2025 Château Lagrange Saint-Julien 3e Grand Cru Classé

EXCLUSIVE - DELIVERY SPRING 2028

Château Lagrange 2025 is a classic Saint-Julien with striking concentration, freshness, and precision. The wine is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and demonstrates how a warm, dry vintage can still result in elegance, refined tannins, and great aging potential. According to both the château and various international critics, 2025 ranks among the strongest Lagrange vintages of the past few decades.

Château Lagrange and the terroir of Saint-Julien

Château Lagrange is one of the historic Grand Cru Classé estates of Saint-Julien. The vineyard is situated entirely within the appellation and covers over 100 hectares of red vines, distributed across two gravel hills with north- and south-facing slopes. The topsoil consists of pebbles and gravel, with clay and limestone beneath. This soil structure ensures drainage, depth, and a natural balance between ripeness and freshness.

Since the acquisition by Suntory in 1983, Château Lagrange has invested heavily in vineyard management, plot selection, and cellar techniques. The goal has always remained the same: to translate the terroir of Saint-Julien as precisely as possible into wines with structure, bright fruit, and a long lifespan. More information about this winery can be found under the Winery tab.

Vintage 2025: small fruit, high concentration

2025 was a warm and dry vintage, but not one in which power prevailed. The château describes the year as one in which the greatest challenge lay not in finding concentration, but rather in mastering it. The grapes were exceptionally small, resulting in a high concentration of color, tannins, and aromatic intensity.

The summer was warm and sunny, with little rain. In September, cooler temperatures ensured the freshness was preserved. It is precisely this combination that defines the character of Château Lagrange 2025: ripe and intense, yet at the same time crisp, fresh, and classic in structure. The Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon yielded historically small berries. With Cabernet Sauvignon, harvesting was deliberately delayed to allow phenolic ripeness to develop fully.

Harvest, selection and vinification

The harvest took place from September 8 to 24. All grapes were hand-picked into small crates. This was followed by a double selection: first manually at the bunch level, and then grape by grape using an optical sorting machine. Only the best fruit was used for the Grand Vin.

Vinification took place plot by plot in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Château Lagrange has 102 tanks for 103 separate plots, allowing for very precise work based on grape variety, vine age, terroir, and ripeness. Fermentation took place at 26 to 28 degrees Celsius, with a maceration of 18 to 25 days. Because the grapes were so concentrated, extraction was deliberately carried out gently to preserve elegance and balance.

Assembly and upbringing

The final blend consists of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot. Cabernet Sauvignon clearly forms the backbone of the wine, bringing density, freshness, and length. Merlot softens the initial taste and complements the mid-palate, while Petit Verdot provides additional depth and cohesion.

The wine ages for 21 months in oak barrels, 50% of which are new. The blend was made in January, followed by further barrel aging. A final blend takes place before bottling. The alcohol content is 13.6%, which is remarkably balanced for this mature vintage.

Color, smell and taste

Château Lagrange 2025 has a deep, dark color with purple reflections. The nose opens with intense aromas of cassis, black cherries, morello cherries, and blackberries. These are followed by notes of violets, graphite, iodine, cedarwood, and subtle spiciness. The wood is present but well integrated, primarily supporting the wine's structure.

On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, with a concentrated core of dark fruit. The tannins are fine-grained and precise, with a light grip that gives the wine length and tension. The fresh acidity keeps the whole lively. In the finish, graphite, blackcurrant, spices, and a subtle mineral note emerge.

What makes this vintage special is the combination of depth and control. The wine clearly has the power of small, concentrated berries, yet remains classic and linear. This gives it a refined Saint-Julien signature, with length, balance, and great future potential.

Summary of professional reviews

William Kelley of The Wine Advocate rates Château Lagrange 2025 94-96 points and highlights the cassis, dark berries, violets, concentration, and long finish. He also points out the depth of the mid-palate, partly thanks to the decision to harvest Cabernet Sauvignon later.

Neal Martin awards 93-95 points and calls this an excellent Lagrange from Mathieu Bordes and his team. He praises the refined bouquet of blackcurrant, iodine, and violets, the fine acidity, the linear structure, and the classic, cool appearance of the wine. Jacobo García Andrade rates the wine 93-94 points and notes aromas of blackberries, tar, and violets, with good concentration, fine-grained tannins, and a persistent finish.