Appellations

Lagrange (St Julien) 2018

St Julien, Third Growth

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Tasting Notes

The 2018 Lagrange appears to have gained a little more opulence since I tasted it in barrel. Quite precocious for the vintage, it presents lush black fruit with hints of menthol, a bouquet you might assume comes from a warmer growing season, though it is still well defined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fleshy and ripe, demonstrating beautiful balance and poise toward the finish. I suggested that it might drink sooner than its peers, and this affirms that to be the case. One of the more approachable Saint-Julien wines, yet it is endowed with the substance to last.

Score: 93 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2023 - 2045 Date: 22 August 2021

The 2018 Lagrange is deep in colour. It has a plush and generous bouquet with blueberry and black cherry fruit, a touch of clove and menthol developing with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and very pure fruit. This has a Burgundy-like allure and though there is some new oak dominating the finish, there is sufficient fruit to support that. This is potentially a very lovely Lagrange, one that I suspect will drink sooner than other recent vintages. (3.53pH, 14.6% alcohol)

Score: 92 - 94 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2021-2040 Date: 01 November 2019

The flagship 2018 Château Lagrange is a more dense, backward, serious wine, offering an unevolved yet incredibly promising bouquet of cassis, blackcurrants, scorched earth, graphite, and violets. A big, rich, full-bodied Saint-Julien, it delivers thrilling purity of fruit, plenty of background oak, ripe, silky tannins, and a great mid-palate. This is serious stuff, but it's going to require patience. Hide bottles for 7-8 years, count yourself lucky, and enjoy over the following two decades.

Score: 97 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Maturity: 2028 - 2048 Date: 19 July 2021

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Lagrange explodes from the glass with bombastic notes of crème de cassis, chocolate-covered cherries and baked red and black plums with suggestions of rose oil, cedar chest, pencil lead and hoisin. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has fantastic vibrancy for the ripeness, packed with juicy black fruits and compelling tension with a finely grained texture to support, finishing on a lingering mineral note. Nicely done!

Score: 95 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2025 - 2045 Date: 15 July 2021

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Lagrange opens a little closed and broody, slowly revealing cedar chest, tar, pencil shavings, camphor and fragrant earth scents with a baked plums and warm cassis core plus a hint of yeast extract. Full-bodied and jam-packed with black fruits and earthy accents, it has a solid frame of firm, chunky tannins and just enough freshness, finishing on a persistent mineral note.

Score: 93 - 95 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Date: 23 April 2019

This rivals the 2016 for sure, although the sense of gravity is perhaps just a little less effortless as it was in that incredible vintage. It's closed in and tight on the nose with slightly reductive notes, but it opens up after a few minutes to reveal another good quality St-Julien. A serious wine, it has well structured walls and a moat around the cassis fruit. It's not quite at the level of 2010 but is halfway there, making you stop and think before its gentle power takes over.

Score: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2027-2040 Date: 15 April 2019

This is a very velvety-textured Lagrange with blackberry and purple-fruit character. Lavender and black-tea undertones. Full body. Long and caressing.

Score: 93 - 94 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Date: 11 April 2019

The 2018 Lagrange is off the charts. Bold, plush and beautifully resonant in the glass, the 2018 possesses tremendous richness and textural intensity. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, espresso, mint and licorice build in a racy, sumptuous Lagrange loaded with personality. The 2018 is one of the best recent vintages I have tasted. Tasted two times.

Score: 92 - 95 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Date: 01 April 2019

The intense cassis and blackberry fruit is studded with graphite and licorice snap notes. Vivid from start to finish. Grippy but energetic.

Score: 93 - 96 James Molesworth, Wine Spectator Date: 01 April 2019