1971 La Lagune
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Tasting notes
The 1971 La Lagune is another wine that cropped up twice in a matter of weeks. It’s a lovely Claret, a hidden gem. This example was fresh and slightly peaty on the nose with tobacco and pine emerging with time, mulch-like scents after five minutes. The palate is medium-bodied with lovely balance and is well-defined and harmonious. Pencil lead and cedar infuse the light red fruit on the finish. It punches above expectations, though provenance is crucial.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
The 1971 La Lagune is one of the hidden gems of this growing season that never favoured Médoc. This bottle, close on the heels of another tasted in December, has a lovely, quite marine-influenced bouquet neatly interwoven into the tertiary black fruit. Touches of tobacco emerge with time. The palate exerting gentle grip, finely balanced, rather conservative yet with fine length, and hints of cedar towards the finish. Classy and understated.
The 1971 La Lagune is a wine that pales against the 1970 with an enervated, tertiary nose and austere, tobacco-driven bouquet that feels as if it dried out somewhere in the early eighties. I bought two or three bottles for a couple of shillings many years ago and I did not mind that this was the last. Tasted from a bottle in my private cellar.
The 1971 is fully mature, with an open-knit, aromatic, complex bouquet of cedarwood and ripe fruit. This medium-bodied wine is silky, lush, and seductively round and fruity. Anticipated maturity: Now-may be in decline. Last tasted, 3/82.
About the producer
A Third Growth, this Haut-Médoc estate has been owned by the Frey family since 2000. They’ve invested significantly in the vineyard, cellar and château itself, rapidly realising ambitious plans for the property.