Several hundred years of history
Two kilometres from the Garonne, lies an exquisite elevated Chartreuse, undoubtedly one of the oldest estates in the Médoc, Château La Lagune.
XVIth
A certain Mr Eyral buys the « Village de La Lagune ». The "father" of Château la Lagune transformed the hamlet and a few tenements into a large wine-producing estate.
XVIIth
Jean Lavaud, King’s Councillor and Controller of the Fortifications of Guyenne, thanks to his comfortable fortune, expanded his possessions through a series of acquisitions, including his main estate at La Lagune.
XVIIIth
The Lavaud family ordered a beautiful chartreuse, in its present form, to be completed 3 years later, thanks to the talent of the great architects of the time, Portier or Voisin.
XIXth
Thanks to its first-rate terroir, Château la Lagune has been awarded the superb distinction of 3e Grand Cru in the historic 1855 classification.
The Bordeaux wine merchant Louis Seze, who arrived in 1886, and his daughter Marguerite went on to produce great wines of international renown.
XXth
Affected by the various wars at the beginning of the century, work to reconstitute the vineyard and restore the chartreuse was undertaken by the owner at the time, Georges Brunet, to whom Marguerite had carefully entrusted the keys in 1958.
En 1961, La Lagune passed into the hands of René Chayoux, owner of the Ayala Champagne House, before being bequeathed to Mr Ducellier.
XXIth
In the early 2000, the Château La Lagune came out of its long slumber thanks to the Frey Family, who became owner.
Massive works were undertaken in the vineyard. The technical facilities were also remodelled: a new vat room was built and the cellar was enlarged. The Chartreuse was back in the limelight. Since 2004, enriched by Denis Dubourdieu’s teaching, Caroline Frey, the oenologist and winemaker, has been guiding the château’s destiny.
“La Lagune had enormous potential, but it was time to wake up the sleeping beauty.”
The terroir
The 110-hectare vineyard is the most southerly Grand Cru Classé on the Médoc peninsula. This island of sand and light gravel is characterised by warm, filtering soils and cooler subsoils. The light gravel, composed of pink, yellow and white quartz, calcite, agates and silica, diffuses the sunlight.
La Lagune stands out from its peers thanks to its unique terroir, which allows it to combine the finesse of the gravel with the strength of the Médoc in a subtle and unique combination.
Viticulture
In 2021, Château La Lagune receives biodynamic certification under the Biodyvin label, becoming the 10th Bordeaux wine to carry this label. This is the fruit of fifteen years’ work to establish a viticulture that is respectful of the vines, the land, people and biodiversity.
Vinification and ageing
The vat room is designed to make maximum use of the principle of gravity.
After meticulous triple sorting by hand, supplemented by optical sorting, the best grapes are carefully transferred to the vats, avoiding the need for pumping, for parcel-by-parcel vinification. Two impressive, articulated stainless steel arms, with a 5% slope, gradually feed the vats arranged in an arc, reducing the distance the harvest has to travel.
The diversity of the vats, with their different volumes, enables optimum parcel- by-parcel vinification.
Tannins and anthocyanins are skilfully extracted. The aim is to retain as much as possible of the finesse, elegance and balance of La Lagune, so characteristic of its terroir.
But it also has to be very respectful of the wine to preserve its elegance and fruitiness! Château La Lagune is aged for 12 to 14 months in French oak barrels, 50% of which are renewed each year.
The wines are racked several times during the ageing process, in order to favour ageing on fine lees.
The chromatic palette of grape varieties is composed with 6 coopers: Taransaud and Saury tame the ardour of the Cabernet Sauvignon, while Bernard and Quintessence emphasise just how velvety the Merlot is on the mid-palate and finish. To tame the Petit Verdot, they use the Boutes and Sylvain cooperages.
Source: Château La Lagune website
Château La Lagune
França
Bordeaux
2000
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot
Soil: light gravel and silica. Age of the vines: from 20 to 60 years old.
75cl
13%
16ºC - 18ºC
