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Lagrange (St Julien) 2005

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Lagrange

Label

Tasting Notes

The Château Lagrange 2005 has an intense bouquet with cedar and graphite infusing the black fruit, nicely controlled and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, well-judged acidity and a slightly reserved but delineated finish: dried herbs, cedar and a dash of white pepper sprinkled over the black fruit. This excellent Lagrange has to be one of the most consistently satisfying wines from the appellation. Another year, another satisfying Lagrange. Drink 2019 - 2045

94
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, February 2015

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

91
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (176), April 2008
93
James Suckling, WineSpectator.com, February 2008

Clear ripeness to the blackberry and cassis fruits, with spiced clove and sage spices and slate texture to the tannins. Full of signature touches of great vintage, even if less concentrated and powerful than many 2005 St Juliens right now and moving into a sweet spot for drinking. Harvest September 21 to October 10, 43% of 1st wine (as an aside, look out for the 2005 Fiefs de Lagrange, as it is more than 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and excellent value). 60% new oak, 43% 1st wine. Eric Boissenot consultant.

94
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, March 2022

Tasted blind. Light nose. Lots of tannin and acidity. Far from charming. Pretty stodgy.
Drink 2019-2035

16
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, March 2017

Medium red-ruby. Reticent but sweet nose offers plum, black cherry, minerals and bitter chocolate. Thick and powerful but with excellent vinosity and sweetness as well as a slightly exotic character to the red fruit and spice flavors. Deep, slow-mounting wine that builds impressively on the back end. The tannins here make those of the 2006 seem a bit rigid by comparison. I was struck by the thought that Lagrange has done consistently well in the last three vintages, and that each effort is an accurate reflection of its year.

91
Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, June 2008

Lean, deep, rich. A very good wine, very young and tight, with so much to come. Good richness, power and spice. Drink from 2015. Awarded 5 stars.

18.5+
Decanter.com, Decanter.com, July 2008

""Dark, still youthful red; crisply sweet and markedly mineral to smell; very nicely balanced, concentrated middleweight claret, with a fresh acidity and fine, dry tannin; a mass of fruit, crisply sweet to taste, fresh, aromatic, savoury, with clear gravelly aromas, and a fine, fruity length of after-taste; On the slightly more muscular side, but this is a classy and complete, very good 3rd growth. Still a touch firm, but full of medium to long term promise. One of the great values of the tasting. Now - 25+.

92
Michael Schuster, February 2015

Beautiful fragrance of soft, dark, generous fruit. It shows balance and poise and a real touch of class. Serious, but not unfriendly. It'll last for years or delight you now with an hour in the decanter. A great addition to any cellar, or Sunday lunch. In fact, after the tasting, this was the wine I chose to drink with my lunch!

Phillip Schofield, Wine Relief Tasting, January 2013
Read more tasting notes...

Different samples of Lagrange appeared to be at various stages of development, but none of them revealed the flamboyance and richness I tasted last year. The tannins are extremely high, but the wine is big, full-bodied, and slightly rustic with less oak than last year. There are plenty of olive, blackberry, cassis, and cedar characteristics as well as a hint of barbecue smoke, good freshness and precision, and a long, pure finish, but, wow, what an excruciatingly high level of tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030?

91/93
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (170), April 2007

Once again the provocative words “the best ever made” appear in my tasting notes. In twenty-eight years, I have never tasted a Lagrange as amazing as this 2005. Its dense ruby/purple color is accompanied by pure notes of creme de cassis, cedar, spice box, and a hint of cherries. Full-bodied, powerful, and opulent, with high tannin as well as extract in addition to great freshness, definition, and length, this long-lived beauty should be at its finest between 2012-2030.

92/94
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (164), April 2006

Aromas of currants, berries, licorice and spice. Full-bodied and very velvety, with wonderful, high quality tannins. Long finish. Balanced and classy.

92/94
James Suckling, WineSpectator.com, March 2006

Dark crimson. Scented, mineral nose. Really quite aromatic. Lively and relatively light but with excellent tannins and life to it. Not an extreme 2005 but a wine with the concentrated dryness of the vintage. Solid. Impossible to imagine drinking this without food! 13%
Drink 2022-2038

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2015

A great vintage just becoming ready to drink. Lovely luscious crimson. Fine, scented and energetic. Silky at first, then chewy, but well built with lots of ripe fruit. Classy stuff from a very reliable property revived by - Suntory of Japan! Drink 2013-2030.

17
Jancis Robinson MW, Wine Relief Tasting, January 2013

Healthy and dark. Well balanced but light nose. Very broad intense fruit on the front palate. Lively - even a hint of alcohol on the finish

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2009

Brilliant pinkish crimson. Rather simple fruit and no great structure. Nothing at all wrong with this but in the context of the vintage it's a bit dull and lacking energy. Drink 2013-22

16.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2006
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.