Chateau
La Lagune is one of the five GCC estates that is not located within the famous
communes of St-Estephe, St-Julien, Pauillac and Margaux. It is the southernmost
of all the classed growths in Medoc. Once known as Grand La Lagune, the history
began in the 17th century, with the origin of the name remained a
mystery.
The
earliest documented proprietor of the estate was the Seguineau family, which
established the vineyards and constructed the chateau in 1715, from the same
designer Victor Louis who later built the Grand Theatre de Bordeaux. Early
viticulture and sales of wine was recorded as early as 1724.
The
Seguineau family maintained control until the 18th century, and
later acquired by Jouffrey Piston in 1819, who established the reputation and
was ranked a third growth in the 1855 classification. He was succeeded by his
son and later sold the estate to Louis Seze in 1898, who passed to his
son-in-law Galy in 1911.
However,
the estate began a spiraling deterioration, but not an uncommon thing during
that time in Bordeaux. At the turn of the century the vines accounted for 50
hectares but by 1954 it was dwindled to just 4 hectares. In 1958 it was
acquired by Georges Brunet, an agricultural engineer, who expanded the estate
by acquiring the neighboring Petit La Lagune, and together it took on its
modern name La Lagune.
He
undertook many re-development, replanting the entire vineyard and constructing
a modern winery, turning out good quality wines after a few years. In 1961
however Brunet had to sell the estate to finance another purchase in Provence,
to Rene Chayoux of Champagne Ayala.
Rene
restored the chateau, developed further the chai, and installed 26 epoxy-lined
stainless steel vats with a novel system of airtight pipes to transport the
wine from vat to barrel to avoid any contact of the wine with oxygen. Today it
is in the ownership of the Frey family, who acquired Champagne Ayala in 2000,
with Caroline Frey as winemaker, continuing the tradition since 1964 with a
female manager.
It is
now overseen by Pierre Vital, with 80 hectares of vineyards under the
Haut-Medoc appellation planted on Mindelian gravel, which is a sandy-gravel mix
on top of Quaternary gravel similar to Graves. The vines are 60% Cabernet
Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot, unusually high for this variety, at
6500 vines per hectare.
The
vines are trained higher to improve the foliage surface area, with the vineyard
managed on sustainable manner. The grapes are harvested by hand, at a yield
typically 40-45 hl per hectare. Caroline oversees the fermentation with
consultation from Denis Dubourdieu.
An
automatic sorting by vibrating table and manual sorting is done, with
destemming and then a third sorting afterwards, the lightly pressed fruit is
fed by gravity to 72 temperature-controlled steel vats, with maceration and
then fermentation. There is a tasting and blending before the wines go into
oak, traditionally with 100% new oak for the grand vin Chateau La Lagune,
typically producing 33000 cases per annum.
Now the
use of new oak is tuned down to about 55%, and the wine is aged for 18 months
before release. The second wine is Moulin La Lagune at about 8000 cases per
annum, with a higher Merlot proportion at 40%, and 12 months in oak of 30-40%
new barrels. There is a third wine called Mademoiselle L starting 2004.
I have
recently tasted the 2005 vintage and below is my tasting note:
Appearance
Bright and clear, this wine is of deep ruby
color, with legs.
Nose
Clean,
the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of ripe black fruit of blackberry
and dark cherries, pungent spice of liquorice, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes
of chocolate, mineral notes of earth and graphite, maturity notes of forest
floor. The wine is developing.
Palate
Dry with
medium acidity, the wine has a medium (+) tannin yet it is smooth and velvety.
Medium in alcohol, it has medium (+) body and medium intensity flavors of black
fruit such as blackberry and plum, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of cocoa, maturity
notes of sweet tobacco. The wine has a medium (+) finish.
Conclusion
Very
good quality Haut-Medoc with an intense nose showing different characters, the
wine is of good complexity, with a fairly high tannin level but very smooth and
velvety. Overall it is of good balance and has a firm structure, providing a
palate that is equally intense and complex, with also a fairly long finish. A
wonderful wine that still has a lot to develop, it is ready to drink now but
can benefit from further ageing of another 4-6 years. 
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