2021 Ch Lagrange 2ème Cru, St-Julien

DUE OCT 2024

Deep crimson. Wax polish toasty vanilla, blackcurrant elderberry aromas. Slightly oak dominant palate with toasty, mocha vanilla oak over blackcurrant, blackberry fruits and underlying fine cedary textures. Finishes firm with ample dark berry fruits and juicy acidity. Elemental but very well made wine. 84% cabernet sauvignon, 14% merlot, 2% petit verdot. 21 months in 50% new French oak. 13% alc

93-94 points Andrew Caillard MW

The Grand Vin 2021 Château Lagrange is clearly a step up, offering a deeper, richer style that stays firmly planted in the fresher, more elegant style of the vintage. Based on 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot, representing a selection of just 39% of the total production, it has terrific mid-palate density as well as classic notes of cassis, darker plums, chocolate, and integrated oak. It's beautifully done and should easily be an outstanding wine that will benefit from just a handful of years in the cellar.

90-92 points Jeb Dunnuck jebdunnuck.com

Richly concentrated plum, cassis, and damson, this is powerful, with the highest amount of Cabernet Sauvignon than any vintage since 2000. Firm but fine in its architecture, this combines succulent tannins with a gourmet edge of sweet fruit. The structure is beginning to soften but it needs another few years to fully open, so give it either a good long carafe of three hours or more, or wait. 40% of production in the 1st wine, with 60% new oak. Eric Boissenot consultant.

93 points Jane Anson janeanson.com

Fragrant blackcurrants on the nose, softly perfumed and so attractive. Plums, damsons, raspberries and red cherries. Lightly framed on the palate, soft and gently round with such precision and clarity, fine sleek tannins and a backbone of liquorice, dark chocolate, graphite, chalk and smoked blackcurrants giving such depth on the mid palate. A brooding style, stopping short of being spicy but with a touch of cinnamon, vanilla and cedar on the finish. I love the cooling finish and overall tone of this.

Drinking Window 2025 - 2040

91 points Georgie Hindle decanter.com

A firm and silky wine with finesse and beauty. Medium body. Medium, round tannins. Juicy finish. Subtle.

92-93 points jamessuckling.com

The 2021 Lagrange has a ton of potential. Bright  Cabernet inflections lead into a core of red purplish fruit. This midweight gracious St Julien is all class all the way. Layered and super expressive Lagrange is a winner in 2021. Tasted 2 times.

92-934 points AG vinous.com

Representing only 39% of the estate's production, the 2021 Lagrange is very promising indeed, mingling aromas of wild berries and blackcurrants with notions of loamy soils, pencil shavings and violets. Medium to full-bodied, ample and seamless, with fine depth at the core, powdery tannins and lively acids, it saw a cool vinification and contains a record 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, much of which was picked late, between the seventh and 12th of October. It's a brilliant effort from Matthieu Bordes and his team. Tasted five times, twice at the estate.

When Matthieu Bordes arrived at Château Lagrange in 2006, he had the good fortune to take over a vineyard that had been extensively replanted in the 1980s and was just arriving at maturity. Since Suntory acquired this estate, indeed, no expense has been spared, nor has any selection been considered too severe; and as the fruits of that investment over the years met Bordes's talents, the results have been exceptional. In 2021, a strict selection and a willingness to sacrifice volume (via saignée and osmosis) have delivered a Lagrange that transcends the limitations of the vintage.

92-94 points William Kelley robertparker.com