Château Lagrange S.A.S.

  • Head Office
    33250, Saint-Julien Beychevelle, France
  • Established
    December 15, 1983
  • Business activities
    Production and sales of wines
  • Website
Suntory Beverage & Food Europe

Company Overview and Philosophy

Excellence

Château Lagrange has long contributed to the development of "lifestyle culture" through the production of high quality wines. According to our records, this history goes back to at least 1631. Needless to say, quality wine is a true gift of nature, thanks to what we call terroir, a term used in the wine industry to refer to environmental factors including soil that can influence the quality of the wine. After joining the Suntory Group in 1983, we embraced the group philosophy, "To Create Harmony with People and Nature." In order to embody this, we always strive to produce one of the world's finest wines while respecting environmentally friendly production processes, from vine care to bottling.

Excellence

Quality Management

Focusing on quality management and product safety

We believe that there are two aspects to "quality." One is the quality of the wine itself and the second is quality management in production processes. In terms of the quality of the wine, to ensure our vision of excellence and share that vision with our customers throughout the world, we use integrative farming techniques to produce truly excellent wines. We take meticulous care of each vineyard to let the grapes mature in an optimal manner and to draw out the best characteristics of the locality of the vineyard and the variety of grape. We fully engage in cultivation with reduced agricultural chemicals in which we only use the minimum amount of agricultural chemicals required at vineyards for the health of our customers.

Focusing on quality management and product safety

Second is the quality management of manufacturing processes. Château Lagrange conducts quality management based on the Suntory Group’s Quality Policy "All for the Quality," Quality Management Rules and Quality Standards throughout its process from cultivating grapes to fermentation, bottling, and shipping to ensure thorough quality control.

  • Comprehensive Quality Management
  • Comprehensive Quality Management

Comprehensive Quality Management

Better product analysis and traceability

At Château Lagrange, we have great respect for the traditional sales system unique to fine Bordeaux wines, the Place de Bordeaux. In this system, wine merchants purchase wines mainly during the En Primeur (Futures) offer period in particular. It makes it difficult to maintain traceability of wines and attain direct responses from customers as products are passed from merchants to customers. Therefore, to make our products more traceable, we have introduced code numbers on bottle cap seals. Our products undergo a wide variety of product analyses during the manufacturing process and records are kept of the results. We inspect the materials used in all wines, corks, bottles, labels, and cases, and record the results along with these code numbers so that we can trace the history of every bottle of wine we produce.

Better product analysis and traceability

Relations with Customers

Interacting with Customers and Partners

The En Primeur (Futures) system unique to Bordeaux makes it difficult for producers to have direct contact with consumers. However, wine merchants organize many wine tasting events all over the world, allowing us to directly communicate with wine lovers. Maintaining an excellent relationship with our partners—around 120 wine merchants in Bordeaux—allows us to use a worldwide promotional network to deliver wine to our customers around the globe.

Interacting with Partners

Interacting with Partners

Visitors

We welcome about 7,000 visitors every year. Visits are on appointment bases, and oenologists, sommeliers, chefs, engineering and business school personnel, wine connoisseurs, and wine writers come for tours and wine tastings. We welcome not only professionals but anyone who loves wine to see the Bordeaux Grand Cru Wine making process while touring the vineyard, fermentation facilities and the warehousing of our aging barrels.

Visitors

Visitors

Primary CSR Activities

WaterWater

Amount of water usage reduced

Château Lagrange has been working to protect our water resources by determining how much water we use, using it better, and engaging in rigorous conservation efforts.

CO2CO2

Reducing CO2 emissions to help combat global warming

Château Lagrange S.A.S. is one of five environmentally-friendly wineries in France that began measuring the CO2 emissions. We always strive to revise the production process to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, 800 m2 of solar panels installed in 2019 supplies about 15% of power used at the fermentation facility.

New solar panels installed on the roofs of fermentation facilities

New solar panels installed on the roofs of fermentation facilities

Raw IngredientsRaw Ingredients

ISO14001 and HVE certification by the French Ministry of Agriculture

Château Lagrange received Terra Vitis certification for ecological integrated agriculture in 2005. We have furthered our activities and received ISO 14001 Environmental management system standard and the highest Level 3 in High Environmental Value (HVE) certification from the French Ministry of Agriculture in 2017. These certifications require compliance as annual audit for detailed and strict standards regarding biodiversity, plant disease and pest control measures, fertilizer and irrigation management, etc. These certify that we are producing high-quality grapes in a way that protect the environment and health of the workers as well as in a biologically sustainable method.
We are currently cultivating grapes using organic farming methods on a roughly 30ha area of vineyard are comparing status with area that has received HVE level 3 certification until this today.

  • ISO14001 certification

    ISO14001 certification

  • Highest Level 3 High Environmental Value (HVE) certification from the French Ministry of Agriculture

    Highest Level 3 High Environmental Value (HVE)
    certification from the French Ministry of Agriculture

  • HVE logo

    HVE logo

Preservation of Biodiversity

In a survey conducted in 2020, we found 64 species of plants and 54 species of birds in our property. After the survey, we have formulated a five-year plan to further nurture the biodiversity and are carrying out the plan. We plan to plant more trees, create more hedges and new waterhole in our premises. Château Lagrange cannot exist nor grow without the bounties of nature. As such, we respect and thank nature while pursuing a future which nature, wine, and people can coexist.

Preservation of Biodiversity
Preservation of Biodiversity

Containers and PackagingContainers and Packaging

Promoting reuse and recycling of materials

Château Lagrange is actively using recycled materials for its containers and packaging. In 2021, we began sales on wines in cartons for transport made from recycled materials along with traditional wooden cases. We are contributing to the reduction of GHG emissions during transport through reducing the weight of packaging.

Promoting reuse and recycling of materials

Human RightsHuman Rights

Relationship with Employees

Guaranteeing safety and staying healthy

We regularly review guidelines on health and safety and share information to ensure the safety of our employees. Furthermore, we have begun using power assist suits at vineyards and during production and shipping to reduce the burden.

Introduction of power assist suit

Introduction of power assist suit

Enriching LifeEnriching Life

Relations with the Local Community

Public relations activities

Château Lagrange has a dedicated public relations staff who organize and participate in events attended by various organizations, journalists, sommeliers, and wine schools, helping them to understand the secrets of our terroir and our pursuit of quality.

Public relations activities

Actively involved in the local community

Providing donations to local sporting event charity organizations, and hosting music festivals in the château grounds are some of the ways that Château Lagrange is actively involved in the local community.

Music festival at Lagrange

Music festival at Lagrange