Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is the finest wine made at this estate since 1982, and possibly the greatest La Lagune of all time. Its dense ruby/purple color is followed by an exquisite bouquet of spice box, incense, sweet unsmoked cigar tobacco, black cherry liqueur, forest floor, and subtle toasty oak. Reminiscent of a Cote de Nuits grand cru blended with a top-notch Bordeaux, this beauty possesses silky tannins, a broad, savory, expansive mouthfeel, and intrinsic precision as well as elegance. Moreover, this fabulous wine is a relative bargain for the vintage. Seamless and prodigious! Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025.
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Wine Spectator
Black in color. Blackberry, currant, sweet tobacco and hints of coffee follow through to a full body, with supersilky tannins and a long, chewy yet polished finish. The best in a long time from this producer.
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Decanter
Black-red, great concentration of ripe blackcurrant fruit with gamey, even leathery overtones, rich, plummy with crunchy fragrance, lively personality and a seductively long finish.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
One of the most—if not the most—famous red wine regions of the world, the Medoc reaches from the city of Bordeaux northwest along the left bank of the Gironde River almost all the way to the Atlantic. Its vineyards climb along a band of flatlands, sandwiched between the coastal river marshes and the pine forests in the west. The entire region can only claim to be three to eight miles wide (at its widest), but it is about 50 miles long.
While the Medoc encompasses the Haut Medoc, and thus most of the classed-growth villages (Margaux, Moulis, Listrac, St-Julien, Pauillac and St. Estephe) it is really only those wines produced in the Bas-Medoc that use the Medoc appellation name. The ones farther down the river, and on marginally higher ground, are eligible to claim the Haut Medoc appellation, or their village or cru status.
While the region can’t boast a particularly dramatic landscape, impressive chateaux disperse themselves among the magically well-drained gravel soils that define the area. This optimal soil draining capacity is completely necessary and ideal in the Medoc's damp, maritime climate. These gravels also serve well to store heat in cooler years.