James Suckling

Fabulous aromas of licorice, flowers and blackcurrants follow through to a full body with wonderful silky and caressing tannins and a long, flavorful finish. It’s complex and exceptional. Better in 2018 but so enjoyable to taste and drink now.

(03/2015)

Wine Spectator

Floral and precise fruit, with blackberry-skin character and mineral undertones. Full-bodied, with superfine tannins and a fresh, clean finish. Long and tight. Racy. Lovely texture. 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 15% Petit Verdot. This property is really on a roll now, delivering racy and structured reds; it gives much more freshness and character to the wine. (JS, Web Only-2010)

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

It is not unusual that the 2009 La Lagune is a spectacular effort given the fact that this estate has been making terrific wines over the last decade or more. It boasts a dense purple color as well as a beautiful perfume of blueberries, mulberries, cassis, white chocolate and subtle toasty oak. Notes of Chinese black tea, cedarwood and forest floor also make an appearance in the singular aromatic and flavor profiles. This sumptuous, full-bodied La Lagune possesses low acidity, abundant but ripe, sweet tannin and a long, 45-second finish. Give this beauty 5-7 years of bottle age and drink it over the following three decades. (RP)

(02/2012)

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Deep, bright ruby-red. Sexy aromas of currant, underbrush, leather and toasty oak. Plush, seamless and sweet; full-bodied but not heavy. Pliant flavors of currant, plum and earth expand to fill the mouth. Finishes with broad, fine tannins and sneaky building length. Classic Old World claret from a ripe year: velvety, sweet and long. (ST)

(07/2012)

Vinous

The 2009 La Lagune was showing some reduction on the nose but it eventually blows off and so decant this for one to two hours if opening soon. It has a powerful nose with plenty of ripe red and black fruit with maybe just a hint of over-maturity when compared to the 2010 La Lagune. There is something a little feral here. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, tons of quite spiced black fruit laced with bay leaf, black tea and a pinch of white pepper. It leads to a grippy and nicely structured finish that lingers long in the mouth. Tasted at the La Lagune vertical at the château. (NM)

(04/2018)

Jancis Robinson

Tasted blind. Blackish-purplish crimson. Heady with a hint of sweet oak. Proper savoury left-bank claret with an overlay of the ripeness of the vintage. This tastes almost like Pichon Lalande! Very well made. Long. (JR) 17/20 points

(02/2019)