chateau lascombes 2004

with fully 120 hectares under vine in the commune of margaux, lascombes is a large estate, and the big news is that a new winery has just been completed and is soon to be unveiled, with 43 fermentation vats. winemaking is rather modern, the fruit passing through a cold tunnel after sorting and seeing a cold soak before alcoholic fermentation. around 80% of the grand vin goes through malolactic fermentation in barrel, and the barrels are rolled twice a week until march to reintroduce the lees into suspension. in the vineyards, there's 50% merlot, 45% cabernet sauvignon and 5% petit verdot, and the elevated percentage of merlot is partly explained by the fact that many of lascombes's holdings are to be found on clay-limestone terroirs better adapted to this cépage. lascombes is a rather extracted wine, carrying a lavish patina of creamy new oak, which will naturally tend to polarize opinion, but it is a very well rendered example of its style, and the 2021 is likely to surprise with a bit of bottle age. another brilliant effort from this estate, the 2004 lascombes (a blend of 50% merlot, 45% cabernet sauvignon, and 5% petit verdot) exhibits a deep blue/purple hue along with a sweet perfume of blueberries, black raspberries, cherries, incense, smoke, and spring flowers. while opulent, underneath the full-bodied richness of fruit and depth is a structured wine. as it sits in the glass, an espresso roast character (no doubt from new oak) also emerges. enjoy this pure, structured, fleshy beauty between 2010-2025.