Château Lagrange

Château Lagrange is a Troisième Grand Cru Classé estate, the third tier of the Bordeaux wine estate classification. Located near Saint-Julien, it has belonged to the Suntory wine group since 1983. The estate was advised by the oenologist Jacques Boissenot, and is currently advised by his son Eric. 

Château Lagrange – Bordeaux at its best

Wine has been grown here since Roman times and the Middle Ages. There are fragmentary sources about the Templars, who owned two wine estates in the area and merged them into the predecessor of today’s château. The golden age of the estate, however, begins only in 1790 with Jean-Valère Cabarrus, an influential merchant who invested in Lagrange and at the same time opened up a large distribution network for it.

He is also the one who had the iconic Tuscan-style tower added to the château. Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the USA, travelled through France in 1785 and enthused about Château Lagrange. In 1855 the Bordeaux Grand Cru classification was introduced, with Lagrange receiving the 3rd rank. The owner at the time, Count Duchâtel and his wife, had already ensured high quality since acquiring it in 1842 by using what were then modern vinification methods and expanding the land.

The acquisition by Suntory in 1983 triggered a wave of modernization at the estate, which included the overhaul of the cellar and the complete restoration of the château. Viticulture itself was made more environmentally friendly, so that Lagrange has today become a modern, competitive estate that fully lives up to its classification.

Everything in one place

The vineyards stretch in a single block around the château and thus lie exclusively within the Saint-Julien appellation. The soils are clayey with a high proportion of sand and iron, topped by a layer of gravel. Because of its location by the sea, the land is flat; on the highest elevation, the château stands at 24 m above sea level.

The total area amounts to 182 hectares, of which 118 are planted with vines. The classic grape varieties Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot are grown, which produce the estate’s four wines. These are

• Château Lagrange
• Les Fiefs de Lagrange
• La Haut-Médoc de Lagrange
• Les Arums de Lagrange

Harvesting is done exclusively by hand and many measures are taken to make cultivation as gentle on the environment as possible.

Bordeaux tradition at Lagrange

Ageing at Château Lagrange first takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks over a period of 16–28 days, depending on the development of the wine. The maturation then takes place in barriques made of French oak, 60% of which are new barrels.  At 15°C the wines then mature for 20 months until they are ready for the connoisseur.

The wines of Château Lagrange regularly win awards; they have already convinced wine critic Robert Parker, who regularly awards scores beyond the 91-point mark.