CHÂTEAU LAGRANGE

2020 3ème Cru Classé Saint Julien

EN PRIMEUR

It may well have been a small harvest here (27 HL/HA) - but my goodness they have done a great job with the crop they got! Imposing dark swathe of fruit from the off. Some dark corners add intrigue, yet all delivered brightly and with sparky drive. Mulberry and dark plum, mineral streaks too. Lovely energy in the middle and super fine tannins maintain that sense of grandeur and class. This is a brilliant Lagrange. 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot.L&S (May 2021)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

Attractive nose of blackberries, blackcurrants, walnuts, ink and kaffir leaves. It’s medium- to full-bodied, firm and structured, with chewy and tight tannins. Dark and intense, with a long and persistent finish. Turns to graphite and cedar. Needs time to open and soften. Try from 2026 Rating: 94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)

Very velvety tannins with juicy plums, currants and chocolate. Hazelnut, too. Full body yet so textural and gorgeous. Lots of walnut and fruit at the end but very subtle. Tension. So lovely and attractive already, but give it four or five years. Rating: 96-100 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)

The 2020 Lagrange is fabulous, just as it was from barrel. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, mocha, licorice, cedar and new leather are all amplified in this gorgeous, striking Saint-Julien. Soft and racy, with no hard edges and exceptional balance, Lagrange is a winner. Drinking range: 2026 - 2045 Rating: 94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

The 2020 Lagrange is the smallest production ever since each vine bestowed 4.2 bunches instead of 7 bunches per vines, plus the berries were small, ergo yield was just 26hL/ha. That's less than 2017 when they suffered frost! This year represents 38% of the crop. It has a delightful, precise bouquet, delineated with minerally black fruit, touches of sous-bois and a subtle marine/oyster shell influence. The palate is detailed and mineral-driven, very pure and harmonious, a mélange of red and black fruit, silky smooth with impressive depth. This is a quintessential Lagrange, very seductive and I bet it will be under-estimated by some people. Not me. Drinking range: 2028 - 2050 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

Purity, juice and precision, with clear blackcurrant pastille fruit laced with liqourice, cocoa beans, smoked cedar and cigar box. This is excellent, with a sense of forward motion, carefully spliced fruit and well-handled slate-textured tannic grip. Enjoyed En Primeur and even more so now. 50% less volume than usual, 50% new oak. Eric Boissenot consultant. Rating: 94 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (Feb 2022)

Lagrange always wears too much oak for my liking and in a vintage like 2020 this sticks out even more awkwardly than normal. The fruit is cassis-soaked and very extracted and so there is a hard, sour finish here which will need considerable time to soften. Rating: 16.5++? Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Lagrange (Saint-Julien) is bright, punchy and wonderfully energetic. Red-toned fruit, sweet spice, cedar and pipe tobacco are all beautifully delineated in this mid-weight, vibrant Saint-Julien. I very much like the depth and tension in this barrel sample. Drinking range: 2028 - 2040 Rating: 91-94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Lagrange has a sensual, beautifully defined bouquet of mineral-infused black fruit, briar, touches of wild mint and crushed stone, conveying wonderful energy and precision. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, tensile and focused, delivering plenty of energy and an almost steely but persistent finish. This is a classy Lagrange from winemaker Matthieu Bordes and his team. I always feel this Saint-Julien is underrated, but it will challenge the best 2020s from the appellation. Drinking range: 2028 - 2050 Rating: 93-95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)

A wine that excels in the appellation, the 2020 Château Lagrange has a slightly modern vibe, with plenty of oak, yet still brings classic Bordeaux tobacco, lead pencil, and earthy minerality as well as pure cassis fruits. Medium to full-bodied, balanced, and just about seamless, it’s going to require 5-6 years of bottle age but should cruise for 20-25 years in cold cellars. Rating: 94-96 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)

Deep purple-black in color, the 2020 Lagrange leaps from the glass with vibrant notes of redcurrant jelly, ripe blackcurrants and minted blackberries, followed by nuances of dark chocolate, star anise and mossy tree bark. The medium-bodied palate is both super intense and super elegant, featuring exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness to frame the bright, crunchy black and red fruits, finishing long and mineral laced. Drinking range: 2025 - 2050 Rating: 94-96 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (May 2021)

A perky, bright and enjoyable Lagrange, showing some angularity and austerity to the tannins but at the same time it is bright with clarity of direction, firm and concentrated fruits and juicy on the finish. A little subdued, but this is a quality Lagrange with extremely carefully placed fine tannins and fruit - it shows the essence of St-Julien balance, and one that will not need the full 10 years to come around. 50% less volume than usual. Tasted twice. Drinking range: 2027 - 2042 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)

74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, Bright, deep crimson. Nose a little smudgy with a hint of acidity and then sweetness. Tannins notably well masked. Very dry, even austere, uncompromising finish. Drinking range: 2028 - 2043 Rating: 16 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2021)

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

Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.

Ordering

Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.

Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.

Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.

Confirmation

All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.

Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.

Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.

Delivery

  • Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
  • Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
  • Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
  • Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.

Practical notes - how it works

We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.

Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.

Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.

One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-

  • +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
  • +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
  • +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
  • +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
  • +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
  • +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.

Storage Options:

Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.