2022 Château Lascombes Margaux "Chevalier de Lascombes", Bordeaux, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

The 120 hectares of the vineyard are located on the Margaux appellation, the blend of this wine is 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot. It is to this day one of the largest vineyards of the Crus Classés of 1855. Chevalier de Lascombes comes from the younger vines. A soil study is carried out plot by plot. This has led to a restructuring of the vineyard to obtain a perfect match between soils, basements and grape varieties. The approach is traditional, many efforts made to promote the ripening of the grapes by offering a more airy environment and a better exposure to the sun. The date of harvest is decided by the optimal maturity of the berries, and this is done by tasting parcel by plot of berries. The harvest is cooled by an injection of dry ice since 2001 to obtain a more intense color, more stable and a better aromatic complexity. The wine is aged on lees for 4 months.

The wines age 18 to 20 months in French oak barrels, the percentage of new oak having been reduced significantly in the past few years. Chateau Lascombes uses a unique barrel rotation system, which keeps the lees suspended in order to increase their contact with the must. This technique results in a wine with more body and volume without having to expose it to oxygen.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Château Lascombes owes its name and history to its first owner, Chevalier Antoine de Lascombes, born in 1625. At the end of the 18th century, Jean-François de Lascombes, advisor of the Bordeaux parliament, tries thanks to his fortune to make from Lascombes a very great wine. It was the Bâtonnier Chaix d’Est Ange who built the current Château in 1867. The property was bought in 1952 by Alexis Lichine, who completely restructured the Château and renovated the wine-making facilities, thus giving a second life to this grand cru. In 2001, the Colony Capital group acquired Château Lascombes, the beginning of a new era for the estate. In 2011, it is the MACSF, current owners, who bought the Château Lascombes and entrusted the management to Dominique Befve. Le Chevalier de Lascombes is the second wine of the property.

In 1855, Château Lascombes was officially rated as a Second Growth by the 1855 Classification of Medoc wines, commissioned by Napoleon III. Château Lascombes is situated in the northwestern part of the Margaux appellation of the Medoc wine region on the Left Bank of Bordeaux. Today considered one of the largest classified growths of Bordeaux and the largest vineyard of the Margaux appellation, Lascombes reigns over a vineyard of 120 hectares (296 acres) in Margaux and an additional 10 hectares (24 acres) in Haut-Medoc.