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Head Office33250, Saint-Julien Beychevelle, France
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EstablishedDecember 15, 1983
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Business activitiesProduction and sales of wines
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Website
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Primary CSR Activities
Water
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.
CO2
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.
Raw 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.
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.
Containers 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.
Human 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.
Enriching 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.
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.
- Suntory Beverage & Food Limited
- Suntory Beverage & Food Europe
- Suntory Beverage & Food Asia Pacific
- Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC
- Beam Suntory Inc.
- Chateau Lagrange S.A.S.
- Weingut Robert Weil
- Haagen-Dazs Japan, Inc.
- DYNAC HOLDINGS CORPORATION
- Pronto Corporation
- Izutsu Maisen Co., Ltd.
- Suntory Flowers Ltd.
- Toyota Suntory Midorie (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
- Suntory Marketing & Commerce Ltd.
- Suntory Publicity Service Ltd.