Château La Lagune

La Lagune's history begins in the late Middle Ages. In the 16th century, a Mr Eyral bought the 'Village de La Lagune' and turned the hamlet into a wine-producing estate. In the 17th century, Jean Lavaud, a King's Councillor and Controller of the Fortifications of Guyenne, expanded his holdings to include La Lagune, and in the 18th century the Lavaud family had the present chartreuse built. The estate credits its design to 'the great architects of the time, Portier or Voisin'; The Wine Cellar Insider instead credits Baron Victor Louis, architect of the Bordeaux Grand Théâtre, and dates construction to about 1715 to 1734. The 1855 Bordeaux Classification ranked La Lagune a Troisième Cru Classé. The Bordeaux wine merchant Louis Seze arrived in 1886 and, with his daughter Marguerite, continued the estate's wine production. The great frost of 1956 destroyed a large portion of Bordeaux's vineyards, and by 1958, when Marguerite Seze entrusted the estate to Georges Brunet, only 5 hectares remained planted with vines. Brunet undertook the replanting and restoration. In 1961 La Lagune passed to René Chayoux, owner of the Ayala Champagne House, before being bequeathed to a Mr Ducellier. The Frey family took ownership around the turn of the millennium: the estate dates its arrival to the early 2000s, while The Wine Cellar Insider places the sale in late 1999, with 2000 the family's first vintage. Caroline Frey, an oenologist and winemaker enriched by Denis Dubourdieu's teaching, has guided the estate since 2004. In July 2025, Caroline Frey stepped back from directing Château La Lagune, along with the family's Domaines Paul Jaboulet Aîné and Château Corton C. The Drinks Business quoted her statement that her sister, Delphine, had for some time been 'fully involved in the vision, strategic direction, and image of our estates,' and that their father, Jean-Jacques Frey, 'founder of our family group,' had been there from day one. A new head winemaker was to be announced by Delphine Frey.

• Chartreuse built in the 18th century; the estate names 'Portier or Voisin' as its architects, while The Wine Cellar Insider credits Baron Victor Louis and dates construction to about 1715-1734
• Only 5 hectares remained under vine in 1958, when Georges Brunet took over and began replanting
• In 1961 the estate passed to René Chayoux of the Ayala Champagne House, then was bequeathed to a Mr Ducellier
• Frey family ownership began around the turn of the millennium; Caroline Frey directed the estate from 2004 until stepping back in July 2025, with sister Delphine Frey carrying the family's estates forward

La Lagune sits in the commune of Ludon-Médoc, and its vineyard is the most southerly Grand Cru Classé on the Médoc peninsula. The 110-hectare vineyard occupies a gravel hilltop whose croups the estate counts among the finest examples of the Médoc croups, a case study often called the 'Médoc island model,' notably by the geographer René Pijassou. The light gravel is composed of pink, yellow, and white quartz, calcite, agates, and silica, over cooler subsoils. The wider estate covers about 150 hectares, much of it parkland and forest.

• Ludon-Médoc: home to the most southerly Grand Cru Classé on the Médoc peninsula
• 110-hectare vineyard on a gravel hilltop known as the 'Médoc island model' (a term associated with geographer René Pijassou)
• Soil: pink, yellow, and white quartz, calcite, agates, and silica gravel over cooler subsoil
• About 150 hectares total estate, much of it parkland and forest

The vineyard is planted to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 10% Petit Verdot, which the estate calls 'the Médoc trinity.' Caroline Frey converted the vineyard to organic farming in 2016, and in 2021 Château La Lagune received biodynamic certification under the Biodyvin label, becoming the tenth Bordeaux wine to carry it, the fruit of fifteen years of work. A team of 25 winegrowers tends the vines year-round. Massal selection, first applied to Petit Verdot, has since been extended to Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to select vines adapted to the estate's terroir. Harvest is by hand, with about 140 pickers bringing grapes to the vat room in 8-kilogram crates, and vinification is parcel by parcel. Fermentation takes place in 72 temperature-controlled stainless steel vats ranging from 22 to 200 hectoliters. The vat room is designed around gravity, with articulated stainless steel arms feeding the vats so the harvest avoids pumping. The grand vin is aged for 12 to 14 months in French oak, with 50% of barrels renewed each year, from six different cooperages.

• 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot
• Organic farming from 2016; Biodyvin biodynamic certification from 2021, the tenth Bordeaux wine to carry the label
• Hand harvest by about 140 pickers in 8-kilogram crates; fermentation in 72 temperature-controlled stainless steel vats (22-200 hectoliters)
• Aged 12 to 14 months in French oak, 50% new barrels annually

La Lagune holds Troisième Cru Classé status in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. The grand vin, Château La Lagune, is joined by a second wine, Moulin du Château La Lagune, a blend that favours Merlot (50%); it debuted in 1998, then under the name Moulin de La Lagune. The estate's current wine pages list no third wine, though The Wine Cellar Insider documents a third wine, Mademoiselle L, from 30 hectares of Haut-Médoc vines. The estate describes the grand vin as fine and elegant, harmonious and balanced, with an 'aristocratic finesse' and velvety texture drawn from its gravel hillside.

• Troisième Cru Classé (Third Growth), 1855 Bordeaux Classification
• Second wine: Moulin du Château La Lagune, a Merlot-led blend, first made in 1998
• A third wine, Mademoiselle L, from 30 hectares of Haut-Médoc vines, is documented by The Wine Cellar Insider but does not appear on the estate's current wine pages
• House style, in the estate's words: fine and elegant, harmonious and balanced, with 'aromatic sincerity' and a velvety texture

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://chateau-lalagune.com/, https://chateau-lalagune.com/history/, https://chateau-lalagune.com/chateau-la-lagune/, https://chateau-lalagune.com/terroir/, https://chateau-lalagune.com/biodynamic-viticulture/, https://chateau-lalagune.com/moulin-du-chateau-la-lagune/, https://chateau-lalagune.com/vinification-aging/, https://chateau-lalagune.com/massal-selection/, https://chateau-lalagune.com/a-way-of-living/, https://chateau-lalagune.com/harvest-time/. Secondary sources: The Wine Cellar Insider, https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/haut-medoc-lesser-appellations/la-lagune/; Decanter, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/la-lagune-co-owner-caroline-frey-buys-swiss-vineyard-300355/; The Drinks Business, https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2025/07/caroline-frey-to-step-back-from-the-direction-of-domaines-paul-jaboulet-aine/ (29 July 2025). Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs; conflicts are logged in conflicts.json.