange

Additionally, Chateau Lagrange is one of the few Medoc properties to produce a white Bordeaux wine. They have 7 hectares of vines used for planting white Bordeaux wine grapes. Those 7 hectares are planted to 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Gris. They removed all of their Muscadelle vines. The white wine of Lagrange, which began production in 1996 is sold under the name of Les Arums de Lagrange.

On average, all together, Chateau Lagrange produces almost 60,000 cases of wine per year. There is a second wine, Les Fief de Lagrange which made its debut in 1985.

In 2012, the estate added a new wine to their portfolio from vines located in the Haut Medoc appellation. Produced from an 18-hectare vineyard they recently purchased in the Haut Medoc appellation, the wine is sold under the aptly descriptive name of Haut Medoc de Lagrange.

The best vintages of Chateau Lagrange are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2010, 2009, 2006, 2005 and 2000. Perhaps, because of its large size, which gives it various types of terroir, Chateau Lagrange is not always consistent. It is a wine to look for in the top years. All that being said, starting with the 2016 vintage, Chateau Lagrange make huge improvements in their wine, making the best wines in the history of the estate!

When to Drink Chateau Lagrange, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Lagrange is not a wine that is fun to drink on the young side. The wine is too powerful and tannic in its youth. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 2-3 hours, give or take. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Chateau Lagrange is usually better with at least 8-10 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau Lagrange offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 10-25 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Lagrange with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Chateau Lagrange is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.

Chateau Lagrange is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau Lagrange is a perfect match with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, salmon, mushrooms, and pasta as well as cheese.

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