Dark ruby, dense core. Firm and balanced with blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and hints of citrus and minerals, pu, erh tea aroma. The easy palate of 2012, Lagrange left the Team with a significant impression. It has a core of ripe, generous black fruit from the riper Merlot with integrated tannins; this is a well-made, impressive wine and showed Chateau Lagrange’s capabilities in an otherwise average vintage(fruity and light). This neat and clean style, endowed by the current consultant Eric Boissenot, and the earlier consultant Emile Peynaud, Marcel Ducasse and Bruno Eynard, stands Lagrange out from other wines from the same St. Julien Appellation, such as Talbot, Beychevelle, St Pierre, Gloria, etc. Scores are impressively stable and hih: WE94, VertdeVin94, JS92, Tim Atkins 95. Harvest October 8 to 21, 35% 1st wine, 60% new oak. This bottle is from a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot and was picked relatively late for 2012—some complexities.
Deep ruby core with a medium rim. Very elegant and refined on the nose-ripe, concentrated dark fruit aromas with notes of "cigar-box" & pencil shavings (cedar & graphite)- cedar-wood and graphite. Drinking well now, natural and with just the right amount of mellowed grip with lifted- acidity. Fine tannins, feminine, supple, beautifully poised on the finish. Lovely. Of course, everyone knows Duhart, which is still valuable. Under the shadow of 1995, 1996 and 2000, 2001 is an understated vintage, hence the great deal—medium finish and alcohol, but still structured with some mileage. Probably only Bob Campell MW awarded it 95 points recently; most old-school writers awarded it at the level of 89.
Parker writes that this property, which has benefitted enormously from huge investments from the Rothschild family that owns Lafite, has turned out a dense purple-coloured Pauillac offering broad, expansive, supple and silky tannin as well as loads of Asian plum sauce, blackcurrants, and sweet cherries.
Old-school style- no high extraction, little wood spice and sweet vanilla, no toasty oak, and few hints of cigar box and mint- instead, the medium to deep garnet-coloured Lascombes 2009 reveal notes of stewed plums, baked blackberries and dried mulberries with touches of sweaty leather, raisin cake. With a rugged, chewy frame, the mid-palate gives a good core of earth-laced fruit, finishing a little rustic, mineral with ample and resolved tannins. Bodied.
The scores are impressive, though. Awarded 97 points, GG wrote, 'Beautiful dense red, still in its youth. The oak presence and lovely intense ripe red fruit still mark the expressive nose. On the palate, a rich, silky, full wine starts to deliver it powerfully. Poised for a great future.' Edited. Since this tasting note was from 2014, and based on that, it seems that Lascombes 2009 has evolved a lot and will continue to grow. The rest of the scores are 93(Larsson, VertdeVIn)and a host of 92s(WE, WS, JCL, JL etc.). So, the quality is still stable in the eyes of the commentators.
