Château Lagrange St Julien 1855 3ième Cru 2008

Campfire, charcoal and sweet brioche notes, blackcurrant pasille, still plenty of tannins at 14 years old, with structure and architecture, mint leaf and bitter chocolate as it unrolls. It holds its nerve from start to finish, offering unwavering flavours and excellent persistency. Good quality, ready to drink but no need to hurry. An important year for Lagrange, where the new vat house had double the capacity of the previous one. Although not entirely finished until 2010, the technical parts were ready for the 2008 harvest, allowing for far more precise plot by plot picking, with 102 vats in the cellar for 103 plots in the vineyard, eliminating the need for a 3rd wine. A beautiful late harvest vintage also (after a cool summer), with picking beginning on October 6 through October 23. 40% of production went into the 1st wine, 60% new oak for ageing.