The wine hits all cylinders in 2010. The average alcohol for the bottled wine is 14%. It has a gorgeously sweet nose of creme de cassis, spring flowers, subtle barbecue smoke and charcoal followed by full body, beautiful intensity, great purity, stature and length. The influence of any oak is minimal, despite the fact that 90% new French oak was used. Needless to say, this is an example of modern-styled winemaking at it's finest, and arguments that such wines will not age well, do not represent their terroir , and are soul-less, are totally groundless. Give it 5 or so years of cellaring and drink it over the following 25-30 years. This is one of the great Margaux wines of the vintage.
Probably the greatest Lascombes made to date, the 2010 is a blend of 55% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot. The production from this huge estate totals nearly 400,000 bottles.
Tasted twice, the Lascombes is a blend of 45% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. The first sample has a very ripe bouquet with crème de cassis and plum-scented fruit, flirting with over-ripeness. The palate is medium-bodied with rather low acidity and a very smudged and a little hard on the finish. A second sample is consistent and I will endeavour to taste this at a later juncture. Tasted April 2011.
What a wonderful nose of ripe strawberries and hints of vanilla. Full body with soft and velvety tannins and a long, long finish. This is luscious and sexy. Try in 2017.
Another extremely dark blackish crimson Margaux. Lifted nose and very sweet and sumptuous. Extremely caressing in terms of texture. Wine as massage. But with lots of tannins hidden in there underneath. So much pleasure in store... Though pretty alcoholic!
There has been a total transformation in quality here recently. Modern, impressive wines are now being made here which are often criticised for not being very Margaux-like. Nevertheless, they are much better than the dreadful efforts produced at Lascombes under the former regime. This 2010 has an inky black colour and the fleshy black fruit is currently completely dominated by the rasping, raw new oak. Marmite on the nose, chewy and dense on the palate then woody dryness on the finish. Very un-knit right now and hard to judge.
It is very modern with rich fleshy fruit on the nose and sweet ripe black fruits filling out the palate. There are tannins in evidence surrounded by supple slightly jammy fruit. The oak is rather too obvious on both nose and back palate.
Very well extracted ripe fruit, shows the ripeness and structure of 2010 and fine ripe tannins for the future. Drink 2017-30.
While this large property is composed of a huge number of small parcels that must require military-like precision to harvest, the quality of the wines over the last decade has been remarkable. The 2010 may turn out to be the greatest Lascombes ever made. It boasts a dense purple color along with an extraordinarily uplifted set of aromatics consisting of blueberry liqueur, black cherries, subtle smoke, crushed rocks and restrained oak. Massive fruit, an unctuous texture, a skyscraper-like mid-palate and stunning definition (because of good acids and a modest pH) have resulted in a formidable wine that will benefit from 5-6 years of cellaring, and should keep for 30 years. A brilliant effort!
Impressive start with lots of polished and silky tannins here, and an enticing depth of fruit and a caressing finish.