A unique estate, an ancient wine vocation

This estate has been a place of life and culture since the Gallo-Roman era: from the Gallo-Roman”VILLA RUSTICA “to the “GRANGIA “of the middle ages. The templars gave an early wine oriented future to Lagrange through the noble house of Lagrange de Monteil and the Pellecalhus Tenant, the hospital and the chapel constructed during the 13th century. We only know the history and the description of the owners from the year 1631 and onwards.

A reputation acquired during the 18th century

The family of Branne, a parliamentarian from Bordeaux and the owner of Mouton, acquired to property and contributed to its influence. During the year 1790 the shipowner and influential negociant, Jean-Valère Cabarrus, invested in the property and built its commercial distribution from scratch. In 1820 he had the Tuscany Tower built by Visconti, which became the emblem of Château Lagrange.

From Jefferson to Dûchatel, the tale of a ranking

During the year 1785, Thomas Jefferson, then Ambassador of the United States in France visited Bordeaux and classified Lagrange second of the 3rd classified Crus. This was due to the efforts Count Dûchatel, owner from 1842 to 1874, invested in the estate. He innovated and created draining process and extended the estate to 280 hectares, of which 120 were vineyards. He was Minister of the Interior under King Louis-Philippe and member of the Academy of Fine Arts. He contributed to the influence of Château Lagrange in Europe.

Lagrange today

The Japanese group Suntory, under the leadership of its president Keizo Saji, acquires the estate in the year 1983. Marcel Ducasse is then recruited alongside Kenji Suzuta to lead the deep restructuring of the vineyards and to start the massive renovation of the estate. The first stage represents the rebirth of Château Lagrange. Having concluded more than twdenty years of work, human and technical investments, Lagrange has finally regained the entire recognition of its peers. Nowadays, Matthieu Bordes and Keiichi Shiina, a new tandem, continue to seek excellence. A second investment phase began during the 2008 vintage, giving Lagrange the means to succeed in its ambitions: to produce classy, elegant and sparkling wines in the Saint-Julien appellation. An evolution of the production methods was made towards a greater respect of the environment and a reduction of the ecological footprint of the property. This philosophy falls within the history of the estate, the promotion od an exceptional terroir and the sharing and a unique experience around the world around its wines.

 

Terroir

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• ARGILO-LIMESTONE SOIL
• FINE GRAVEL SOIL
• COARSE GRAVEL SOIL
• RICH GRAVEL SOIL
• SANDY-GRAVELY COLLUVIUM

Entirely located on the Saint-Julien appellation, the one piece vineyard extends on two Graves hillcrests of “Gunziennes” origin, oriented to the North and the South. These gravels are either fine or coarsed along with either sand or ferruginous clay.
With an altitude of 24 meters, the center of the estate is the highest point of Saint-Julien. The property covers 157 hectares in total, 118 of them are vineyards. The majority of the parcels are drained.

The Cellars

The property has invested several million euros in its cellars during the last decade, which now counts as one of its exceptional tools, reaching to the level of this excellent terroir.