Château Lascombes 2016

This is dark and lush in feel, with alluring steeped plum and blackberry fruit carried by velvety tannins, picking up lilac, incense, black tea and alder notes along the way. Fresh acidity runs throughout, keeping everything detailed and focused. Best from 2022 through 2035. 31,667 cases made.

In many cases these Margaux are showing better than they did at en primeur, the ageing process helping to fatten them up. Here, full-on aromatics spiral out of the glass, an appealingly seductive nose. The palate is austere, yes, but the tannins are tight and present rather than raw, building up in the mouth. There's a clear precision to the fruit, very carefully delineated and with good persistency, leading to a finish of cold ash, tobacco and pencil lead. It's a wine to think about, to hold on to, to enjoy, and this gives full rein to the classy image of Margaux as the centre of delicacy and precision in the Médoc. Michel Rolland consults.

Tobacco, meat and a touch of rust on the nose. The palate is tensile and pretty, with focused and grainy tannins. Beautiful, with a long, harmonious finish. Drink or hold. 10 Years On retrospective.

More obvious spicy oak sweetness on the nose here. Really quite oaky, toasty. Tannins are fine but a bit dry, or perhaps there’s just not quite enough fruit to fill it out. (JH)

The 2016 Lascombes has grown into a gorgeous wine. Blackberry jam, chocolate, new leather, espresso and copious new oak all flesh out in this ample, resonant wine. As always, Lascombes is made in a style that brings out the more lush, flamboyant side of Margaux. In this vintage, all the elements meld together effortlessly, which isn’t always the case.

Round, fleshy, ripe, and marked by pronounced espresso and smoky notes over ripe, dense, dark fruits, this concentrated, sumptuous wine needs time in the cellar for everything to come together. Around 10 years or more should be about right.

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, discreet brightening on the rim. Cough drops, herbal savouriness and dark berries with ripe plum in the background. Medium complexity, juicy with fruit sweetness, vivid, well-integrated tannins and chocolaty. Long and mouth-filling.

Ripe dark-fruited nose with layers of cassis, plum, coffee, smoke and well-concealed new oak. Dense, concentrated palate with plenty of fine tannins, crème de cassis, cocoa bean and a fresh underlying acidity; very muscular, dense and persistent finish. Already tempting yet with fine potential.

The 2016 Château Lascombes is another brilliant Margaux, and I was blown away by this wine on two separate occasions. Sporting a deep purple color as well as a thrilling bouquet of cassis, smoked earth, charcoal, and tobacco, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, has obvious minerality, a big palate presence, and a terrific sense of elegance and purity. It’s a beautiful wine, and while I’d happily enjoy bottles today, it’s going to keep for 25-30 years.

Kunz barrel sample 17: fresh, silky, finely mineral bouquet, blueberries, black cherries, Damassine plums, light tobacco, delicate mocha, fine caramel. Balanced, creamy, dense and fresh palate with powerful, refined fruit, fragrant, sweet aromatics, dense, fine structure, long, dense, fresh finish. Can improve further.

Fresh, concentrated, complex, finely mineral bouquet: strawberry jelly, mulberries, mint, delicate tobacco notes, caramel, liquorice. Dense, multi-layered, elegant, and fresh palate with fine tannins, creamy texture, powerful sweet fruit, diverse aromatics, and a very long, fresh finish with fine aftertastes. Still has room to improve. 18/20 2023 - 2042

Sandalwood, cedar, incense, grilled oak and cocoa bean, cassis and bilberry fruit, hawthorn and smoked earth, tasting great as it hits the 10 year mark but with plenty of life ahead - the tannins should soften and integrate further over the next few years. 70% new oak, Delphine Barboux promoted to technical director from this 2016 vintage.

The 2016 Lascombes has a deep garnet color. It needs a fair bit of swirling to release notes of baked blackcurrants, plum preserves, and tar, with wafts of candied violets and smoked meats. Medium-bodied, the palate is plush and juicy with just enough freshness and a long, fragrant finish.

Sensual creaminess, very complete in its harmonious and alluring register. Velvety, subtle and long on the palate.

Cultivating its ample style, with generous oak and pronounced ripeness, Lascombes 2016 is a nourishing wine. Dense and very powerful, it now needs to channel its energy.

Lascombes 2016 never ceases to surprise me. While it was rather shy at first, hence a rather “

Dark, intense color with purple highlights, bright. Very aromatic nose, fine, pure, subtle, with ripe fruit. Hints of ink and blackberry. Caressing on the attack, melting on the mid-palate, aromatic and above all sapid, the wine develops both structured and gentle, leading to a finish with refined and even fragrant tannins. Good length.

While there are serious layers of wood in this young wine, it scores with its rich black-currant fruits and fine ripe tannins. It has structure and concentration, a wine that has great potential. Drink from 2025.