TN 1996 Ch. Lagrange, St. Julien

[Houndsong]

Nice wine with one caveat. Lots of mature/secondary characteristics but also a lot of size, power and structure. Color a bit more red than black. I got a fair amount of herby, minty, basily notes in this bottle. Good sweetness and fine balance. The caveat is that for some reason the tannins seemed like a ridge right down the middle of the palate, both geographically and temporally between the fore and after tastes. Kind of weird in that regard, and just maybe in need of some more time to resolve this. So quite nice overall and I've frozen the other half for later in the week.

[Blanquito]

My recent experience with the puppy suggested another 3-5 years in the cellar would be beneficial.

[Comte Flaneur]

Paddy brought along a great example a few years back with Ramon, Chris and Jim...I bought some on the back of that and they were quite weird as you described Hound. One of my friends with a more cultured palate thought the one we tried was actually mildly corked. I ended up sending them back because they were unenjoyable That was the second batch of Lagrange I have sent back...the other was the spasmogorical 2003.

[johnz]

I've had the '96 Lagrange five-six years ago and recently, and I agree with Blanquito -- a few more years should help smooth the tannins in this bordeaux. I doubt if it will ever be as rewarding as the 1990 Lagrange, but I think the '96 is very well made, and was quite a bargain as well.

Gary R.

[Claudius2]

Guys
the 95 is showing quite well now though will keep, and surprisingly, the 94 has developed much better than I ever imagined (in fact the last time I had it it was a' point).

[Claret]

I had a bottle of the 1996 a few months ago and it closed up after about an hour. Seems kind of unusual for a 14 year old wine.

Glenn

[Claret]

Claudius, are you starting to warm up to some of your remaining 1994's?

Glenn

[Claudius2]

Claret,
Well, 94s have been rather trying - a bit like 1975 though maybe not to that extent.
The issue with 94 was that so many wines (and I think the left bank in particular) had those tough, dry, greenish tannins that said "unripe".
Further, the fruit was submerged under it.
The 94s I drank in the late nineties and early 00's were just that. Not very interesting I'm afraid with few exceptions.
The right bankers were better without being great.

Anyway, the Lagrange - I bought the case en primeur and locked it away for several years.
The first few I drank were rather boring - one dimensional, dry, old fashioned but not very interesting.
So after wasting the first 4 from the case, the fifth (after a break of 3-4 years) was much better.
Not rich or heavy but almost Burgundy weight and the tannins had resolved leaving a very pleasant wine.
Typical St Julien flavour. The few I've tried since have also been good - and I know think it is ready and needs s/t consuming.

It still remains a food wine though with French or Italian food it goes down very nicely.

I am also having some difficulty with 95s.
They are not developing as well as I hoped (the 94 Lagrange tastes better to me than the 95).
So many have been rather disappointing.
I think 95 and 96 are long term agers - but 96 generally shows more complexity and interest to me.

[AKR]

a bottle that can be a bit of a Jekyll & Hyde .... tonight the Good St Julien showed up

I had a bit of a wine faux pas tonight, expecting to open a 2012 Blason d'Issan by myself, but unfortunately I had pulled the wrong wine from offsite storage - it's big brother instead - so I put that away and decided to reconnect with the 96 Lagrange [St Julien] since I had just finished the chapter on this estate in Clive Coates old tome, Grand Vins. Surprisingly, this bottle is lovely, as many of mine have shown a lean character. The nose on this 13% abv is cedar, pencil, cassis - all just pure classical Medoc notes. I did not decant, cheating using a Vinturri style pourer, which can help at times. There is some light sediment on the side of the bottle, which has been held since release. The palate has balanced red fruit, resolved tannins, and just enough acid to accompany food if needed. But I'm tapping this up while drinking it by itself and its lovely. The last few St Juliens I've had from this vintage - Langoa Barton and Talbot - have also been far better than I would expected, or how I remember them in their youth. For my tastes, this mature garnet color Medoc merits an A-

Comte Flaneur has noted the mercurial nature of this wine/vintage, and I would concur from my experience. Luckily, the well behaved version showed up in my Nachtmann tonite.

[Nicklasss]

I always liked the 1996 Lagrange in the past, but i guess that you're having it on it's best time Arv, 26 years after the vintage.

[hautbrionlover]

I’ve long been a fan of the ‘96 Lagrange. Sadly, I’m down to my last bottle.

[Ognik]

A worthy follow up to Lagrange 1990 and a bit better than Talbot 1996 wich offers also a strong performance.

[JimHow]

Indeed, 1996 Lagrange was an early BWE favorite.
We liked the 2000 as well in its youth, but Lagrange the estate hasn't seemed to have generated much excitement for the past 20 years.
I got a bottle of the 2018, may have to give it a try in the name of science.

[ericp]

I agree Jim, I literally bought exactly those same 2 vintages up until a case of the 2016. Hopefully it turns out as good as the ratings in another 5 years.

[Comte Flaneur]

The 2016 Lagrange was fantastic when I tried it a few years ago. I immediately secured six.

The 2019 by some accounts is as good. It is still cheap here, so am tempted.

But I have enough 2019 Bordeaux to sink a battleship.