schiller-wine: Winery tour, Tasting and Lunch at Château Lascombes, Margaux, 2ième Grand Cru Classé - Bordeaux Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours, France

Pictures: Winery tour, Tasting and Lunch at Château Lascombes, Margaux, 2ième Grand Cru Classé - Bordeaux Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours, France

Given its history Château Lascombes is a very interesting château to visit. In the late 17th century the estate belonged to the Chevalier de Lascombes, hence the name. Since then the château passed through a succession of owners some more successful than others. In 1855 it was awarded the status of a second growth. Since then for most of the time it had been considered an underperformer in relation to its classification. In 1952 the estate was purchased by the flamboyant Russian-French wine writer and wine connoisseur Alexis Lichine and a syndicate of American investors that included David Rockefeller. Alexis Lichine laid the ground-work for the rehabilitation of Château Lascombes by greatly improving the vineyards with his expertise and commitment. It was only in 2001 that the Château Lascombes as we know it today came into being. That year the Amercian pension fund Capital Colony purchased the estate and completely turned it around by investing € 35 Mil in the renovation of equipment, cellars, vineyards, etc. Dominique Befve was hired as General Manager and Michel Rolland as oenologist. In 2011 Château Lascombes was acquired by the French insurance company MACSF. The new owners have retained the Capital Colony winemaking team, including Dominique Befve. Château Lascombes is with 225 acres of vineyards one of the largest classified estates in the Médoc.

We toured the winery, had a tasting in the tasting room and finished the visit with a fabolous lunch pique-nique style with matching Lascombes wines at the château.

10 Things Every Wine Lover Should Know About... Lascombes

This 1855 classified second growth is now French-owned but it retains a distinctly international flavor.

By Jane Anson | Posted Thursday, 23-Jan-2014

No. 1. New money:

Lascombes is often described as one of the more international estates in the Médoc, meaning that it's confident and innovative if you’re a fan, or a sop to over-oaking if you’re not. It even has a compass design on its capsule, representing its "opening to the world," claims director Dominique Befve.

The estate has certainly had its fair share of globe-trotting owners since the 1950s, starting with the Russian-American wine-writing legend Alexis Lichine and followed by British drinks group Bass Charrington, which bought Lascombes in 1971. There are definite remnants of the 1970s British vibe in some of the (soon to be renovated) brown suites in the bathrooms. I’m pretty sure I even spotted brown corduroy wallpaper in one of them.

No. 2. Gaining ground:

The latter half of the Bass Charrington era was a low point in quality for this Margaux second growth, but there's been a definite improvement since American investment house Colony Capital took charge in 2001. The company reportedly spent $67 million on the purchase and a further $47 million on renovations and investments, including a full geological study and replanting program, plus a four-level, gravity-led vat room and barrel cellar.

The wine began to get better scores although some critics suggested this was at the expense of its "Margaux" character, but from 2008 onwards it was an open secret that Colony was looking to sell Lascombes. Rumors abounded about large Chinese companies finally getting their hands on an 1855 classified growth, but in the end it was a French insurance company that scooped up the estate: Mutuelle d’Assurances du Corps de Santé Francais (MACSF). The price? 200 million euros ($270 million)

Pictures: At Château Lascombes, Margaux, 2ième Grand Cru Classé

No. 3. Direct sales:

Lascombes sells 90 percent of its production en primeur, with the remaining 10 percent held back at the château for its own wine library, tastings and marketing, and for the later release to négociants of certain older vintages. However, Lascombes caused a minor controversy in December 2012, when bloggers noticed that private individuals could buy the 2012 vintage en primeur direct from the château as well as from négociants.

Some observers questioned whether the château was looking to bypass the traditional system. However, Lascombes brushed off the charges. According to Florence Raffin of the marketing team: "This is nothing new, and we are far from the only château to allow private individuals to buy small amounts of wine direct." The estate is "fully supportive of the traditional system," she says, with the buy-direct offer going only to a small number of long-term private buyers within France. "Suggesting that we are doing anything subversive is misleading."

No. 4. Supersize me:

The Lascombes vineyard yo-yoed from 27 hectares in 1866 to a tiny 12 hectares in 1951, then up to 50 hectares in 2004. But it’s over the last decade that things have really got serious. New plantings – plus the renting of 27 hectares of AOC Margaux from neighboring Château Martinens – has brought the size of the vineyard up to 118 hectares. This makes it one of the largest estates both in Margaux – where it represents 12 percent of the appellation – and the 1855 Classification.

Pictures: In the Vineyard

No. 5. Château Margaux with a splash of Lascombes

A ringing endorsement of the quality of the Lascombes vines comes from one of its more illustrious neighbors. Records at Château Margaux show that in pre-revolutionary, 17th-century France, its main wine was a blend from its own vines and contributions "paid" to the château as part of feudal dues. Estate director Berlon noted that the best of these came from Antoine de Lascombes, whose wine was used for topping up barrels of Margaux.

No. 6. Mad about merlot:

Lascombes is unusual among Médoc classifieds – and especially among second growths – for having more merlot than cabernet sauvignon in the vineyard. The final blend usually looks a bit like this: 50 percent merlot, 45 percent cabernet sauvignon and 5 percent petit verdot. In 2011, some cabernet franc was planted and will be trialed to see if it should also be part of the blend. The 2014 vintage is expected to be the first where that is considered.

No. 7. Wine royalty:

Former owner Alexis Lichine was known as the "Pope of Wine" for his books "Wines of France" and "Alexis Lichine's Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits." A hugely influential importer of French wines in America, he was born in Russia, grew up in Paris, then headed to a U.S. university before becoming a journalist for the Herald Tribune.

When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, Lichine was assigned to profile the major vineyard regions of France – the newspaper hoped to attract potential wine and spirits advertisers. Lichine wrote of the trip: "I had found my calling." During World War II, he was in charge of securing supplies of wartime wines for Churchill, Patton and Eisenhower, and later supplied wine to Eisenhower at the White House. In 1951, he bought both Cantenac-Prieuré (now Prieuré-Lichine) and Lascombes, which he purchased together with a "group of enthusiastic and supportive shareholders," including Warren Pershing and David Rockefeller.

Pictures: In the Wine Cellar

No 8. Rothschild pedigree:

Lascombes director Dominique Befve has been heading up the estate since 2001. He had previously spent 10 years as technical director of Châteaux Lafite Rothschild and Duhart-Milon, followed by L’Evangile in Pomerol – giving him experience at all the Domaine Baron Rothschild (Lafite) Bordeaux properties except for Rieussec. Michel Rolland acts as consultant

No. 9. Prices, allocations:

While the estate is now back in French hands, most of Lascombes' production heads to foreign shores. Forty percent is sold in the United States, 30 percent in Asia, and 30 percent in Europe. France is left with less than 10 percent (even with those aforementioned private buyers).

In terms of value, there are different opinions. Figures from the Place de Bordeaux show that the 2010 Lascombes (which was released at 72 euros/$97 ex-Bordeaux) is now trading at around 13 percent less than its release price. But the 2008 vintage (released at 30 euros/$40 ex-Bordeaux) is trading at a 60 percent increase. The 2005 is up by 64 percent, while the 2000 has risen by 309 percent. It seems, therefore, that anyone who bought older vintages of this wine is sitting on a healthy investment.

Aarash Ghatineh, head of sales for Cult Wines, confirms that Lascombes is a label of growing interest as a "more affordable" classified growth.

"With the backdrop of the market downturn for the top five labels [the first growths], investors are seeking value elsewhere," says Ghatineh. "Lascombes has a good average Parker score [around 93 since 2000], and at around 50 pounds ($82) a bottle, most vintages are great buys for the consumer."

No. 10. What to drink now:

The high proportion of merlot, combined with increasingly successful vinification techniques that ensure softer tannins, means that Lascombes is often more approachable within the 8- to 10-year mark than many Médoc classifieds. For wines that are ready to be opened today, Befve recommends the 2001, 2003 and 2004 vintages, while Ghatineh points to the 2000. He adds: "Even the 2009 is not a wine that you’re going to have to wait forever for."

Personally, I thought the 2008 Lascombes really out-performed the appellation in that up-and-down vintage, and is worth getting hold of.

Pictures: Tasting

The Wines we Tasted

2013 Chevalier de Lascombes

Wine-searcher average price in US$:30

2012 Château Lascombes

Wine-searcher average price in US$:70

An intriguing blend of 48% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot, this inky purple-colored wine is ripe, progressively styled, big, rich, thick and juicy. In other words, the 2012 Lascombes is loaded. No doubt the high percentage of Merlot in the final blend gives this wine a fleshiness and succulence that is unusual in the Médoc. Rich, pure and full, it should hit its prime in another 4-5 years and last at least two or three decades. Score: 94 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (218), April 2015

Pique-nique Style Lunch with Matching Lascombes Wines at Château Lascombes

Following the winery tour we enjoyed a fabulous lunch pique-nique style with matching Lascombes wines at the château.