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La Lagune 2020

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Haut Médoc
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

A popular classed growth of 90 hectares, situated south of Margaux near Cantemerle. The new owners have invested a great deal of money here in recent years and have also bought Paul Jaboulet Ainé in Hermitage. The vineyard is planted with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. The property was certified organic in 2016 and is currently working towards biodynamic certification.

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château La Lagune

Label

Tasting Notes

The 2020 La Lagune has turned out beautifully, offering up aromas of cassis, dark berries, loamy soil and sweet spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, velvety, layered palate that exhibits excellent depth and concentration structured around powdery tannins, concluding with a perfumed, violet-inflected finish. This is a strong effort and a worthy, somewhat more muscular follow-up to the sensual, charming 2019. 2025 - 2055

94
William Kelley, Wine Advocate, April 2023

A focused and savory red with sleek and tight tannins. Very precise. Medium-bodied with fresh herbs, currants, blackberries and oyster shells. Stones and dried flowers, too. Fine finish. Tannins are round and complete. Already approachable. From biodynamically grown grapes. Better after 2025.

95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 2023

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2020 La Lagune strides confidently out of the glass with bold, fantastically pure black fruit notes of crushed black plums, ripe blackcurrants and juicy blackberries, plus hints of tar, dried Provence herbs, star anise and smoked meats, with a hint of black truffles. The medium-bodied palate delivers tightly wound, bright, crunchy black fruits with plenty of freshness and an approachable, grainy texture, finishing long with loads of earthy and herbal sparks. 2026 - 2042

92/94
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, May 2021

This comes in strong with both grip and attitude. Some austerity that shows through in the abundant tannic frame, but there is a juiciness that runs through the palate, a sense that it is light on its feet. Liquorice, black chocolate and a spiced tomato leaf adds layers, but things close down on the finish. This is certified organic and in biodynamic conversion. A yield of 30hl/ha.

Drinking Window 2028 - 2040

93
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, May 2021

Full bottle 1,356 g. Cask sample. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. Certified organic and in conversion to biodynamic farming.
Very dark with purplish rim. Pure left-bank Cabernet aroma that is both intensely cassis but also with a layer of cedar and a hint of stone-dust minerality. A freshness to the aroma without obvious herbaceousness. Super-fine tannins. Pure and fresh on the palate, a hint of dark chocolate and already showing real elegance in the finesse of the dry almost sinewy tannin texture. Lovely young wine without extremes. (JH)
Drink 2025 – 2035

16.5
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2021

The 2020 is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot which will be aged in French oak for 14 months. This is one of the highest proportions of Merlot in the last 20 years. Deep ruby colour with a meaty nose of game, briary and bramble fruits. The palate is bursting with sweet cherries that are tempered by crunchy, ripe tannins. The oak is spicy and noticeable, but harmonised by the intensity of fruit. Vibrant and bright on the finish.

91/94
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, April 2021

(65% CS, 30% M, 5% PV; 65% harvest; 35hl/ha; 14% ABV; 50% new)
Fresh black fruit and minerals, very pure, fresh and fine; concentrated, vital, finely tannic, in the slightly crisper style of some Left-Bank wines of the year; freshly ripe, rather than “sweet” as such, dense with an almost salty sapidity, and with a superfine tannic frame, a sort of close-knit velvet texture; compact, distinctly minerally aromatic, and with terrific persistence. A pure, classy, very individual and beautiful wine of great finesse. 2030–50+.

93/94
Michael Schuster, The World of Fine Wine, May 2021

The 2020 La Lagune, bottled in mid-June 2022, retains the intense Cabernet-driven bouquet that I observed from barrel. Blackberry and cigar humidor, the latter ebbing with aeration to reveal iodine and violet petal scents, just a hint of morels in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with quite "thick" tannins on the entry due to the slightly higher percentage of Cabernet. Structured and grippy, there's just a little bit of rusticity towards the balsamic finish. This will require three or four years in bottle.

91
Neal Martin, vinous.com, December 2022
Read more tasting notes...

The 2020 La Lagune offers intense Cabernet scents on the nose, the black fruit, tobacco, humidor and light cedar scents bursting from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins that frame the crisp black fruit. This is a classic Médoc with just the right amount of structure and dryness, partnered with assiduous sapidity that gets the saliva flowing. It should gain a little flesh during its élevage. You might call this "proper Claret." Drink 2025-2045.

91/93
Neal Martin, vinous.com, May 2021

A firm, polished red with tight, focused tannins that flow across the palate. It’s medium-to full-bodied with good length and a gorgeous finish. From organically grown grapes.

93/94
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2021
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.