Winemaker Notes
Blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 4% Petit-Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
There is a tough, tannic core to this otherwise ripe and fruity wine. All to the good, as this will allow the bold, ripe wine to age well. Black-currant fruits are already showing their hand and will intensify, bringing in richness and a dense texture. Drink this wine from 2025.
Editors’ Choice -
Jeb Dunnuck
A blockbuster from Margaux is the 2015 Château Labégorce and I was blown away by this beauty. To reiterate, the southern Médoc, and Margaux in particular, is the sweet spot in 2015. A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, with close to half the blend brought up in new barrels, its deep purple color flows to a beautiful bouquet of black cherries, blueberries, spice, and violets. With medium to full-bodied richness, a plump, layered, pure texture, ripe tannin, and impressive length, it’s a standout for sure. Give bottles a few years and enjoy over the following 15+.
-
James Suckling
A stylish array of chocolate, earth and dark berries leads to a palate that follows in the same vein of flavors with blackberry compote. The finish is cast amid plush, open-knit tannins. Great depth here. Try from 2022.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Labegorce is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc matured in 45% new and 55% one-year-old barrels. Deep garnet-purple in color with a nose of red and black cherries, black plums and cassis with touches of charcuterie and tapenade, the medium-bodied palate offers great concentration with a firm frame of grainy tannins, finishing long and savory.
-
Decanter
Big broad fruit and lots of structure and depth. Quite a chunky Labégorce with a good future.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Silky, seductive and polished are the words that characterize the best wines from Margaux, the most inland appellation of the Médoc on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
Margaux’s gravel soils are the thinnest of the Médoc, making them most penetrable by vine roots—some reaching down over 23 feet for water. The best sites are said to be on gentle outcrops, or croupes, where more gravel facilitates good drainage.
The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification but it is nonetheless important in regards to history of the area. In 1855 the finest chateaux were deemed on the basis of reputation and trading price—at that time. In 1855, Chateau Margaux achieved first growth status, yet it has been Chateau Palmer (officially third growth from the 1855 classification) that has consistently outperformed others throughout the 20th century.
Chateau Margaux in top vintages is capable of producing red Cabernet Sauvignon based wines described as pure, intense, spell-binding, refined and profound with flavors and aromas of black currant, violets, roses, orange peel, black tea and incense.
Other top producers worthy of noting include Chateau Rauzan-Ségla, Lascombes, Brane-Cantenac, and d’Issan, among others.
The best wines of Margaux combine a deep ruby color with a polished structure, concentration and an unrivaled elegance.