Winemaker Notes
Blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A charming, supple wine, the 2025 Château Labégorce is based on 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot that's being raised in 30% new French oak. Its deep ruby/plum hue is followed by a lovely bouquet of red and blue fruits, spicy herbs, and tobacco with nicely integrated oak. On the palate, it's round and textured, with supple tannins and outstanding length.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Vinous
The 2025 Labégorce exudes power and depth right out of the gate. Dark cherry/plum fruit, licorice, new leather, plum and chocolate hit the palate first, followed by swaths of tannin that shape the mid-palate and finish. This is a particularly fine Labégorce. I especially admire its energy. –Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Decanter
Gorgeous fragrance, so floral and expressive, really very Margaux – some dark chocolate and liquorice. Smooth and sappy with something really friendly and charming about this, bright and supple, not too high acidity, really refined with a delicate purity to the fruit on the mid-palate – blueberries and cherries – with a salty, grippy undercurrent. Ageing will round this out with more integration but there’s a lot of joy to be had. Good balance and long! 4% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Ageing 35% new oak.
Barrel Sample: 93
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The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification but it is nonetheless important in regards to history of the area.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.