2019 Château Lagrange
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Tasting notes
The 2019 Lagrange has an open-knit, classic Saint-Julien nose with black fruit, chimney soot, tobacco and a light sprinkling of white pepper. There is a little more earthiness here. The palate is understated and fleshy, gentle grip, more approachable than its peers, pure but without the same grip and backbone on the finish. Very seductive. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Lawther MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Rather a simple crimson colour. Introvert nose. Solid and long term, but with lots tucked in there. Ambitious with masses of fruit, as well as masses of tannin. (JR)
While I don't think the 2019 Château Lagrange matches the 2018, it's not far off, with a more elegant yet still concentrated style. Beautiful crème de cassis, spicy oak, tobacco, chocolate, and new saddle leather notes all emerge on the nose, and it stays tight, compact, and focused on the palate, with plenty of firm tannins. It opens up beautifully with time in the glass but merits 4-6 years of bottle age, and it should evolve for 20-25 years or more.
The 2019 Lagrange has turned out beautifully in bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of cherries, blackberries and cassis mingled with hints of loamy soil, pencil shavings and bay leaf. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with an ample core of lively fruit, powdery tannins and succulent acids, it's suave and seamless, concluding with a long, expansive finish. The result of an extremely rigorous selection, and incorporating fully 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is the finest wine this château has produced in the modern era. Remarkably, it was released at the same price en primeur as the 2005!