Château Lagrange

Lagrange's first traces date back to the Middle Ages, when the term "grange" indicated a vast estate including a church, a hospital, farm buildings and housing; present-day plots such as "l'hôpital" and "la chapelle" recall that past. The property was first planted with vines at the beginning of the 16th century, and in the eighteenth century the Branne family from Bordeaux extended the vineyard. Thomas Jefferson visited in 1787 and ranked Lagrange Third Classified Growth in his personal classification of Médoc wines. Jean-Valère Cabarrus took over the property in 1790 and built the master house on the site of the former manor. In 1842 Count Duchâtel, Home Secretary to King Louis Philippe, acquired the property and installed a land drainage system built with ceramic pipework made on site; the Tuscan-style tower was built in 1845 to plans by the architect Louis Visconti. Lagrange was ranked Third Classified Growth in the official 1855 classification. In 1983 Keizo Saji, son of the founder of Suntory, bought the property from the Cendoya family, who had owned it since 1925.

• First planted with vines at the beginning of the 16th century
• 1787: Thomas Jefferson ranked Lagrange Third Classified Growth in his personal classification
• 1842: Count Duchâtel acquired the property; the Tuscan-style tower followed in 1845
• 1983: bought by Keizo Saji, son of the founder of Suntory, from the Cendoya family

Over the first ten years after the purchase, the team restructured the vineyard to create more precise plots and adopted a strategy of sustainable development from the mid-nineties onwards; both the cellars and the château were entirely renovated. By 1999 Suntory had invested $40 million to renovate the château and winemaking facilities, and director Marcel Ducasse joined Lagrange after Suntory purchased it in 1983. A complete cellar modernisation completed in 2010 nearly doubled fermentation capacity, enabling precise parcel-by-parcel vinification. Matthieu Bordes is General Manager.

• $40 million invested by Suntory by 1999 to renovate the château and winemaking facilities
• Marcel Ducasse, director, joined after the 1983 purchase
• Cellar modernisation completed in 2010 nearly doubled fermentation capacity
• Matthieu Bordes, General Manager

The vineyard is perched on two Gunzian gravel slopes, one of which has the highest point in the appellation, and stretches over 107 hectares in a single block. Its surface area and plots today are the same as those appearing in the 1855 classification. It is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot and divided into 103 individual plots, with small vats allowing separate vinification of each plot. A further 11 hectares are dedicated to Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Sémillon, and forty hectares of gardens and woodlands and a lake are added to the vineyard. No chemical herbicides are used, a natural grass cover is maintained in many vine plots, and solar panels on the roof give the cellars a positive energy balance. The average age of the vines is 40 years.

• 107 hectares in a single block on two Gunzian gravel slopes; 11 hectares of white varieties
• 103 individual plots, each vinified separately in small vats
• No chemical herbicides; natural grass cover in many vine plots
• Average vine age of 40 years

Lagrange is a Third Growth of the 1855 classification. In 2026 Decanter's Panos Kakaviatos placed it among his "thrilling thirds", estates delivering relatively higher quality than other third growths at prices that have not yet fully caught up. The Grand Vin has a strong predominance of Cabernet Sauvignon, complemented by Merlot and Petit Verdot; it is made from the oldest vines of the estate, aged for twenty-one months in half-new barrels, and rarely represents more than 40% of the harvest. The second wine, Les Fiefs de Lagrange, was created in 1983; it comes from vines averaging 30 years, half of which are Cabernet Sauvignon, and is aged for thirteen months in barrels which are 20% new. Les Arums de Lagrange, created in 1996, is a white wine of white and grey Sauvignons with Sémillon, polished for six months in half-new barrels, and Les Fleurs du Lac is a second white created a few years later. Pagus de Lagrange is a predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon Haut-Médoc from vines neighbouring Saint-Julien, aged 12 months in barrel. The estate's Collection Parcellaire pairs the Grand Vin with Les Hauts Bois, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon single plot selection.

• Château Lagrange (Grand Vin): Cabernet Sauvignon dominant with Merlot and Petit Verdot; twenty-one months in half-new barrels
• Les Fiefs de Lagrange: second wine created in 1983; thirteen months in barrels which are 20% new
• Les Arums de Lagrange (created 1996) and Les Fleurs du Lac: the estate's two white wines
• Pagus de Lagrange: Haut-Médoc, predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://chateau-lagrange.com/en/the-domaine/, https://chateau-lagrange.com/en/chateau-lagrange/, https://chateau-lagrange.com/en/the-earth/, https://chateau-lagrange.com/en/time/, https://chateau-lagrange.com/en/the-philosophy/, https://chateau-lagrange.com/en/the-collections/, https://chateau-lagrange.com/en/tours-and-tastings/, https://chateau-lagrange.com/en/les-fiefs-de-lagrange/, https://chateau-lagrange.com/en/les-arums-de-lagrange/, https://chateau-lagrange.com/en/les-fleurs-du-lac/, https://chateau-lagrange.com/en/pagus-de-lagrange/. Secondary sources: https://www.winespectator.com/articles/chateau-lagrange-releases-its-first-white-bordeaux-in-decades-20264, https://www.decanter.com/wine/bordeaux/the-third-growths-reviewed-reappraised-reclassified/. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.