Château Lagrange Saint Julien 2005

BN#177781

Château Lagrange

The harvest period: dry, sunny with normal temperature. Fresh mornings allowing to preserve acidity. The harvest in red started on September 21st and ended on October 10th with up to 100 pickers. The excellent Château Lagrange is one of St. Julien's great wines - fine, full-bodied and concentrated. The vintages since 1985 introduce ripe fruit aromas of rich black currant and cherry, spicy, toasty new oak, minerals, and in some vintages cedar and charcoal. They are appealing when young but also have great potential for long aging.

Wine Enthusiast

The tannins dominate this dark, brooding wine. At this stage, it seems to have closed up, leaving the fruit and acidity buried. But with this concentration, the future looks promising. There is a long aging potential here.

Score: 94. —Roger Voss, June 01, 2008.

Wine Spectator

Currant, mineral, plum and light toasty oak follow through to a full body, with ultrasilky tannins and a long, caressing finish. This is thoroughly beautiful. Superbalanced and very pretty.

Score: 93. —James Suckling, March 31, 2008.

Wine Advocate

Sweet, toasty, oaky notes interwoven with hints of black olives, blackberries, cassis, and spice box are found in this densely saturated ruby/purple-hued 2005. While rich, with impressive concentration and purity, it is also tannic, full-bodied, and painfully backward and foreboding. This is another long-term prospect that will require patience. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2027.

Score: 91. —Robert Parker, April 2008.