Château Lagrange

Sep 10, 2018 | Uncategorized

Ups and downs for four decades of any great estate always represents a fascinating adventure. A wine always reflets the changes over such a long period of time. It is a blend of different managers and owners, the influence of economic changes that can batter any business over the long-term, plus, some global weather patterns and technological advances, everything plays  its part in converting what happens in the vineyard into what we can discern in our glass.

Chateau Lagrange started out life as Maison Noble de Lagrange Monteil and dates back to the Middle Ages. The first known owners can be traced back in 1631 and by 1824 Lagrange was producing 120 barrels per year. However, Chateau Lagrange did not become well-known for producing wine until 1842 when the owner, Count Duchatel added a drainage system in the vineyard. After this incredible innovation, the chateau saw several changes in ownership, parts of the vineyard were sold off,  the German occupation during World War II and a fire that destroyed the place. With these frequent upheavals, the quality of the vines was suffering and it is fair to say that there was quite a challenge facing Suntory ( the leading Japanese wine and spirits firm) when it bought Lagrange from the Cendoya family in 1983. Suntory invested heavily in a spectacular renovation and thanks to it, today Lagrange has 120 hectares of vines producing 300,00 bottles per year.

Did you know?..

  • Japanese owners Suntory invested three times the purchase price of the estate within two years in order to renovate the whole Chateau and replanting its vineyards.
  • In order to express gratitude to the owners’ Japanese nationality, Lagrange presents a wok station within their French kitchen, a strange bell tower and a tranquil Japanese garden
  • The Chateau has embraced technology in an impressive way. By joining a visit, you will step from detailed analysis of the land to computers that can select grapes and computers that control the temperatures of each individual vat.

Eleanor Asks…

    • What is technology bringing to your business/work?
    • Which is the local dining place you would personally suggest?
    • Would you recommend our service to importers worldwide?
    • Do you have a message to send to buyers of your wine?

Château Lagrange answers…

1- Even if vine growing and wine making are still very traditional, many facilities and knowledge have evolved for the last 20 years. Using drones to have more information about the vigor and quality is very useful. Gravity de-stemmer, optical scanner is also very good to improve the quality during the sorting of grapes. Supply, demand and price platforms to sell wines transparently could be another way to think about wine trade.

2- We have at the chateau our own Chef, Mr SATO who came from Japan and he gives us a great experience of French and Japanese food which match very well with our wines. You can also go to Le SAINT JULIEN Restaurant who Claude BROSSARD realizes amazing dishes.

3- I have already done it! 🙂

4- The best way to buy safely directly from the Château, release wines in very good storage conditions.