CHÂTEAU LASCOMBES

All eyes on this estate for its first full vintage with Axel Heinz. It's clear that the build and construction is more serious than in the past, but most impressive is the juicy pleasure to be found in the layers of inky, nuanced, textured fruits, with sculpted tannins and well-judged grilled cedar oak. Inky, savoury, black fruits, savoury and lifted. Tasted twice, thoroughly enjoyable both times. Drinking range: 2030 - 2045 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2024)

The 2023 Lascombes marks a new direction for the Chateau. Dark and virile, with real intensity, the 2023 marries richness and energy. Black cherry, lavender, spice, menthol and licorice emerge from the glass. This fleshes out beautifully on the finish, showing terrific breadth and nuance. The 2023 is, without question, the most elegant, finessed Lascombes made in many years. That won't surprise readers familiar with wines here that were often monolithic and one-dimensional. The 2023 will be a fascinating wine to follow. This is also a new chapter for Estate Director Axel Heinz, formerly at Ornellaia, who strikes me as a liberated winemaker these days—someone freed from the burden of expectations. Tasted three times. Drinking range: 2030 - 2053 Rating: 92-95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)

This is the first vintage for Axel Heinz, previously of Ornellaia, on the estate, so it is only natural to look for signs of change, and I think it shows. The 2023 is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc, picked at a yield of 35 hl/ha. A rather dense and perfumed nose, with toasted oak, dark chocolate and black pepper. The palate naturally also presents these layers of dark oak, but there is fruit here too, with pressed blackcurrant, salted olive, liquorice and toast. The tannins work well within the substance of the wine, showing a tightly knit substance. Rich, polished, gripped and tense, with increasingly evident perfumed fruit, leading into a long and gripped finish, this is an impressive, structured, dark and savoury style of Margaux, built to seduce, but there is delicious salinity and savoury substance here too. Surely a change in direction here? And it works for me. Tasted three times. Rating: 93-95 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)