Coming from depressingly low yields of just 26 hectoliters per hectare (the lowest since 1991), the 2020 Château Lagrange checks in as 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot that was raised in 60% new French oak. It's a gorgeous, complete Saint-Julien offering remarkable purity in its cassis, violets, chocolate, and leafy tobacco-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, with terrific balance, a pure, focused mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and beautifully integrated oak, it's going to benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and cruise over the following 2+ decades in cold cellars.

The 2020 Lagrange has a sensual, beautifully defined bouquet of mineral-infused black fruit, briar, touches of wild mint and crushed stone, conveying wonderful energy and precision. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, tensile and focused, delivering plenty of energy and an almost steely but persistent finish. This is a classy Lagrange from winemaker Matthieu Bordes and his team. I always feel this Saint-Julien is underrated, but it will challenge the best 2020s from the appellation.

The 2020 Lagrange is a fine follow-up to the excellent 2019. Offering up aromas of crème de cassis and plums mingled with hints of violets, licorice, pencil shavings and vanilla pod, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with a deep core of ripe but vibrant fruit that's framed by powdery tannins that assert themselves with gentle grip on the finish.