Chateau Lagrange Saint Julien Grand Cru Classe 2010 - 750ml

96pts James Suckling

Loads of tension and form. It can be cellared for decades, but it’s balanced and beautiful already. Lots of blueberry, licorice and blackberry character. Try in 2018. 

95pts Vinous

The 2010 Lagrange was picked from 29 September to 20 October. This is even better than the 2009 on the nose with beautifully defined brambly red fruit, crushed stone, violet and iris aromas, almost pixelated in detail. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, precise and focused with a silky mouthfeel. This fans out beautifully, certainly one of the more approachable 2010s but a wine full of class and immense breeding. Outstanding - a benchmark for the estate. Tasted at the Lagrange vertical at the estate. 

94pts Decanter

This again is a brilliant St-Julien - full of joy and finesse and elegance. Black fruits and smoke combine with a slate minerality - I love it.This is also one that offers good value for money and will be a perfect match for food. Can drink now, or wait, and will age. 

93pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Tasted at the Union de Grand Cru in London. The Lagrange has a very refined, sophisticated bouquet with blackberry, bay leaf, cedar and sous-bois, all with fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine grippy entry. There is a lot of citrus fruit here, lending the 2010 tension and poise. It remains linear and focused, saving something up for the future. Excellent. 

93pts Wine & Spirits

This property, on the western plateau of St-Julien, includes 292 acres of vines on soils that vary from coarse to fine gravels, combined with sand or clay. Suntory purchased the property in 1983 and hired Marcel Ducasse, who restored it to prominence during his 24 years at the helm. Now run by Matthieu Bordes and Keiichi Shiina, Lagrange produces sleek wines. This is not a fat St-Julien, though their 2010 is succulent, opening over the course of several days to racy, dark plum fruit and a narrow course of tannins. Still youthful, this is approachable and lovely after long hours in a decanter, and it will reward patient cellaring. 

93pts Wine Enthusiast

With vineyards in the west of Saint-Julien, Lagrange produces wines that are polished and elegant. In 2010, that style has been suffused with tannins while also delivering a black currant flavor. The wine is rich and ripe, with just the right amount of tannic structure for the fruit.

92pts Wine Spectator

Notes of singed alder, graphite and charcoal wrap around the core of intense blackberry paste, warm plum sauce and currant preserves. Turns sleek and racy on the well-knit finish despite the notable grip. 

90pts International Wine Cellar

Bright ruby-red. Brooding aromas of blackberry, cassis and licorice. Backward and youthfully medicinal but already shows lovely floral lift--to to mention ripe framing acidity--to its dark berry, menthol and licorice flavors. A bit strict today and in need of several years of bottle aging, but the firm tannins are ultimately rather velvety.

Tasting Notes

Deep and intense colour. On the nose a sensation of freshness, with red and black fruits aromas, as well as toasted and vanilla notes. The attack is very firm, the mouthfeel gains strength with an exceptional tannic richness. Powerful, smooth and harmonious tannins.

Blend: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot

Vintage Notes

2010 is above all generally cold year, in fact the coldest of the last fifteen years with a winter that was particularly harsh and long. Summer brought no water resulting in a tannic richness rarely atteined in the Médoc. This year was a late picking again, just like 2008 and 2009. We started to harvest the Merlot the 29th of September and we finished the vintage on the 17th of October with the Cabernet Sauvignon. Château Lagrange 2010 is once again very marked by the Cabernet Sauvignon: 75% bringing power and finesse. Merlot: 25% and no petit verdots again this year. If we compare 2009 and 2010, the proportions of each grape variety are very similar yet the wines are truly different in style: this goes to show that figures just cannot explain everything.

Vineyard Notes

Completely situated in the village of Saint­-Julien, the vineyard of Chateau Lagrange represents 118 hectares in red vines, spread over two hills with the slopes directed towards the North and the South, in one block. The subsoil is of clay and limestone and the topsoil is of pebbles and gravel. The climate is temperate and oceanic.