La Côte Lascombes
Château Lascombes unveils "La Côte - Lascombes", a new Merlot wine by Axel Heinz.
A new chapter for Lascombes
The birth of La Côte – Lascombes, Merlot from a single plot, led by Axel Heinz and Gaylon Lawrence, Jr.
As Château Lascombes’ Grand Vin has set its course back toward its historic 1855 terroir, this new chapter breaks with any notion of the status quo. If the renewal of Lascombes were a script, this would be the cliffhanger—the twist that bends the plot and changes the story’s trajectory.
The plot
The origin of this intrigue emerged in 2023.
Freshly arrived from Tuscany, Axel Heinz begins to understand Lascombes’ vineyard parcels. With one intention: to reveal what is hidden in order to bring new insights to a complex and diverse terroir, emblematic of Margaux.
On the way through the vineyard, Delphine Barboux, Lascombes’ technical director, and Axel Heinz stop at the lieu-dit “La Côte.” A plot of barely five hectares, more recent in Lascombes’ fold than its imperial classification.
“For a quarter of a century, whatever the weather conditions for the vintage, this Merlot always seemed to find just what it needed.”
Like many of the most prestigious plots in the Médoc, it overlooks the river
About a kilometre and a half from the Gironde as the crow flies.
This close to the water, levels three and four of the region’s famous gravel terraces have disappeared. The soil is clayey on the outcropping limestone slab. The plot’s Merlot vines, planted in the 1980s, are approaching their prime.
And then a shock. Veins of blue clay!
The discovery
Axel Heinz wanted to gain a better understanding of the plot’s structural characteristics.
The geological study he undertook revealed clay, essential for the silkiness, freshness and acidity found in the balance of great Merlots.
And limestone marl – the bedrock in all of this part of Margaux – an important element in developing more complex expressions, where other clay soils would favour more ripening.
A geological “accident”, associated with some of the world’s greatest Merlot wines, particularly in some rare terroirs blessed with this phenomenon on Bordeaux’s right bank or in Tuscany.
A total incongruity on the left bank.
The wine
At first glance, La Côte – Lascombes seems to go against all traditions and current trends: a single plot wine made from 100% Merlot – a grape variety said to be in decline due to climate change – and a clear break with the Médoc’s reputation for excellence built on the art of blending grape varieties and terroirs, with Cabernet Sauvignon predominating.
Even the name, La Côte (“the hillside”) defies expectations. This generic, rootless name could be attributed to dozens of other wine regions before the Médoc, which is hardly characterised by hillside vineyards.
“A new wine has to bring something new to the table”, Axel Heinz sums up, simply.
Rare in its approach and limited in production to its single-plot, La Côte – Lascombes is beginning its ascent towards its bold ambition: to become a truly great wine, even if this means shaking up the hierarchy of Lascombes’ wines.
With this 2022 vintage, La Côte – Lascombes begins a kind of dialogue through the expression of the superb geological structure of its eponymous plot: depth, finesse, complex flavours and aromas, intensity, a certain roundness…
An acidity that is firm and precise, more structured than opulent.
And in the Médoc style.
La Côte Lascombes
Margaux
Reflecting the superb geological structure of an extraordinary terroir in the Médoc with veins of blue clay, La Côte – Lascombes expresses an atypical, distinctive identity, with depth, finesse,
complex flavours and aromas, intensity and roundness. The acidity is well-structured, fairly firm and precise. A rare gem for true connoisseurs.
Technical sheet
Clay-limestone soil with veins of blue clay.
| AGING POTENTIAL | 25-30 years |
| OPTIMAL DRINKING TIME | 2030-2040 |
