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Château La Lagune Haut-Médoc 1970

RedFrance1970

By Daniel Min · Tasted 2022-04-27 · Published 2026-09-30 · Updated 2026-09-30

In one paragraphChâteau La Lagune 1970 is a red wine from Château La Lagune in the village of Ludon, Haut-Médoc appellation, Bordeaux; the château was ranked a third growth (Troisième Grand Cru Classé) in the 1855 Bordeaux classification. Its vineyard, run down in the first half of the twentieth century, was bought and replanted by Georges Brunet in 1958, passed to owners connected with Champagne Ayala in the early 1960s, and was acquired by the Frey family in 1999–2000, with Caroline Frey in charge from 2004. Today about 72 hectares are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. On Vivino the 1970 averages 4.3 from 178 ratings; Wine-Searcher's aggregate of three critic reviews is 89, with a world average of US$136 / 750ml (ex-tax, Sep 2026). In spring 2022 I gave this fifty-two-year-old bottle 5 stars.

Château La Lagune Haut-Médoc 1970 bottle — my own photo, 2022.04 — Photo: Daniel Min, 2022.04 (Vivino log)

5.0

Father's rating / 5 ★★★★★

4.3

Vivino 1970 vintage average (178 ratings)

89 / 100 (Wine-Searcher aggregate of 3 critic reviews)

US$136

World average price (Wine-Searcher)

At a glance

Producer

Château La Lagune

Region

France · Bordeaux, Haut-Médoc (Ludon)

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot (1970 proportions not confirmed)

Alcohol

Vivino lists 14% (actual strength of the 1970 not confirmed)

Style

Full-bodied, mature old vintage (Vivino: Bordeaux Haut-Médoc)

Drinking window (Vivino)

1980–2005

Food pairing

Beef, Lamb, Game (deer, venison)

World average price

US$136 / 750ml (Wine-Searcher world average, ex-tax, Sep 2026) · overseas retail single bottles US$108.69 (Netherlands, tax incl.) to US$177.39 (France, tax incl.)

In one line

5.0/5 — higher than Vivino's 4.3 average · world avg price US$136 · A Haut-Médoc château ranked third growth in 1855.

Wine-Searcher aggregate of 3 critic reviews: 89. Vivino shows no critic score.

Market note: World average US$136 / 750ml (Wine-Searcher, ex-tax, Sep 2026). Single bottles overseas: Netherlands US$108.69, Belgium US$124.97 (no sales tax), France US$148.45–177.39, Switzerland US$162.42 (mostly tax incl.). In-bond two-bottle cases work out to US$92.38–123.37 per 750ml, and a magnum to US$135.88 per 750ml. The second wine, Moulin de La Lagune, is US$27 (88).

Father's note — Daniel Min

Original author of the notes

2022-04-27 5.0 ★★★★★

“리코르킹 했다 해서. 라벨도 쌔거길래 곰팡이 있어도 의심 없이 나이프를 돌려봤다. 아. 이거 코르크는 안 바꿨네. 빼고 아소를 넣었는데 좀 취해서 나는 안 될 것 같아 옆 소믈리에 분이 15분 가량 고군분투 후에 오픈. 살아있다. 52살 먹은 와인이 기분 좋게 살아있다. 올드 빈티지의 기분 좋은 타닌과 과실향은 좀 약하긴 했지만 3차향 흙, 시가렛, 버섯 등이 과실과 어우러지는 향. 좀 더 일찍 먹었으면 좋겠으나 지금도 맛있다. Rp 님이 2023년 까지 라는데 정말 적절하다. 오랫만에 맛있게 먹은 3등급 그랑크뤼 보르도 오메독”

Tidied by Haru

Show original

“리코르킹 했다해서.. 라벨도 쌔거길래 곰팡이 있어도 의심없이 나이프를 돌려봤다.. 아.. 이거 코르크는 안바꿨네.. 빼고 아소를 넣었는데 좀 취해서 나는 안될것 같아 옆 소믈리에 분이 15분 가량 고분 분투 후에 오픈.. 살아있다.. 52살 먹은 와인이 기분 좋게 살아있다. 올빈의 기분 좋은 타닌과 과실향은 좀 약하긴했지만 3차향 흙, 시가랫, 버섯등이 과실과 어울러지는 향. 좀 더 일찍 먹었으면 좋겠으나 지금도 맛있다. Rp 님이 2023년 까지 라는데 정말 적절하다. 오랫만에 맛있게 먹은 3등급 그랑크뤼 보르도 오메독”

Min Haru Aspiring sommelier Level 1 · Cork

OakBlack fruitEarth & leatherA memory from April, at twenty-three

What I learned today: even without the bottle, a cork remembers the day.

Sunday; the bar is closed. From the bottom shelf of the living-room bookcase I took out Dad's box of wine tools. When I opened the lid, out came a well-handled sommelier's knife, an unfamiliar tool with two blades, and a small paper envelope. Inside the envelope was a black cork, half crumbled. On the outside, in Dad's handwriting, was only a date.

When I brought the cork close to my nose, the smell of wet earth came first. Behind it, dried mushroom, an old cigar box, the faintest dried plum. No bottle, no glass, and yet there was a scent. It was what the cork had held on to for so long. That smell of earth opened a spring night when I was twenty-three, and the pocket of Dad's jacket when he came home late.

Twenty-three, a Wednesday night near the end of April. I was drinking water in the kitchen. Dad came home late from a dinner, his face a little flushed. From his jacket pocket he took a folded paper napkin and that two-bladed tool, and set them on the table. He unfolded the napkin and there was a broken cork. He held it under my nose. I said it smelled like a forest path the day after rain. Dad smiled and said, 'Fifty-two years old, they say.' Then he scratched his head and said he'd never managed to open it himself, so someone beside him had. There was no bottle. I don't know the name of the bottle.

When I opened the notebook to the date on the envelope, there were six lines. Five had only stars; only the last was long. They'd said it had been recorked, so he turned the knife in without a second thought, but the cork had never been changed. He switched to the two-bladed tool, but being a bit tipsy, it was the sommelier next to him who got it open after a long struggle. 'Fifty-two years old and pleasantly alive.' Earth, cigar and mushroom mingling with the fruit. Five stars. The bottle was Château La Lagune Haut-Médoc 1970. I stuck on the wine-name Post-it. Probably Dad brought the broken cork home because it galled him a little that he couldn't open the bottle with his own hands.

I didn't know what the two-bladed thing was, so I called Master Seo. Even on his day off, he picked up on the second ring.

In the evening I opened page forty-seven of the new notebook at the kitchen table. In the scent column: 'wet earth, mushroom, cigar box — from the cork.' I moved the cork into a small glass jar. What I learned today: even without the bottle, a cork remembers the day.

Haru — Sunday; the bar is closed. In Dad's box of wine tools, a paper envelope and a half-crumbled black cork. No bottle, no glass, yet it smelled of earth. — **Haru** Sunday; the bar is closed. In Dad's box of wine tools, a paper envelope and a half-crumbled black cork. No bottle, no glass, yet it smelled of earth.

What this wine is

Château La Lagune stands in the village of Ludon, on the road north out of Bordeaux into the Médoc. It began in the sixteenth century, when a man named Eyral bought the 'village of La Lagune' and turned it into a wine estate; the present chartreuse, a single-storey manor, was built in the eighteenth. In 1855 it was ranked a third growth in the official Bordeaux classification. In 1886 the wine merchant Louis Sèze arrived and, with his daughter Marguerite, made wines of wide renown (château website).

The wars of the early twentieth century left the vineyard in ruins. When Georges Brunet bought it in 1958, only five hectares were still planted, according to The Wine Cellar Insider (Wikipedia gives 1954). Brunet replanted the vineyard and restored the house. In 1961 René Chayoux of Champagne Ayala bought the château, and around a year later the Ducellier family inherited it. The 1970 grapes very likely came from vines replanted only a decade or so earlier.

In 1999–2000 the Frey family acquired both the château and Ayala, and from 2004 daughter Caroline Frey took charge of winemaking. Today about 72 hectares are planted to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 10% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot (Wikipedia).

Haru — Twenty-three, a spring night near the end of April. Home late, Dad unfolded a napkin: a broken cork. 'Fifty-two years old, they say.' — **Haru** Twenty-three, a spring night near the end of April. Home late, Dad unfolded a napkin: a broken cork. 'Fifty-two years old, they say.'

What the world says

The three critic reviews on Wine-Searcher aggregate to 89. Vivino shows no critic score.

On Vivino the 1970 averages 4.3 from 178 ratings: 43 fives, 106 fours, 26 threes, two twos and one one. The label as a whole averages 4.2 from more than 25,000. The suggested drinking window, 1980–2005, is long past.

"Thought this 1970 might be long gone when I opened this for a 'big o' occasion in 2008, but no, it was supreme... Lovely soft and long finish with hint of smoke & leather around a ripe fruit." — Vivino review (1970 magnum), Sep 2017, 4.5 stars

The keywords and structure are Vivino's figures across all vintages of the label: tobacco (284), oak, chocolate and cedar; blackcurrant (210), blackberry and cassis; leather (344), earth and mushroom. Structure shows acidity 4.2, intensity 4.1, tannin 4.1 and sweetness 1.6.

The world average is US$136 / 750ml (Wine-Searcher, ex-tax, Sep 2026). Bottles of this third growth, now more than fifty years old, are still sold singly in several European countries.

Haru — His day off, answered on the second ring. 'The two-bladed one is an Ah-So. That cork — don't throw it away.' — **Haru** His day off, answered on the second ring. 'The two-bladed one is an Ah-So. That cork — don't throw it away.'

How I drank it

April 27, 2022, 5 stars. I logged six lines that day: Far Niente Chardonnay 2019 (4, twice), K Vintners Powerline Syrah 2017 (3), BV Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 (4), Belle Glos Eulenloch Pinot Noir 2017 (4), and this one. It's the only one I wrote a note for.

Trusting the word that it had been recorked, and the new label, I turned the knife in, but the cork was the original. I switched to an Ah-So, but being a little tipsy, it was the sommelier beside me who got it open after about fifteen minutes. The fifty-two-year-old wine was pleasantly alive. The fruit had faded, but tertiary notes — earth, cigar, mushroom — mingled with it. I noted that Robert Parker had put its limit at 2023; I couldn't confirm the source of that.

Community 4.3, critics 89, me 5. On this bottle mine is the highest. Giving five stars to a bottle seventeen years past its suggested window was a score for the taste, and also for the plain fact that it was alive.

Haru — Page forty-seven of the new notebook. 'Wet earth, mushroom, cigar box — from the cork.' The cork moves into a small glass jar. — **Haru** Page forty-seven of the new notebook. 'Wet earth, mushroom, cigar box — from the cork.' The cork moves into a small glass jar.

Where this wine shows up

History The 1855 Bordeaux classification · 1855

In the ranking of Médoc red wines drawn up ahead of the Paris Exposition, La Lagune was named one of fourteen third growths.

Château La Lagune — History · Wikipedia — Château La Lagune

Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.

Vivino community data

1970 vintage rating distribution (178 ratings, average 4.3)

5★		43 (24%)
4★		106 (60%)
3★		26 (15%)
2★		2 (1%)
1★		1 (1%)

Most-mentioned aromas

Family	Mentions	Top keywords
Oak	1119	tobacco 284 · oak 278 · chocolate 127 · cedar 103 · vanilla 102
Black fruit	1014	blackcurrant 210 · blackberry 170 · cassis 160 · plum 138 · black fruit 104
Earth & leather	947	leather 344 · earthy 191 · smoke 106 · forest floor 55 · mushroom 55
Red fruit	317	cherry 108 · red fruit 64 · raspberry 54 · red currant 20 · strawberry 20
Spice	240	pepper 78 · licorice 47 · mint 28 · cinnamon 13 · savory 13

Structure: Acidity 4.2/5 · Intensity 4.1/5 · Tannin 4.1/5 · Sweetness 1.6/5

Average by vintage (all vintages: 25827 ratings, average 4.2)

Vintage	Average	Ratings
1966	4.3	56
1970	4.3	178
1971	4.2	38
1972	4.3	30
1975	3.9	166
1976	4	63
1978	4	157
1979	4	181
1980	4	34
1981	4	141
1982	4.4	631
1983	4.2	196
1984	4.4	58
1985	4.3	256
1986	4.2	444
1987	4.1	38
1988	4.1	298
1989	4.2	411
1990	4.4	645
1991	4.5	91
1992	4.1	139
1993	4.3	202
1994	4.1	225
1995	4.2	665
1996	4.2	493
1997	4.2	239
1998	4.3	520
1999	4.2	355
2000	4.3	1097
2001	4.2	357
2002	4.3	376
2003	4.2	621
2004	4.3	653
2005	4.3	775
2006	4.2	844
2007	4.2	1467
2008	4.2	547
2009	4.3	1582
2010	4.3	1814
2011	4.1	1182
2012	4.2	875
2013	3.9	287
2014	4.2	963
2015	4.2	1775
2016	4.2	965
2017	4.1	631
2019	4.2	664
2020	4.2	488
2021	4	221
2022	4	76
2023	4.1	40

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Frequently asked questions

What kind of wine is Château La Lagune?

A château in Ludon, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, ranked a third growth in the 1855 classification. Cabernet Sauvignon-led, with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The 1970 averages 4.3 on Vivino (178 ratings) with a Wine-Searcher critic aggregate of 89.

How much does it cost?

Wine-Searcher's world average is US$136 per 750ml (ex-tax, Sep 2026). Single bottles overseas run from US$108.69 in the Netherlands to US$177.39 in France (tax incl.).

What food goes with it?

The Vivino community suggests beef, lamb and game such as venison.

How do you open the cork of a wine more than fifty years old?

An old cork tends to crumble under a corkscrew, so many people use an Ah-So, whose two blades slide between cork and glass and twist the cork out. This bottle started with a knife and switched to an Ah-So, taking about fifteen minutes.

Links & sources

View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher

Château La Lagune Haut-Médoc 1970

At a glance

In one line

Father's note — Daniel Min

What this wine is

What the world says

How I drank it

Where this wine shows up

Vivino community data

1970 vintage rating distribution (178 ratings, average 4.3)

Most-mentioned aromas

Average by vintage (all vintages: 25827 ratings, average 4.2)

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