Winemaker Notes
The nose is open and very expressive. On swirling the glass, the wine’s rich aromas come through with ripe black fruits taking center stage. Discreet notes of oak integrate harmoniously in an explosion of fruit aromas. The entry on the palate is flavorsome with an explosion of fruit coming through on the mid-palate. The wine is precise, concentrated, opulent and lively all at the same time. The tannins are soft and silky. The oak mingles discreetly in a lovely fleshy mouth-feel, while the finish is extremely long.
Blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This is a powerful wine, with wood aging that adds richness to the dense tannins. Some tough extraction has not detracted from the ripe fruit or structure and will go as the wine matures. It should be ready to drink from 2026.
Cellar Selection -
James Suckling
Immediate depth to the aromas of dark cherries, plums and blackberries with subtly spicy and cedary oak amid stony, minerally accents. The palate has immense depth and presence without relying on brute force. This is all about charm and fluidity. Superb wine. Try from 2023.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Lascombes has a beautiful nose of black forest cake, violets, cassis and tilled soil with wafts of garrigue and potpourri. Medium-bodied, very fine and elegant with great intensity of restrained, earthy flavors, it has a long, savory finish.
-
Vinous
Powerful, deep and flamboyant, the 2015 Lascombes is one of the most overt, concentrated wines readers will find in Margaux. Inky blue/purplish fruit, chocolate, spice, lavender and new leather are all super-concentrated. Even with all of its obvious fruit intensity, the 2015 has a good bit of supporting structure as well. There is no question Lascombes is a technically well-made wine. But I always fine myself wondering if this site has more to say than what comes through in this delicious, but somewhat anonymous, Margaux. Tasted two times.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
A big, bombastic wine from this estate that offers serious amounts of sweet currants, blackberry jam, licorice and oak, the 2015 Château Lascombes has beautiful depth of fruit, a thick, opulent texture and sweet. It’s not going to appeal to the traditionalist out there, but it’s a smokin’ good bottle of wine. Give it 3-4 years and enjoy over the following two decades.
-
Tasting Panel
Smooth, clean, and nicely structured; lush yet elegant. Give it time. 55% Merlot/45% Cab.
-
Wine Spectator
Enticing, with a light mulled spice note moving amid the red and black currant fruit, while flashes of bramble, alder, juniper and tobacco skitter through. Reserved but lengthy in feel through the finish, with latent grip and a smoldering tobacco detail. Best from 2030 through 2032.
-
Decanter
Massively extracted ripe fruit – lots of depth but little finesse evident so far but it will age well.
On a hillside at the entrance to Margaux, in the heart of the Médoc, Château Lascombes is a Second Growth from the 1855 classification with a long history, characterized by pioneering owners and a terroir that reflects all the characteristics of the appellation. Since 2022, an ambitious family-oriented renewal has been underway with new owner Gaylon Lawrence, Jr., a lover of Bordeaux wines, and Axel Heinz, a highly respected winemaker who excelled in Tuscany for almost twenty years.
The Lascombes range of wines reflects the incomparable diversity of the estate’s terroirs. A collector’s Grand Vin, predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon from gravelly soils, refocused on the historic terroir, offers a graceful, powerful expression of the classic Bordeaux style. The second wine, Chevalier de Lascombes, presents the freshness and vibrant fruit so dear to Margaux lovers. The latest addition to the Lascombes family of wines is La Côte Lascombes, a wine that showcases a new perspective from a single vineyard block of Merlot with soils of blue clay.
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.