Chateau Lagrange - Saint-Julien 2009

Wine Advocate

94 / 100

byNeal Martinthe8/11/2014

Tasted at the château for a 30-year vertical tasting. The 2009 Lagrange is a blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and 27% Merlot, the Petit Verdot blended into the second wine. It was the first year when an optical sorting machine was used (another to keep it company two years later.) It has a very perfumed and complex bouquet with marmalade-tinged red fruit, cedar and touches of tobacco. It is very controlled, perhaps deceptively so. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, ripe and succulent tannins on the entry, counterbalanced by well-judged acidity and a gorgeous, irresistible, sensual finish that washes serenely across the mouth. Is it the best Lagrange to date? Quite possibly. Drink 2016-2035. Tasted March 2014.

Jamessuckling.com

94 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe7/23/2014

This is very reserved right now but shows impressive blueberry and blackberry character. It’s full- bodied, with a super density of fruit and ripe tannins. Wait until 2017.

Wine Advocate

93 / 100

byNeal Martinthe1/1/2013

Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Lagrange '09 has a more rounded, fruit-driven bouquet with macerated dark cherries, blackberry and boysenberry. It coalesces nicely in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a sweet core of saline black fruit. Expressive Merlot here, smooth in the mouth with a pleasing, caressing finish. This is a Lagrange that is biding its time. Tasted January 2013.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

92 / 100

byStephen Tanzerthe7/31/2012

Saturated medium ruby. Sexy aromas of cassis, licorice, menthol and cedar. Tightly wound, classic and intense, with sharply delineated flavors of dark berries, violet and minerals complemented by well-integrated oak. Dense, suave Saint-Julien wine with a very fresh, slightly austere finish. With its solid structure and excellent length, this will require at least five or six years of cellaring. A superb vintage for this property.

Wine Spectator

91 / 100

byJames Molesworththe3/31/2012

This has a solid core of juicy plum, red currant and blackberry fruit that sits in reserve, while mouthwatering briar and toasty spice notes move along the edges. Grippy and focused through the finish, with well-embedded acidity. Best from 2013 through 2024. 22,500 cases made. –JM

Wine Advocate

90 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe2/29/2012

Tightly knit, oaky and rich, with formidable concentration, but broodingly backward and not showing the charm and concentration of the top wines of St.-Julien, this 2009 from Lagrange is still an outstanding effort that has length, richness and character. It should be cellared for a good 5-6 years and then consumed over the following 25 years.(90+ points)

Jamessuckling.com

94 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/15/2012

Bright and perfumed, with loads of blueberry, flower and licorice on the nose. Full body, with super well-integrated tannins and a long, long finish. Class. Best wine from here in a long, long time. Try after 2018

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

89-92 / 100

byIan D'Agatathe6/30/2010

(73% cabernet sauvignon and 27% merlot; 13.5 % alcohol; pH 3.7) Dark ruby. Precise aromas of flowers, redcurrant, dried herbs, cedar and tobacco. Lush, rich and fine-grained, with lovely inner-mouth spicy and floral lift to its pure redcurrant and cranberry flavors complicated by graphite and ink. Finishes with a pretty mineral persistence and high-quality but youthfully aggressive tannins that beg for a little more time to resolve fully. Not a blockbuster but charming and stylish, in typical Lagrange fashion. The higher-than-normal cabernet presence makes this a distinctly sturdy example of Lagrange.

Le Figaro

92-94 / 100

byBernard Burtschythe6/30/2010

Robe très sombre. Nez de fruits rouges et de mûre. En bouche, l’attaque est souple, le milieu de bouche élégant et complexe, l’ensemble est harmonieux avec une finale un rien tannique. Belle réussite.

timatkin.com

91 / 100

byTim Atkin MWthe6/30/2010

13.4% alcohol. 73 CS, 27M This Japanese-owned third growth is very Cabernet Sauvignon in style, with firm, slightly four-square tannins, but good underlying acidity and bright blackcurrant fruit. The tannins should soften in barrel and bottle to produce something with considerable style and restraint. 10+ years.

La Revue du Vin de France

17,5-18,5 / 20

the5/31/2010

"Nous avons attendu les cabernet sauvignon au maximum", explique l'équipe technique du château. Cette démarche, combinée à une amélioration de la réception de vendange, de tri et d'outil de vinification, a payé dans le millésime. Lagrange 2009 est une boule de fruits parfaitement équilibrée par une acidité énergique. Il possède un moelleux très séduisant, mais sa grand force réside dans sa finale aux notes des framboises écrasées finement acidulées. Très belle longueur.

Wein Wisser

17 / 20

byRené Gabrielthe5/17/2010

Sattes Purpur-Granat. Herrlich offenes Pflaumenbouquet, mit gewisser Tiefe. Rahmiger Körper, viel Souplesse, im Finale erstaunlich viel Brombeeren und auch etwas Lakritze. War selten so gut – ein toller Pomerol-Wert. 2022-2060

Le Point

17 / 20

byJacques Dupontthe5/6/2010

Fruits noirs, poivre, tabac, bouche souple, moelleuse, dense, serré, beaucoup de matière, mais c'est assez raffiné, frais, tannique mais élégant. O=2016 G=25 ans

Falstaff

87-89 / 100

byPeter Moserthe4/30/2010

Zart blättrig unterlegte Zwetschkenfrucht, etwas Unterholz, zart nach Dörrobst, etwas verwaschen. Mittlere Textur, etwas rustikale Tannine, zerfließend, mittlere Länge, nicht wirklich erfreulich.

TAST

18,5 / 20

by Bettane & Desseauvethe4/30/2010

Grand nez anisé, très noble, très saint-julien, magnifique richesse de texture, tanin racé de cèdre et de truffe, rappelant certaines cuves de Clos du Marquis, équilibre parfait, grand vin.

Wine Advocate

93-95 / 100

byNeal Martinthe4/30/2010

Tasted at the château and the UGC. A blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and 27% Merlot (no Petit Verdot). A very deep, almost opaque garnet/purple colour. The nose has beautiful definition with scents of ripe blackberries, small black cherries, blueberry, a touch of mint and cedar. Very focused with the oak completely in synch with the fruit. Seamless tannins on the full-bodied palate, lively and animated, very taut, this is not the cashmere wine of Ducru for example, a little firmer in terms of the backbone, very well balanced, perhaps a little more masculine. Tightly coiled towards the espresso/minerally finish, really leaving a tingle of excitement on the tongue. Superb – real finesse in the wine, although that comes through leaving it for five minutes in the glass. The sample at the UGC showed more harmony and cohesion than the one at the château. Tasted March 2010.

Wine Enthusiast

93-95 / 100

byRoger Vossthe4/30/2010

Tight wine, the tannins firm, giving considerable dryness. With its dark texture, this is solid, but finishing with the freshest of blackcurrant juice.

Wein Wisser

18 / 20

byRené Gabrielthe4/30/2010

Tiefes Purpur. Delikat fülliges Bouquet, rahmige Noten, feiner Brombeer- und Zederntouch. Am Gaumen delikat, fein und wunderschön harmonisch. Ein beschwingter St. Julien, ein grosser Lagrange! 2016–2033

Wine Advocate

90-93 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/28/2010

A slightly lighter, less powerful style of St.-Julien, but also less oaky than previous vintages have tended to be, the 2009 Lagrange offers attractive, fresh, red and black currant notes, and an elegant as well as corpulent attack and mid-palate. This wine does not have the weight of the “big boys” of St.-Julien, but it displays an endearing finesse, freshness, and purity. It is by no means a wimpish, understated wine, but in the context of the 2009 vintage, it is somewhat overwhelmed by many of its neighbors. Enjoy it over the next two decades. (Tasted two times.) Drink 2010-2030.

Periodic Review of Wine

91-93 / 100

byAlan Duranthe4/28/2010

Another fantastic St.-Julien worth seeking out. The full-bodied, dense ruby/purple colored Lagrange offers complex notes of eucalyptus, spilled-ink, blackberry, crème de cassis, smoke, and wet-stone. Beautifully pure aromatics proceed to a full-bodied, dense, unctuous, sumptuous wine with crammend richness and a seductive style to the ripe fruit. The lavish fruit will be a hit with consumers. Certainly an irresistible offering! Maturity period 2015-2032.

Anthony Rose

92-94 / 100

byAnthony Rosethe4/26/2010

Good youthful ruby colour, fine, pure sweet dark berry fruits nose, very nice touch of oak, good fresh intense, juicy dark cherry fruit quality, fine supple and succulent textured fruit, very fresh and vibrant with lovely overall balance and finesse.

Wine Spectator

91-94 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/9/2010

Intense aromas of blackberry and smoke. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and long finish. Solid and tight. As it should be.

Decanter Magazine

17 / 20

bySteven Spurrierthe4/9/2010

Black red, concentrated and smoky blackcurrant fruit with a little herby lift, very good firm fruit, still quite tight, but concentration and balance assure a good future. Drink 2015-28.

Jancis Robinson

17 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe4/7/2010

Dark crimson. Purple rim. Very sweet indeed on the nose – unusually so for St-Julien. Glamorous and luscious with a hint of ink and freshness. Lots to enjoy! The tannins are very well handled and it’s pure pleasure. Maybe lacks just a hint of freshness. Drink 2016-2028