The origin of Chateau Lascombes started in the 17th century, when it was owned by the
Durfort de Duras family. During the mid-18th century, the
property was split, with one part forming the origin of Durfort-Vivens, the
other becoming Lascombes. It was acquired by the Lascombes family, under
Chevalier Antoine de Lascombes, remaining under his descendants for over a
century.
Shortly after the Revolution the estate was
passed to Nathaniel Johnston, the negociant firm established by Scottish-Irish
immigrant William Johnson. The heirs subsequently sold the property to
the Hue family, with fresh investment in the vineyard. Despite the
reduction in size, the property still enjoyed a good reputation and was ranked
a deuxieme cru in the 1855 classification.
When Hue’s son-in-law took over, he sold it
to Gustave Chaix-d’Est-Ange, who bequeathed it to his children Jean-Jules
Theophile and Jeanne-Marie. Jean-Jules was a famous lawyer who won the
case against Egypt over the Suez Canal, but was an absentee landlord, with the
estate managed by M. Valbord Hugen.
However, it was Jean-Jules who built the
chateau still standing today, and also acquiring the neighboring Marquis
d’Alesme-Becker, planning to merge the two vineyards. But he died in
1923 before this could be achieved, with his successor Comte Emmanuel du Bourg
du Bazas selling Alesme-Becker to Chaplin & Co.
In 1926 the estate was formed into a
company, with Ginestets coming on as a major shareholder. Alexis
Lichine came to rescue the failing property in 1951, acquiring the estate one
year after the purchase of Prieure-Lichine, revitalizing and investing to
improve the quality.
In 1971 Lichine’s backers were taken over by brewing
giant Bass Charrington, enlarging the vineyard though many coming from distant
plots with young vines, plus refurbishment in the cellars.
By 1985 Bass Charrington appointed Rene
Vannetelle, adding a new chai and paying attention to the vines and selecting
the best plots for the grand vin, rejecting the remaining, seeing the gradual
improvement in quality.
In 2001 a controlling stake was purchased by an
American pension fund Capital Colony, appointing Alain Raynaud to manage the
property and having Michel Rolland for oenologist.
Revitalisation continued and the vineyards
were expanded and reorganized, with a four-level gravity-fed chai and new
equipment. In 2010 it was purchased by MACSF, a pension fund group serving
French professionals, but decided to keep the Capital Colony winemaking team. Currently
the estate has 117 hectares of vines, but not every plot of good quality, with
some even outside the Margaux appellation.
The vines are 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet
Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot, averaging 35 years of age. The
soils are a mixture of clay-limestone and gravel, planting at a density of
8000-10000 vines per hectare. Harvesting is done by hand, with the fruit
sorted and destemmed, lightly pressed and macerated whilst cooled by dry ice if
needed.
The must then goes through fermentation in
the chai, in a mix of French oak and stainless steel tanks, having temperature
control, with the wine resting on skins with daily tasting to determine when to
run into barrels. The wine is gravity fed into French oak barrels which may be 100% new
for the grand vin Chateau Lascombes, sometimes even for the second wine
Chevalier des Lascombes in selected vintages. There are regular
racking and fining with egg white before bottling.
I have
recently tasted the 2004 vintage and below is my tasting note:
Appearance
Bright
and clear, it has deep ruby color, with narrow garnet rims and legs.
Nose
Clean,
with medium (+) intensity of black fruit such as cassis, blackberry and dark
plum, pungent spice of licorice, mineral notes of earth, maturity notes of
savory, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of coffee, floral notes of violet. The
wine is developing.
Palate
Dry with
medium (+) acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin of ripe and velvety texture.
Medium in alcohol, it has medium (+) body and medium (+) intensity flavors of black
fruit such as cassis, blackberry and dark plum, oak notes of cedar, pungent
spice of licorice, maturity notes of sweet tobacco and savory. The wine has a
medium (+) finish.
Conclusion
Very good quality high-priced Bordeaux left bank
showing the intensity and richness of a good Margaux, with the fruity nose
giving a floral background and other characters, suggesting the communal style
of a Margaux. The palate is well-structured, balanced with robust and
harmonious flavors, good concentration and also a fairly long finish. Ready to
drink now and probably at its peak, not for further development but can
maintain for another 3-5 years.
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