Saint Julien

wines

Lovely deep red pink rim to the glass. Such freshness and floral lift on the nose, smells lively and welcoming with a cool blue fruit touch to the aromas alongside faint hints of liquorice. Amazing texture and mouthfeel - filling with a good density of chalky and textured tannins underpinning creamy red fruits with a juicy acidity that is so succulent and mouthwatering. Just giving everything - abundant, generous lively fruit, creamy velvet-textured tannins, bright acidity and gorgeous Cabernet aspects. Round and complete, excellent winemaking on show. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2037.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2019 Lagrange has turned out beautifully in bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of cherries, blackberries and cassis mingled with hints of loamy soil, pencil shavings and bay leaf. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with an ample core of lively fruit, powdery tannins and succulent acids, it’s suave and seamless, concluding with a long, expansive finish. The result of an extremely rigorous selection, and incorporating fully 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is the finest wine this château has produced in the modern era. Remarkably, it was released at the same price en primeur as the 2005!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPWhile I don’t think the 2019 Château Lagrange matches the 2018, it’s not far off, with a more elegant yet still concentrated style. Beautiful crème de cassis, spicy oak, tobacco, chocolate, and new saddle leather notes all emerge on the nose, and it stays tight, compact, and focused on the palate, with plenty of firm tannins. It opens up beautifully with time in the glass but merits 4-6 years of bottle age, and it should evolve for 20-25 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDA deep, fleshy Saint-Julien, the 2019 Lagrange builds beautifully with time in the glass. Sweet red/purplish berry fruit, rose petal, sage, mint, lavender and cinnamon are finely delineated, and yet this mid-weight Saint-Julien impresses with its super finessed personality. The 2019 is so inviting. It is an especially fine Lagrange. Tasted two times.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGAromas of blackcurrants, sandalwood and rose petals. Medium-to full-bodied with linear tannins that are racy and refined, yet forceful. Fine tannins at the end. Best after 2024.James Suckling | 94 JSThis full-bodied wine is open in style, with lashings of rich black fruits alongside dense tannins. This is a wine for some long-term aging.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEJuicy and flush, with steeped red and black currant and plum fruit flavors, this has a generous edge from start to finish. Features notes of tobacco, singed cedar, warm earth and iron throughout, with a seductive hint of incense curling around the tail end of the finish. This has a generosity that makes it approachable, but there’s no rush at all to drink this one. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2023 through 2036. 16,000 cases made, 700 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Plenty of blackberry, currant and floral aromas. Some mint as well, following through to a full-bodied palate with layers of ultra-fine tannins and wonderful length. This is sophisticated and beautifully crafted with style and personality, displaying its terroir. Extremely well done. Drink after 2025.James Suckling | 96 JSFrom one of the Barton family’s estates, this wine is solid in black fruits flavors and spice from wood aging. It has a fine, perfumed character, rich in fruit but also lifted by lively acidity. The wine’s ripeness will sustain it well as it ages.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEA timely classic for patient readers with cold cellars, the 2019 Langoa Barton is performing beautifully in bottle, unwinding in the glass with a rich bouquet of cassis, plums, cigar wrapper, pencil shavings and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, deep and elegantly muscular, its concentrated core of fruit is framed by lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins that assert themselves on the youthfully firm finish. Forget it for a decade and reap the rewards for the following four.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPA soft, seamless, beautifully textured Saint-Julien, especially in the vintage, the 2019 Château Langoa Barton gives up lots of red and black currant fruits as well as textbook damp earth, leafy herbs, chocolate, and spring flowers. It’s complex, medium to full-bodied, has beautiful tannins, and no hard edges. Drink this beauty any time over the coming 20-25 years. The blend is 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDQuite strongly perfumed on the nose here, full, heady, more pronounced than some of the others with a richness and intensity to the nose. High toned straight away, a combination of quite ripe acidity, almost brusque on the palate with a creaminess to the tannins. Doesn’t feel totally harmonious right now but there is great density of fruit, good acidity, brightness and soft tannins with a liquorice kick at the end, cooling and fresh. Lots going on here, just needs to come together. (Drink between 2025-2040)Decanter | 94 DECThe 2019 Langoa-Barton is every bit as delicious as it was from barrel. The purity of the flavors is just striking. Inky red fruit, blood orange, spice, mint and pomegranate are pushed forward. This is an especially succulent, richly textured Langoa, and that’s not a bad thing for a wine that in some vintages is a bit light.Antonio Galloni | 93 AGRipe and juicy, with a youthfully compact core of steeped plum, blueberry and black currant fruit. The finish is scored by violet and singed apple wood notes, with a tug of tar peeking in as well. Offers ample fruit and inner freshness, so this should open up soon enough. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2038. 7,950 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2020 Lagrange is a fine follow-up to the excellent 2019. Offering up aromas of crème de cassis and plums mingled with hints of violets, licorice, pencil shavings and vanilla pod, it’s medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with a deep core of ripe but vibrant fruit that’s framed by powdery tannins that assert themselves with gentle grip on the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPComing from depressingly low yields of just 26 hectoliters per hectare (the lowest since 1991), the 2020 Château Lagrange checks in as 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot that was raised in 60% new French oak. It’s a gorgeous, complete Saint-Julien offering remarkable purity in its cassis, violets, chocolate, and leafy tobacco-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, with terrific balance, a pure, focused mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and beautifully integrated oak, it’s going to benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and cruise over the following 2+ decades in cold cellar.Jeb Dunnuck | 95+ JDThe 2020 Lagrange is fabulous, just as it was from barrel. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, mocha, licorice, cedar and new leather are all amplified in this gorgeous, striking Saint-Julien. Soft and racy, with no hard edges and exceptional balance, Lagrange is a winner.Vinous Media | 94 VMAromatically very expressive on the nose. Perfumed with ripe fruits and floral characters. Supple and juicy, a lovely lifeforce and bounce. Tannins are plush yet plump giving a roundness to the expression letting the bright red fruits shine and acidity keep everything lifted. Has a joyous quality, so easy to like this - refreshing and enjoyable. The texture and weight is great, lovely medicinal edges as well as some salinity with cooling minty touches and a long finish. Really well worked, not pushed and delivered with poise. It’s lightly framed in terms of texture, more layered vertically than wide, giving an aerial freshness throughout. Decanter | 94 DECAttractive nose of blackberries, blackcurrants, walnuts, ink and kaffir leaves. It’s medium- to full-bodied, firm and structured, with chewy and tight tannins. Dark and intense, with a long and persistent finish. Turns to graphite and cedar. Needs time to open and soften. Try from 2026.James Suckling | 94 JSThis wine, with its red plum and spice flavors has an initial smoothness that is belied by the wine’s dry, firm core. Its dark tannins are there to ensure a fine future. Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEVery sleek, with a racy iron edge driving through in lockstep with cassis and cherry coulis flavors. Reveals a subtle black tea accent on the finish, with the minerality eventually holding center stage. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2036. 11,200 cases made, 1,100 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

This is very linear and structured, with blackcurrant, pine-needle, graphite and cedar aromas and flavors. Intense. Full-bodied, chalky and intense. Superb. Best of the trilogy. Drink after 2027.James Suckling | 97 JSTasted on multiple occasions, the 2020 Château Langoa Barton comes from a mix of different sites in Saint-Julien, which makes it a great representation of the vintage and appellation. The blend is 53.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc. It exhibits a deep ruby/purple hue to go with a beautiful bouquet of red and black cherries, currants, leafy tobacco, and cedar pencil, with a touch of damp earth that emerges with time in the glass. Medium to full-bodied, balanced, and elegant on the palate, it has plenty of mid-palate depth and richness, velvety tannins, and a great finish. This plush, up-front, expansive, wonderfully textured Saint-Julien will benefit from just a few years of bottle age and cruise for two decades. It’s the finest example from this château I’ve tasted. Bravo!Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDThe 2020 Langoa Barton has turned out superbly in bottle, offering up generous aromas of black cherries, crème de cassis, licorice and pencil shavings deftly framed by classy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and fleshy, its concentrated core of ripe but vibrant fruit is framed by sweet, powdery tannins and lively acids. Beautifully balanced, it’s somewhat more open out of the gates than the excellent 2019 and will offer an especially broad drinking window.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThe tannins in this wine are velvety, supporting the black fruits and richness. The wine has fruitiness but also structure and potential. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2020 Langoa Barton has quite a plush, violet-tinged bouquet, higher-toned than the Léoville Barton, though without the same unerring complexity. This just wants to go out and have fun. The palate has an irresistible rondeur, velvety smooth with black plum, hints of cassis and a sweet and persistent finish. Joyful.Vinous Media | 93 VMSolidly built, with a bright violet note leading the way, followed by cassis and blackberry flavors that are vivid and defined. Shows apple wood and bramble notes that add a grippy, juicy feel to the finish, while an iron note adds cut and drive. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2036. 6,400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSWood aspects on the nose: vanilla, cinnamon, toast and caramel. Ripe, but clean and tight, there’s depth and intensity to the fruit which is focused and narrow, giving a sleek but tense frame and drive of flavours. There is underlying acidity and a juiciness that comes through, and this has a long, persistent flavour but it does remain quite narrow. Nicely worked and restrained. It grows more and more, but the wood is still quite present and needs to settle. Just feels a little dry, tight, high-toned and spicy which is slightly off-putting. Decanter | 92 DEC

Juicy and intensely ripe in terms of texture - tannins are fleshy but also really cool giving this a push-pull of bright acidity and actually quite serious mineral elements of flint and liquorice. Such an appealing weight in the mouth, layered and structured with expressive fruit and lively juiciness all combining to a stylish and inviting whole. So much going on but managed with finesse and elegance. A clear success in 2022. Harvest 8-30 September. Ageing 21 months in French oak, 60% new. Tasted twice.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECThe 2022 Lagrange (Saint-Julien) has a serious Saint-Julien bouquet: quite dense compared to previous vintages, with potent black fruit, cedar and freshly rolled tobacco that all dovetails into more estuarine-influenced aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with a ripe entry, quite bold in flavor yet there is also control and focus. This is a more muscular Lagrange, grippy with a tarry finish. To repeat, the 2022 is a "serious" Lagrange in a positive use of that word, one that will demand bottle age, ranking alongside the 2016 as the best Grand Vin from this estate.Vinous Media | 95 VMA polished and expressive St.-Julien that shows spot-on balance. Fresh blueberries, wet stones, currants and a touch of red berries. Medium- to full-bodied with fine, chalky tannins that are firm but dissolved. Quite precise, juicy and focused. Beautiful balance and length. Drink from 2027.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2022 Lagrange is brilliant, ranking alongside the 2020, 2019 and 2016 as one of this over-performing estate’s finest recent vintages. Revealing aromas of dark cherries, cassis, violets and pencil shavings, it’s medium to full-bodied, velvety and layered, with a deep core of fruit, beautifully refined but youthfully assertive tannins and a long, mouthwatering finish. It’s a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot with a very healthy pH of 3.63.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RPThe 2022 Lagrange is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it bursts forth with bombastic notions of creme de cassis, blackberry preserves, and redcurrant jelly, leading to alluring nuances of cinnamon stick, clove oil, star anise, and violets. The medium-bodied palate is densely laden with black fruit and baking spices layers, supported by ripe, fine-grained tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long and opulent. 40% of the year’s production went into the first wine and yields were 34 hl/ha. pH 3.53.The Wine Independent | 94-96 TWISilky and enticing, with gently mulled raspberry and boysenberry fruit that glides through, flecked with anise, red tea and sandalwood notes. Ready to go. Drink now through 2035. 2,300 cases made, 200 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WSThe 2022 Château Lagrange is more mid-weight than I expected, yet it’s nicely balanced and certainly elegant. Based on 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot pulled from just 40% of the total production, it has a pretty nose of cassis and black raspberry fruits as well as some floral and spicy nuances. Its oak is nicely integrated, it’s medium to full-bodied, and it has fine tannins. The barrel review will seem low if this puts on weight over the course of its élevage.Jeb Dunnuck | 91-94 JD