Château Lascombes 2014

The 2014 Lascombes was perplexing when I tasted it multiple times from barrel. Now in bottle, it has a generous, warm bouquet with chestnut-tinged black fruit, hints of cedar filtering through with time. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, smooth in texture with ample blackberry and blueberry fruit, although my main criticism is lack of detail and delineation on the finish. Ergo, you don't feel enthused about returning for another sip.

A core of lightly steeped plum, blackberry and anise notes is framed by a singed juniper hint. Delivers fleshy drive through the finish while maintaining a supple, elegant feel overall. Best from 2018 through 2024. 25,835 cases made.

Very good depth of fruit showing florality, fragrance and freshness with the usual Lascombes richness. A big, broad wine but the Margaux elegance is there with lift and spice to continue a good run from this château.

Blueberries and wet earth with dried flowers. Full body, a solid core of fruit and a long, juicy finish. Excellent. Better in 2020.

The 2014 Lascombes is a bold, dramatic wine. Dark stone fruit, leather, bittersweet chocolate, smoke, licorice and French oak all meld together in the glass. Lascombes is a powerful, modern Margaux with soft contours and considerable fruit intensity. All the elements come together effortlessly. Readers should expect a bold, intense wine. Tasted two times.

Medium bodied, with an oaky component that adds roundness and flesh to the black cherry–filled wine, but there is also a lot of espresso and smoke at the moment.

A beautiful and elegant effort from this estate, the 2014 Lascombes offers lots of ripe black cherry and blackberry fruit characteristics as well as notes of cedary spice, liquid flowers, and graphite. It’s pure, elegant, and nicely concentrated, especially for the vintage, and with bright acidity and integrated tannin, it’s going to benefit from short-term cellaring and keep for 15–20 years.

THE SUM IS THE BLEND At Château Lascombes, we had the opportunity to taste the individual components of Lascombes 2014… First, the Merlot; nicely fruity, very soft tannins with generous contours. As a monoblock, however, rather boring. There are better Merlots in Ticino. Then came the Cabernet Sauvignon; meaty, fairly hard due to the abundant tannins but with nice depth. If I had to compare this component with a top American 100% Cabernet, this lot would probably fare rather poorly. The darkest wine was the Petit Verdot. Reductive, over-spiced and with lots of black pepper, raw and unpolished in its hefty build. I’ve had much better single-bottled Petit Verdots from Piramimma in Australia. As the fourth sample, we tasted the actual Lascombes 2014, which will show the following blend of the aforementioned varieties: 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot. So the sum does it! The yield was 39 hectoliters per hectare. 60% of the harvest was selected as the Grand Vin. Extremely dark purple with lilac and violet highlights. Spicy, medium-deep bouquet, plenty of red cassis and fine woods. On the palate, a lot of charm and an almost perfumed fruit note; the extract is soft and velvety. A charmer full of finesse with a sufficient pinch of eroticism. It will be huge, huge fun at maturity! At a dinner at the Château, there was a magnum 2009 that went around. I had already written back then “best Lascombes ever.” But unfortunately, I had foolishly bought none. The first thing I did when I got home: I searched for and bought this fabulous 19-point wine. I asked Dominique Befve about the order of his greatest vintages: 1.) 2010, 2.) 2005, 3.) 2009, 4.) 2014. “And my favorite 2003?” I asked. Befve replied, “It is indeed great, but too atypical for me; I still prefer the 2001 and the 2004!” The rating for Lascombes 2014:

Dense, fresh, mineral and complex bouquet, strawberry jelly, mulberries, slate, mocha, fine caramel. Tightly woven, multi-layered, finely creamy palate with powerful, sweet fruit, varied sweet aromatics, dense, velvety structure, long, dense, fresh finish. 18/20 2020 - 2036

Medium to deep garnet-brick in color, the 2014 Lascombes needs a little swirling to coax out classic notes of cassis and cedar followed by touches of lavender and wild sage plus a hint of crushed rocks. The medium-bodied palate is elegantly styled with lovely poise and soft tannins, finishing on a fragrant earth note. Tasted blind with the Southwold Group in London in February 2024.

Excellent silky texture, refined flavor, ripe tannins without astringency, very seductive.

It offers lovely opulence on the palate, with volume and flesh. A wine typical of the château, with a suave, rounded character. It lacks just a touch of distinction to join the very best.

The dark color comes with lovely spicy and blackcurrant notes. The wine is full-bodied and indulgent, with attractive fruit, though a slight firmness in the tannins that will fade with aging, and a supple finish.

Intense garnet red. The nose of this Lascombes 2014 is delicate and very expressive. True to its terroir, it highlights lovely fruit notes such as raspberry. On the palate, the body shows pedigree, strength, and a beautiful tannic structure. The latter provides solid support and promises excellent ageing potential. Long, expressive finish. Very good glou-glou.

Intense, purple color. Tarred, smoky nose. A supple, fruity, flavorful palate with medium body and length.

A vintage that was less successful in Margaux than in the northern Médoc, as they had more rain during harvest; although it is austere, you’ll find plenty of dark fruit flavors, cassis bud, earth and pureed blackberry. Subtle grilled cedar notes, but even as it approaches 10 years old, the tannins remain a little inflexible, giving an abrupt finish that detracts from the appellation’s refined typicity. Yield 39 hl/ha, 120 ha. 90% new oak, harvest from September 22 to October 17. Maceration 35 days, malo in barrel. Lascombes was under new ownership again at this point, with Colony Capital selling to MACSF in 2011, still with Dominique Befvre in place as director.