95pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

A gorgeous example of Lascombes, the 2005, a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot, continues the remarkable turn-around in quality that began five years ago. A stunningly opulent wine with a dense purple color, the 2005 possesses a beautiful perfume of spring flowers, blueberries, blackberries, creosote, and graphite, full body, silky but noticeable tannins, a layered mouthfeel, and a stunning, 45+-second finish. This is a brilliant, modern-styled Margaux that should age for 30-35 years.

94pts Jeb Dunnuck

Impressive aromatics of currants, smoked tobacco, saddle leather, classy oak, and hints of truffly earth all emerge from the 2005 Château Lascombes, a concentrated, pure, layered, medium to full-bodied effort that has the vintage's dense, structured profile while staying light on its feet and elegant. This beautiful, finesse-driven Margaux is clearly in its prime drinking window yet has another two decades of longevity. The blend is 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot, all aged 18 months in new oak.

94pts Wine & Spirits

A joyous Lascombes, this is the first vintage to hit stride since the US investment firm Colony Capital took over in 2001. It's a meaty wine draped in fragrant tannin, built for long aging. It's also an exuberant wine, in both the bright, red currant-scented fruit and the bristle of the tannin. A playfully complex flavor lasts for minutes, the wine still youthful and fresh four days after it was opened. Margaux chic.

93pts Wine Spectator

Dark in color, with an impressive nose of licorice, toasty oak, chocolate and blackberry. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, caressing finish. Very pretty and structured.

93pts Connoisseurs' Guide

This well-filled, impeccably balanced wine starts with aromas of cherries, sweet berries, tobacco leaves, rose petals, vanilla bean oak and black walnuts. Its lushness is more reminiscent of what we are finding from the St. Juliens than of the Margaux set, and in that regard, Lascombes comes up a bigtime success in this vintage. Its flavors have a "drink me now" quality but its underlying tannins speak to its ability to age, and there is every reason to expect more than a decade of growth.

91pts Wine Enthusiast

Lascombes is approaching the form its status as a second growth suggests. This wine is close, packed with dark fruits, figs and juicy black currant extract. The aftertaste has some bitterness, with layers of toast and spice coming through strongly.

90pts Vinous

The 2005 Lascombes, served from jeroboam, has a well-defined nose with scents of blackberry, brine and cassis aromas percolating up with time, nicely focused. The palate is medium-bodied, with hints of menthol and liquorice infusing the black fruit. There is good density here though it is just missing a little finesse toward the finish. I find myself smitten by the aromas, but the palate leaves me wanting more.

Winery Description

Chateau Lascombes, a Margaux ranked Second Growth in the 1855 classification, bears the name of its first owner, Chevalier de Lascombes, born in 1625. At the turn of the 18th century, Jean-Francois Lascombes, a councillor at the Bordeaux Parliament, dedicated his wealth to making a great wine at Lascombes. The existing chateau was built in 1867 by Chaix D'Est Ange.

Alexis Lichine took over the property in 1952. He completely restructured Chateau Lascombes and renovated the vineyard and cellars, giving this large vineyard new life. In 1971, he sold everything to the English brewer, Bass-Charrington. Since its purchase in April 2001 by Colony Capital, a new era has begun for this property.

Blend: 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot