FIEFS DE LAGRANGE

2016 du Saint Julien

Grapes Cab Sauv, Petit Verdot, Merlot
Colour Red
Origin France, Bordeaux
Sub-district Haut Médoc
Village Saint Julien
ABV 14%

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot. First look, bright and pure, a lovely plush and expressive fruit, silky with excellent juice in the middle, fresh acidity: this is lovely. At the Château, preceded by a tasting of the 2015s, there's more stuffing and intensity to the 2016, as well as more weight and volume, and it is long and directed too. Very impressive. Seems more powerful than Lagrange 2015! A great year to fill your boots - in magnums too. Drinking range: 2024 - 2035 Rating: 89-91 L&S (Apr 2017)


Alternatively, we may well have some bottles in one of our shops - why not give us a call on 0207 244 0522 or send an email to: sales@leaandsandeman.co.uk.

Or, check the RELATED PRODUCTS below for different vintages or wines of a similar style.


I pulled the trigger on this Deuxième Vin, thinking it might be ready to drink. I was wrong. It has an intense blackberry and blueberry nose that, despite decanting, remains quite closed. The palate is surprisingly structured and has real density. There is plenty of potential, but I advise keeping this in the cellar for another two or three years. Drinking range: 2024 - 2038 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jan 2023)

The 2016 Les Fiefs de Lagrange offers blackberry, raspberry and light cedar scents on a nose that gradually unfurls in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fine acidity, a velvety-smooth texture and some quality new oak evident on the finish, fortunately neatly integrated and simpatico with the fruit. Excellent. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2021 - 2035 Rating: 91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Aug 2020)

The 2016 Les Fiefs de Lagrange is the second wine of Château Lagrange. This charming, high-quality Saint-Julien has more herbal, earthy notes than the Grand Vin and offers lots of blackcurrants and black cherry fruits, plenty of tobacco and damp forest floor notes, medium body, sweet tannins, and loads of charm. It's nicely balanced and well worth drinking. It should keep for over a decade. Drinking range: 2019 - 2029 Rating: 89 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Feb 2019)

Château Lagrange

St Julien Troisième Cru Classé 1855.

The fortunes of Château Lagrange were revived with the purchase of the estate by Japanese spirits giant Suntory in 1983. Before that, the 20th century had been a difficult time. Some vineyard had had to be sold off (to Ducru-Beaucaillou and Gloria) and the reputation had slipped considerably.
Marcel Ducasse was employed to run the estate, and the new owners pumped in investment.

Marcel retired after the 2008 vintage and the succession passed to his maitre du chai, Bruno Eynard. Bruno gave way in turn to Matthieu Bordes in 2014. Change has been rapid, with a new building program and the cuverie with an extraordinary 102 stainless vats of differing sizes corresponding to the different parcels by soil type and vine age. Climate change led them to question whether they needed as much Petit Verdot as they have in the vineyard. In recent vintages it has been easy to ripen the Cabernet Sauvignon fully, and since they seek elegance, it would seem right to emphasise the Cabernet and leave out the Petit Verdot which is really there to boost the power, but interestingly Bordes regards its omission from the blend on 2009 as a mistake.

Château Lagrange is one of the larger Médoc estates, much of the vineyard lying a little further inland than many of its Saint Julien rivals. There are still 115ha under vine, 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot for the red wine. Wines spend 217-21 months in wood (50%-60% new).

The second wine, produced since 1985, is Les Fiefs de Lagrange, and this accounts for a large proportion of the production, as nowadays only the best parts of the vineyard are ever considered for the Grand Vin. A small amount of white wine, Les Arums de Lagrange, is produced too, named after the arum lilies around the lake in front of the château

This wine isn't currently part of a mixed case, but you can always browse our full selection of mixed cases here.
  • For full delivery details see our Delivery page.
  • We offer free nationwide* delivery for all orders over £150 with our own vans. We also offer an express delivery service for an additional charge.
  • Order & Collect from any of our 5 London shops. Order by Midnight for collection the next working day from 11am.
  • Private wine storage: we offer a full In Bond and Duty Paid private wine storage service - find out more here.

ORDER     COLLECT

ORDER ONLINE AND COLLECT FROM ONE OF OUR SHOPS