Chateau Lascombes 2005
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A gorgeous example of Lascombes, the 2005, a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot, continues the remarkable turn-around in quality that began five years ago. A stunningly opulent wine with a dense purple color, the 2005 possesses a beautiful perfume of spring flowers, blueberries, blackberries, creosote, and graphite, full body, silky but noticeable tannins, a layered mouthfeel, and a stunning, 45+-second finish. This is a brilliant, modern-styled Margaux that should age for 30-35 years.
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Wine & Spirits
A joyous Lascombes, this is the first vintage to hit stride since the US investment firm Colony Capital took over in 2001. It's a meaty wine draped in fragrant tannin, built for long aging. It's also an exuberant wine, in both the bright, red currant-scented fruit and the bristle of the tannin. A playfully complex flavor lasts for minutes, the wine still youthful and fresh four days after it was opened. Margaux chic.
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Wine Spectator
Dark in color, with an impressive nose of licorice, toasty oak, chocolate and blackberry. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, caressing finish. Very pretty and structured.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
This well-filled, impeccably balanced wine starts with aromas of cherries, sweet berries, tobacco leaves, rose petals, vanilla bean oak and black walnuts. Its lushness is more reminiscent of what we are finding from the St. Juliens than of the Margaux set, and in that regard, Lascombes comes up a bigtime success in this vintage. Its flavors have a "drink me now" quality but its underlying tannins speak to its ability to age, and there is every reason to expect more than a decade of growth.
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Wine Enthusiast
Lascombes is approaching the form its status as a second growth suggests. This wine is close, packed with dark fruits, figs and juicy black currant extract. The aftertaste has some bitterness, with layers of toast and spice coming through strongly.
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Alexis Lichine took over the property in 1952. He completely restructured Chateau Lascombes and renovated the vineyard and cellars, giving this large vineyard new life. In 1971, he sold everything to the English brewer, Bass-Charrington. Since its purchase in April 2001 by Colony Capital, a new era has begun for this property.
The Chateau Lascombes vineyard stretches over eighty-four hectares within the Margaux appellation. The present varietal distribution is 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot.
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.