Noblesse de Lagrange
Brand Description
Saint-Julien, the smallest of the four Médoc appellations at just 6% of this terroir but with an exceptional concentration of classified growths (85% of the appellation), is incontestably the heart of the Médoc. Driven by four centuries of Médoc history and stimulated by the vision of uncompromised quality promoted by its Japanese owners since 1983, Château Lagrange has been able to adapt tradition and embrace innovation in order to express its terroir -unchanged since 1855- with the highest precision, raising each parcel and each vintage to its best, for great, expressive, and harmonious wines.
Location of Vineyard
The Château Lagrange estate, first planted with vines at the beginning of the 16th century, covers 118 hectares in a single block, unmodified since the 1855 classification. The vineyard is located on two Gunzian gravel slopes, one of which is the highest point in the Saint-Julien appellation. The soil is remarkably well-drained, both naturally and thanks to a drainage system created as early as the nineteenth century. Despite being in a single block, soil studies and cross sections have revealed a vineyard of no less than 17 different soil types, contributing to the richness and diversity of the terroirs and the unique style of Château Lagrange. During the replanting from 1985 to 1988, this in-depth knowledge of the pedology meant it was possible to fine tune the choice of grape varieties, adapting to each soil type. The present composition of the vineyard is 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and 5% Petit-Verdot. The average age of the vines is 40 years, the oldest dating back to 1952.
Winemaking and Viticulture Philosophy
The philosophy followed over recent decades has been to spare no efforts whatsoever to allow this beautiful estate to express the true potential of its terroirs; working in harmony with nature whilst preserving resources for future generations, facing up to and seeking solutions to climate change, and keeping the activity’s environmental footprint to a minimum. ln the same respectful and avant-garde spirit, the estate attained Terra Vitis certification in 2005, ISO 14 001 and High Environmental Value level 3 in 2017, and was the first to commit to the CSR project "Bordeaux Cultivons Demain" (Cultivate Tomorrow), and numerous other initiatives:
- Cataloging, protecting, and developing the biodiversity on the estate through the regeneration of woodlands and hedgerows, eco-pastoralism, sowing fallow fields with flowers for insects, creating ponds, and installing nesting boxes and other shelters for the local fauna.
- Adopting mechanical tilling with no use of chemical herbicides, natural grassing over in the plots to encourage life in the earth and limit erosion, fertilization by sowing endemic cover crops that do not impact the ecosystem, and the use of natural manure.
- The establishment of the estate as a pilot site for INRA (French Agricultural Research lnstitute) since 1995, studying natural alternatives to insecticides, the optimization of treatment dates and the minimization of phytosanitary products thanks to a high precision weather station and heightened surveillance of the vineyard.
- Reducing water consumption and lowering carbon intensity (the first estate to undertake a carbon audit in 2005), thanks to building renovation and the installation of ultra-modern equipment. An increasing proportion of the electricity for the estate is generated by solar panels.
- Reducing and recycling vineyard and bottling waste products. The development of an alternative to wooden boxes by using eco-designed cardboard boxes which are not only lighter but are strong, recyclable, and locally manufactured.
Winery Profile
Winemaker: Matthieu Bordes
Total acreage under vine: 290
Founded: 1796
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