Chateau Lagrange, St Julien 3eme Cru Classe

Description

Chateau Lagrange is located in the west of the St Julien wine growing appellation in the heart of the Medoc. The chateau was classified as a third growth in the historic 1855 Bordeaux Classification. There are records of a property at Chateau Lagrange going back to 1631 and record of a production of 12000 cases of wine in 1824. The chateau was owned from 1925 by the Cendoya family and they owned it through to 1983 when it was bought by the Japanese Suntory Group. The remergence of Chateau Lagrange has been down mostly to Marcel Ducasse who managed the estate for 17 years until 2007, when the chateau’s technical director, Bruno Eynard, took over. Suntory have also spent a large amount of money renovating the estate to a spectacular level and with and an extensive planting programme in the 1980s, which means the vines are now in their prime. The vineyard is a single block on Gunzian gravelley soils with sand and iron-rich clays in some plots. The vineyard area is now some 284 acres and is planted with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot. There are also some white grape wine varieties – Sauvignon Blanc (60%), Sémillon (30%) and Muscadelle (10%) – planted over 4 hectares (10 acres). The grand vin, Chateau Lagrange, is made using traditional Bordelais wine making techniques. It is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot.