Château Lagrange, a classified growth in Saint Julien, is steeped in French history is also global, thanks to long-standing Japanese owners Suntory. It now offers guests the most sophisticated Japanese cuisine of the region.
History
Vines here date back to the Middle Ages; previous illustrious owners include the Count Duchatel in the 19th century, home secretary of King, Louis Philippe. He raised both the profile of the chateau and the quality of the wines.
The chateau building dates from the 18th century, with architect Louis Visconti later adding a Tuscan style tower, now the emblem of the property.
In 1795, Thomas Jefferson rated Lagrange as a third growth years before it was confirmed as a Third Classified Growth in 1855.
Today, the vines are the same as in they were 1855, in a single block all around the chateau – quite unique for the Médoc. 110 hectares of a total of 118 hectares of vines are in production. It’s the biggest property in Saint Julien.
It wasn’t always this way. When Japanese group Suntory purchased Château Lagrange in 1983 it was in a sorry state. The property had never really recovered from the phylloxera crisis, the World Wars and the difficult 60s and 70s.
Suntory also has a long history, created in 1899 and, in addition to its famous spirits operations, owners of a Japanese vineyard. They invested heavily in Château Lagrange, spending over three times the purchase price. They replanted 60ha of vines and made huge technical improvements in the cellar but also renovated the chateau and the beautiful park and gardens.
Saint Julien is a small and prestigious appellation, under 1000 ha with eleven classified growths covering 85 percent of this appellation. With no 5th growths and no 1st growths it is considered the most homogeneous appellation on the left bank. The wines are known for their elegance, finesse and aging potential.
Suntory has always striven to respect French tradition, but with the Japanese art of precision and rigour present in the vines and in the cellar, consistently improving the wines over the last 30 years.
For General Manager and wine maker Matthieu Bordes, the turning point, or the beginning of the new style of Lagrange was the 2005 vintage. By the 2009 vintage, extra Cabernet in the blend confirmed this vintage-on-vintage improvement.
Global warming has brought challenges but work in the vines concentrates on keeping freshness in the wines. The Suntory tagline is ‘Living in harmony with nature’, a philosophy they maintain at Chateau Lagrange, encouraging biodiversity throughout the estate, even including their own bee hives and sheep grazing in the winter.
They gained Terra Vitis sustainable certification in 2005 and ISO 14001 and HVE (Haute Valeur Environnementale) in 2017. They are experimenting with both organic and biodynamic viticulture.
Terroir
15 years ago, they undertook a huge terroir study, digging 200 holes across the vineyard, that led to a deeper (no pun intended) understanding of the soil and subsoil. They found 17 different soils on the two large outcrops, from Gunzian gravel with up to 80 percent of pebbles to sandy and clay soils with only 10 percent of pebbles. This explains the dominance of Cabernet Sauvignon in the planting and the blend. Terroir geeks can watch this video for a fascinating insight into the soils and topography of the property.
This understanding of terroir influences planting decisions and the precise, plot by plot management and vinification reflected in the vat cellar, with individual stainless-steel vats dedicated to each of the 103 plots across the vineyard. Five oenologists and two engineers work on the estate, so things are pretty hi-tech with lots of experimentation, and solar panels on the cellar roof reducing their carbon footprint.
In the aging cellar, however, very little has changed in the last 150 years. It’s very traditional and very impressive in size.
Global
The wines of Lagrange are sold through La Place de Bordeaux in 77 countries. Japan represents 20 percent of the sales, a lot for a Bordeaux Chateau. Links are tight with Japan; Shiina San, the VP of the Château, is Japanese and Director Matthieu Bordes travels there at least once a year.
It was Bordes’ idea to bring a Japanese chef to the Médoc. Traditionally, Suntory have been reluctant to have too much Japanese influence at the property, keen to be a French chateau and respect local French tradition. When their French chef retired, Matthieu started his campaign for a Japanese chef. With regular trips to Japan, he had fallen in love with the cuisine, experiencing excellent pairings with the wines of the property that he wanted to share back in Bordeaux.
Taichi Sato
Finally, Shiina San gave in, went to Japan and came back 15 days later with Taichi Sato. Trained in the tradition of Kaiseki, the haute cuisine of Japan, Sato worked at top Japanese restaurants, including 2-star Michelin Miyamaso in Kyoto, before coming to the Médoc.
When he arrived with his family, Sato spoke little French or English and knew even less about wine, Margaux was his only Bordeaux reference. It was a steep learning curve.
Thousands of bottles a year
He’s been an excellent student. Every year the property opens thousands of bottles for guests and events that they host. Wines from the property, but also further afield. It’s a been a great tasting school. After three years immersion, Sato has become an expert; Matthieu is convinced he has the best Japanese palate for the wines of the region.
White and red
Think Japanese cuisine and you might think of sushi, sashimi, etc., dishes that go well with white wines. Although historically many properties produced some white wine here for the owners’ private consumption, Saint Julien is uniquely a red wine appellation, there is no white Saint Julien. Only two estates produce white grapes here, Château Talbot with Caillou Blanc, and Château Lagrange. The wines are bottled as Bordeaux Blanc.
In 1996, Suntory, with then-director Marcel Ducase, replanted white grapes. Now 11 hectares go into Les Arums de Lagrange. The name is taken from the lily that grows around the lake in front of the chateau. It’s a clever play on the word aroma given its very aromatic profile. The production is tiny, just 25,000 bottles, 50% of which is sold to Japan!
Medoc fusion
With Sato you will discover there is so much more to Japanese cuisine than sushi. He brings his unique Japanese interpretation to the best regional products, matching them with the wines of the chateau.
It’s not only French and wine he has had to learn about. He has had to adapt his cuisine to the local supply chain. In Japan, he could order almost any ingredient easily, at the last minute. In the Medoc he has had to adapt to sourcing products locally, working with the seasons, listening to nature, building his supply chain. Check out his Instagram to see him in action.
He selects local specialties, such as lamb, truffles, eels from the Gironde estuary, Bazas beef, Atlantic-caught tuna, preparing them in an Asian style served with specially prepared Asian sauces. Tempura Cepe mushrooms anyone? His cuisine is a stunning meeting of East and West.
Open
Matthieu remains convinced it is an excellent way to promote the wines of the property. Given the rave reviews from guests (including me) I think he’s right. He’s very aware how spoiled they are.
“Maybe some of our colleagues are a little bit jealous! – but don’t tell Taichi… we want to try and keep him here for a while yet.”
Sato’s skill is not reserved only for the team at Château Lagrange. The Orangery of the chateau has been made into an exclusive Teppan-Yaki dining room where guests, on reservation, can experience his exquisite cuisine matched with wines of the property.
They also have guest rooms on the grounds, converted from worker’s cottages, so you can sleep it off. If you want to delve even deeper, you can also join Sato for a cooking class to learn more about his techniques, always accompanied by a glass of Château Lagrange, of course.
Itadakimasu.
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The photo shows from left to right Valérie Cholet Hostess and guide at the property, Charlotte Denjean Public Relations Manager and Catherine Di Costanzo PR consultant for the Château.