2022 Lascombes
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Tasting notes
The 2022 Lascombes has quite an intense nose, with brambly black fruit, gravel and light pencil shavings scents unfolding in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, good depth and volume, fine acidity and quite a minerally style, with admirable precision on the finish. This is very promising, though this is one example where the 2023 may well supersede the previous vintage. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
More reviews and scores
Based on 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Château Lascombes pulls from 40% of the total production and was aged 18 months mostly in barrels (60% new) with a small portion in foudre. This inky hued beauty boasts a rich, concentrated, full-bodied, well-oaked style as well as pure cassis and darker berry fruits, some graphite, scorched earth, and licorice nuances, terrific overall balance, and a great finish. This more modern styled, pure, seamless beauty will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and keep for 30 years.
The 2022 Lascombes was difficult to pin down in barrel. Now in bottle, it seems to have settled down a little, although I find a little warmth commingling with the black cherry, iodine and cassis aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with a bold, ripe entry and peppery finish. This is a powerful Margaux, leaning more toward the exotic side than its peers. It's not bad, though my preference lies with the ensuing vintage.
50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. Very dark with a black core. Ripe, sweet black fruit, like mulberry and blueberry. Rich, thick, smooth and chocolate-like. Powerful but not overdone. A big, tannic, sweet-fruited wine. But needs time for those tannins to subside. (JH)
About the producer
With vines spread across 40 different parcels throughout the appellation, Ch. Lascombes is one of the most fragmented but also largest Médoc estates, with 120 hectares of vines, now owned by the MACSF insurance company.