WTN: Margaux Twosome

Another two wines, this time a Margaux twosome, that came my way over dinner when in Bordeaux recently. Both showed better than expected. In the case of Lascombes, I have had a couple of experiences where young wines from the Capital Colony/Alain Reynaud era (2001 onwards) just seem overladen with oak and have a really soft, loose-knit, unintegrated texture, so it was a pleasure to find this 2006 - although rich in oak-related characteristics - holding it all in rather well. As for Boyd-Cantenac, I think this is only the second vintage from this estate I have ever tasted. It was a decent effort, attractively mature, nothing profound, but with low expectations what I found was certainly quite drinkable.

Chateau Lascombes (Margaux) 2006: This shows very much as you would expect from the modern Lascombes, with a nose dominated by honeyed, spicy oak, but also elements of liquorice and a touch of iron. Big substance on the palate. Attractive fruit although the palate is still very much under the influence of the tannins. Lots of oak here still. A dry structure, very grippy tannins with nice acidity. A firm and upright finish. Showing rather well, and certainly holding together very nicely. I look forward to tasting this again in the context of the vintage at the IMW tasting later this year. 17+/20

Chateau Boyd-Cantenac (Margaux) 1999: Boyd-Cantenac is not a property I am at all familiar with. This maturing example has a good character on the nose refelcting the wine's ten years, with notes of dark but rusty fruit, sprinkled with the aromas of brown tea leaves. It certainly shows signs of maturity. On the palate it is supple, with gently plump fruit. Good substance though, quite full and spicy-peppery, with soft acids but a nice tannic backbone. Lacks some definition but certainly gives some pleasure. Good, and ready now. 15/20

Chris, it sounds from your notes as if I would prefer the Boyd-Cantenac to the Lascombes in their present states.

Lascombes is certainly an estate which has known a lot of vicissitudes; I wrote a TN on a boring 94 but the 90 was much better.

I wonder how well made examples of the modern style like this Lascombes 06 will mature. With Victor de la Serna claims with reference to Rioja that the traditional and modern tend to converge after a number of years. I wonder if this will be true of Bordeaux, if true at all.

Thanks for the notes, Chris! As for Boyd-Cantenac, I tasted several vintages of this Margaux, as well as of its even more obscure stable mate Pouget, in the eighties and nineties. Always good lighter-styled wines, but nothing special. The best Boyd-Cantenac I can remember was the 1990. But even this wine was far from what you would expect from a Troisième Grand Cru Classé.

I wonder how well made examples of the modern style like this Lascombes 06 will mature. With Victor de la Serna claims with reference to Rioja that the traditional and modern tend to converge after a number of years. I wonder if this will be true of Bordeaux, if true at all.

I think it's a crapshoot: nobody really knows yet. We can conjucture, but it's still early in the game. We will have to see with age. I don't know about Rioja converging (I'm sure Victor has more experience there), but with Bordeaux, who knows? So many things are different about the wines now from the vintages of the 80's, when things were more 'traditional', and I think especially with the vintages of recent years, 2000 and on, each one seems to have produced riper, more alcoholic, more spoofed wines that I find the ones I have tasted remarkably easy to drink, and I could not say this about earlier vintages at the same stage.