WTN: 'bout that shack outside...

[David M. Bueker]

1996 Château Lagrange (St. Julien) - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (10/12/2014)
When I first opened this I was not sure if it was correct. An hour later whatever bottle funk it had blew off, revealing a somewhat oaky, but still very engaging Bordeaux. Not terribly fruity, it showed leather, deep earth, some dark fruit but a more meaty element than fruity. It made a good match with our beef stew, and that's what really matters.

About four years ago two of my wine buddies finagled a trip to Bordeaux without our wives. We had a great time, with four hours of wine each morning and four more in the afternoon over four days. The highlight of our trip was lunch at Cht. Lagrange. They treated us like royalty. The wines were: Cht. Lagrange '04 Les Arums de Lagrange w/smoked salmon, '05 Le Fiefs de Lagrange (2nd wine), '00 Cht. Lagrange, and the '86 Cht. Lagrange with a filet and hericot verte. We finished the meal with be best crepes Suzette and ice cream that I've ever had (w/coffee, it was lunch after all). It was an exquisite expression of how the French know to present food and wine. I will never forget it.

[David M. Bueker]

Sounds like a heck of an experience.

I take it Les Arums is the white? I have never seen that.

I take it Les Arums is the white? I have never seen that.

Yes, and of course it is not labeled a St. Julien, but a simple Bordeaux AOC.
Pretty tasty, particularly after seeing 80% new oak for 18 months.
I remember it being exquisite with the smoked salmon.