Lagrange has long been a property that punches well above its weight and is invariably one of the smart buys in St Julien, frequently mixing it with the second growths at blind tastings. The 2016 is one such wine, with a beguiling nose of fresh black fruits and flowers with a hint of baking spice, pure cassis fruit in the mouth with an underlying minerality and mouth-watering acidity that just keeps you wanting to go back for another taste. It is beautifully balanced with no hard edges and a silk-like texture. It is already delicious – especially so with a decant - but you can tell there is so much more ahead of it. It is really all you could ask for in a fine claret.
The 2016 Lagrange has a tightly knit, focused bouquet of intense blackberry, briar and cedar aromas. This is impressive, and it gains intensity with aeration. The medium-bodied palate delivers grainy tannin, a fine bead of acidity and a vivacious, spicy, almost peppery finish. One of the most powerful Lagrange that I have tasted. A Saint-Julien that is consistently underrated, this 2016 will give a great deal of pleasure over the next 30-plus years. Drink 2023-2056.
The 2016 Lagrange has a boisterous, almost gregarious bouquet featuring layers of blackberry, boysenberry, violets and cassis scents that storm from the glass. Fortunately, it retains very good precision and delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. Fresh in the mouth, leading to a minerally finish; a pinch of cracked black pepper lingers on the aftertaste. Superb. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. 2023 - 2056
The Lagrange 2016 has a deep garnet color. It charges out with pronounced scents of warm cassis, blueberry preserves, and juicy blackberries, plus suggestions of cedar chest, tar, and bay leaves. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers great intensity of savory-laced black fruit with firm, grainy tannins and great tension on the finish.
A testament to 2016's prowess, this is a superb Lagrange. Still a deep purple in the glass, the nose is very enticing with pure blackcurrant fruit, dark cherry, graphite and dry earth. The palate has great energy and precision, with deep, dark fruit, bright acidity and chalky, persistent tannins. The fruit is pure pleasure, sweet and plump, but there is great focus thanks to the balancing acids and tannin. As with most 2016s, the structure is chalky and mouthcoating, but with a decant and the right food you can drink this now. A harmonious, long, and delicious Saint Julien, this will offer great drinking pleasure over the next 20 years.
The best wine from this château in many years! A huge, dramatic, blackcurrant and wild-blackberry nose and the first impression on the palate is every bit as intense. Nice acidity lifts this massive structure and keeps the imposing finish so fresh. Drink or hold.
A stunningly successful Lagrange, easily one of the best ever at the property, with complexity, density, and staying power. Combines the exuberant texture of the 2009 with precision and clarity of fruit. The conditions of the vintage meant the smallest size of beries in 35 years, and although the tannins are clearly present they are finessed and sappy. A very young wine, but balanced and seductive, with lush cassis and blackberry fruits. 3.47ph, 60% new oak - this is an upscore from my last tasting of this vintage, but it is really singing. Harvest October 3 to October 24 with a record (since Suntory purchase) 49% of production making it to the 1st wine. Eric Boissenot consultant.
Tasted blind. Dark blackish crimson. Light toasty nose. Appealing rather than really grand and intense. No one could object to this charmer.
Drink 2025 – 2037
The Grand Vin 2016 Château Lagrange checks in 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot brought up in equal parts new and used barrels. It shows the fresher, elegant style of the vintage and offers beautiful black cherry and cassis fruits intermixed with tobacco leaf, damp earth, and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully pure, seamless, and layered, it has a vibrant, tight texture, terrific tannin quality, and a great finish. It's a quintessential expression of this vintage. Give bottles 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two to three decades. Drink 2022-2047.
