Château LAGRANGE 2002
Château Lagrange is located in Saint-Julien , in the Bordeaux region. It was classified Third Grand Cru Classé in the 1855 classification. In 1790 Jean-Valère Cabarrus, ship owner and influential merchant, invested in the property and built its commercial distribution. He had Visconti build the Tuscany Tower in 1820, which became the emblem of Château Lagrange. The Japanese group Suntory , under the leadership of its president Keizo Saji, acquired the estate in 1983. Marcel Ducasse was then recruited alongside Kenji Suzuta to lead this profound restructuring of the vineyard and begin the renovation of the estate. Today a new tandem, Matthieu Bordes and Keiichi Shiina , is continuing a second phase of investments. Of the total surface area of the property of 157 hectares, 118 hectares are planted with vines.
Château Lagrange is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot . The vinification is traditional, with moderate daily pumping over or punching down. The final wine is aged for 21 months in barrels including 50% new. The 2002 vintage had a mild winter that turned into a cool spring, but heavy rains made flowering patchy. The summer did not warm up and the rains continued during the month of August. An intense heat wave eventually swept through late summer and continued through September and October. These milder conditions took the small crop from potentially mediocre to a surprisingly high quality crop, although careful selection was still necessary.
Grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot