Lagrange (St Julien) 2005

Medium red-ruby. Reticent but sweet nose offers plum, black cherry, minerals and bitter chocolate. Thick and powerful but with excellent vinosity and sweetness as well as a slightly exotic character to the red fruit and spice flavors. Deep, slow-mounting wine that builds impressively on the back end. The tannins here make those of the 2006 seem a bit rigid by comparison. I was struck by the thought that Lagrange has done consistently well in the last three vintages, and that each effort is an accurate reflection of its year.

Lean, deep, rich. A very good wine, very young and tight, with so much to come. Good richness, power and spice. Drink from 2015. Awarded 5 stars.

""Dark, still youthful red; crisply sweet and markedly mineral to smell; very nicely balanced, concentrated middleweight claret, with a fresh acidity and fine, dry tannin; a mass of fruit, crisply sweet to taste, fresh, aromatic, savoury, with clear gravelly aromas, and a fine, fruity length of after-taste; On the slightly more muscular side, but this is a classy and complete, very good 3rd growth. Still a touch firm, but full of medium to long term promise. One of the great values of the tasting. Now - 25+.

Beautiful fragrance of soft, dark, generous fruit. It shows balance and poise and a real touch of class. Serious, but not unfriendly. It'll last for years or delight you now with an hour in the decanter. A great addition to any cellar, or Sunday lunch. In fact, after the tasting, this was the wine I chose to drink with my lunch!

Different samples of Lagrange appeared to be at various stages of development, but none of them revealed the flamboyance and richness I tasted last year. The tannins are extremely high, but the wine is big, full-bodied, and slightly rustic with less oak than last year. There are plenty of olive, blackberry, cassis, and cedar characteristics as well as a hint of barbecue smoke, good freshness and precision, and a long, pure finish, but, wow, what an excruciatingly high level of tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030?

Once again the provocative words “the best ever made” appear in my tasting notes. In twenty-eight years, I have never tasted a Lagrange as amazing as this 2005. Its dense ruby/purple color is accompanied by pure notes of creme de cassis, cedar, spice box, and a hint of cherries. Full-bodied, powerful, and opulent, with high tannin as well as extract in addition to great freshness, definition, and length, this long-lived beauty should be at its finest between 2012-2030.

Aromas of currants, berries, licorice and spice. Full-bodied and very velvety, with wonderful, high quality tannins. Long finish. Balanced and classy.

Dark crimson. Scented, mineral nose. Really quite aromatic. Lively and relatively light but with excellent tannins and life to it. Not an extreme 2005 but a wine with the concentrated dryness of the vintage. Solid. Impossible to imagine drinking this without food! 13%Drink 2022-2038

A great vintage just becoming ready to drink. Lovely luscious crimson. Fine, scented and energetic. Silky at first, then chewy, but well built with lots of ripe fruit. Classy stuff from a very reliable property revived by - Suntory of Japan! Drink 2013-2030.

Healthy and dark. Well balanced but light nose. Very broad intense fruit on the front palate. Lively - even a hint of alcohol on the finish

Brilliant pinkish crimson. Rather simple fruit and no great structure. Nothing at all wrong with this but in the context of the vintage it's a bit dull and lacking energy. Drink 2013-22