Château Lagrange 2016

Critic scores

• Wine Advocate95
• Vinous95
• Jeb Dunnuck94
• Decanter94
• Wine Enthusiast94
• Wine Spectator94

The 2016 vintage in Saint-Julien

Vintage benchmark: 97/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: A very wet winter followed by a sun-drenched summer produced a rare balance, combining the depth of great years with genuine freshness.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Saint-Julien. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

Deep black with purple highlights. Notes of black cherry, blackcurrant, licorice and pepper. The attack is rich, with a full mid-palate underpinned by a mentholated freshness. A great deal of roundness, power and length offering immediate pleasure. This 2016 is unquestionably an exceptional vintage built for long cellaring, with silky, racy tannins. An unrivalled harmony to date for this great wine, both classic and modern. (2021-2045)

Blend of the 2016 vintage

Figures from the 2016 sheet

• 13 % vol.Alcohol
• 38 hl/haYield
• 32 yrsVine age
• 150,000 bottlesProduction

Winemaking

- Parcel and intra-parcel selection combined with the 102 variable-capacity stainless steel vats (36-220 hl) - Traditional Bordeaux vinification at 26-28°C - Moderate daily pump-over, or rack-and-return, or punching down - Maceration time of 18 to 25 days - Selection of free-run and press wine - Malolactic fermentation by co-inoculation - Blending of lots and differentiation between the Grand Vin (Château Lagrange) and the second wine (Les Fiefs de Lagrange) in the February following the harvest. - 12% press wine in Château Lagrange. - 49% Château Lagrange and 51% Fiefs de Lagrange. - Average age of the vines that produced Château Lagrange: 42 years

Ageing

- Air-conditioned cellars with controlled humidity - Ageing temperature of 15°C - 60% new barrels every year for Château Lagrange - Ageing in barrel for 21 months - Further maturation with racking every three months - Fining with fresh egg whites in barrel - Final blend before bottling

Terroir

Located in the Saint-Julien appellation, the vineyard extends over two gravel rises of « Günzian » origin running north-south. Sometimes fine, sometimes coarser, these gravels are accompanied either by sand or by ferruginous clay. At an altitude of 24 metres, the centre of the estate is the highest point in Saint-Julien. Of the property's total area of 157 hectares, 118 hectares are planted to vine and most of the parcels are drained. The planting, entirely in keeping with the Médoc terroir, consists of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Cabernet Sauvignon brings structure and ageing potential, Merlot roundness and flesh, and Petit Verdot fruit and complexity.