Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A delicious red with blackcurrant, walnut, mushroom and forest-floor character. Full-bodied, layered and chewy. Yet, it’s very attractive. Try after 2024.
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Wine Enthusiast
This estate, one of the relatively few in Saint-Julien that is not classified (and therefore good value), has produced a young and structured wine that is very much in the understated style of Saint-Julien. Its fruits and ripe tannins promise great things. Smoky and rich, the wine will be ready from 2026.
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Wine Spectator
Very expressive, with a forward display of warmed cassis, plum reduction and blackberry compote flavors, which are underscored by licorice root and menthol. Features a ganache coating on the finish, giving it a broad feel. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Lalande is performing nicely in bottle, offering up aromas of cassis, dark berry fruit, loamy soil and cigar wrapper. Medium to full-bodied, layered and velvety, with lively acids and ripe tannins, it's a nicely balanced, characterful Saint-Julien that's already drinking well. Best After 2021
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.
An icon of balance and tradition, St. Julien boasts the highest proportion of classed growths in the Médoc. What it lacks in any first growths, it makes up in the rest: five amazing second growth chateaux, two superb third growths and four well-reputed fourth growths. While the actual class rankings set in 1855 (first, second, and so on the fifth) today do not necessarily indicate a score of quality, the classification system is important to understand in the context of Bordeaux history. Today rivalry among the classed chateaux only serves to elevate the appellation overall.
One of its best historically, the estate of Leoville, was the largest in the Médoc in the 18th century, before it was divided into the three second growths known today as Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases, Léoville-Poyferré and Léoville-Barton. Located in the north section, these are stone’s throw from Chateau Latour in Pauillac and share much in common with that well-esteemed estate.
The relatively homogeneous gravelly and rocky top soil on top of clay-limestone subsoil is broken only by a narrow strip of bank on either side of the “jalle,” or stream, that bisects the zone and flows into the Gironde.
St. Julien wines are for those wanting subtlety, balance and consistency in their Bordeaux. Rewarding and persistent, the best among these Bordeaux Blends are full of blueberry, blackberry, cassis, plum, tobacco and licorice. They are intense and complex and finish with fine, velvety tannins.