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1978 Château Lascombes |
| Vintage | 1978 |  Label 1 of 14   | |
| Type | Red | ||
| Producer | Château Lascombes (web) | ||
| Variety | Red Bordeaux Blend | ||
| Designation | n/a | ||
| Vineyard | n/a | ||
| Country | France | ||
| Region | Bordeaux | ||
| SubRegion | Médoc | ||
| Appellation | Margaux |
| Community Tasting History |
Community Tasting Notes (average 88.8 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 12 notes) | |
| Tasted by Serge Birbrair on 1/14/2010: The bottle showed itself much better without 1986 Chateau Margaux. Cork broke, but the wine was solid, still vibrant color, resolved tannins and pleasure to drink. Very slight rimming on the edge, and long finish. (222 views) | |
| Tasted by Epicurism on 11/23/2009 & rated 80 points: Decanted for 1/2 hour. Nice full finish and much better than the '75. (445 views) | |
| Tasted by wallstreet on 11/12/2009: Wine was remarkably smooth. Nose was somewhat muted (to me at least), but I thought the wine held up very well for being an older vintage. Simply put , I would buy it again. We had this PRIOR to a Margaux 86 and I simply would not compare the two, it would not be fair to this wine. On its own, this wine stood the test of time very well (570 views) | |
| Tasted by Serge Birbrair on 11/11/2009: Thwe cork just pushed itself thru and wine was decanted for an hour. Ruby color, despite it's age and still kicking. It's a steal for under $100 from Benchmark. Was completely outshined by 1986 Chateau Margaux, but that was expected. (559 views) | |
| Tasted by Phin on 10/29/2009 & rated 93 points: Nice dark berry weight in midpalate. A touch light at edges due to age but in excellent shape. Nice surprise! (750 views) | |
| Tasted by frabeau on 1/3/2009 & rated 91 points: Au débouchonnage, le liège se déchire une fois, deux fois. Il faut ouvrir délicatement à la piéce pour éviter des morceaux de liège dans la bouteille. Mais le bouchon est tout humide. Décanté 3 heures avant. Nez très fort de soupiraille et de terre humide. Pas grande joie anticipée. Au premier verre, surprise: le nez et le goût du poivron vert est présent. Non seulement présent, mais d'une intensité certaine. Au fur et à mesure du repas, la fraîcheur du fruit (framboise, cerise noire) envahit le nez et le palais. Frais. À la fin du repas, ce nez est toujours le même mais plus étouffé, amoindri. La longueur en bouche demeure quelque peu beurrée. collante. Belle expérience de dégustation où le vin passé date a charmé. (1251 views) | |
| Tasted by hehlers on 11/3/2008 & rated 90 points: (1183 views) | |
| Tasted by thecobalt9 on 11/2/2008 & rated 90 points: Lots of structure and complexity for what it is. Lovely cranberry, acidity, interesting body. Real shocker - definitely the best of the lot of 78s from my birthday. (1265 views) | |
| Tasted by jmull on 5/4/2008 & rated 87 points: A flight of three birth-year wines for my 30th borthday included 1978 Mouton, 1978 Lascombes and a 1978 Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet. All the wines were opened 90 minutes to 2 hours before serving, with just a little poured out to make sure they were still drinkable. All the wines were. Of the lot, the 1978 Mouton fared best tonight. Translucent, slightly brown-tinged ruby. Upon opening, it showed a wonderful perfume of secondary aromas --cedar, forrest floor. some tobacco-- but the first sips of the palate were watery and thin. Two-plus hours of slow oxygenation added substantial weight to the palate, as well as well as some subtle red fruit notes. Finish was a bit clipped, and I'm not sure how much time this has left, but this was a very enjoyable wine on its last legs that paired beautifully with steak bordelaise (92 pts.). The 1978 Lascombes has a simiilar profile and a slightly draker color, and it actually seemed slightly more youthful, but it was utterly dominated by copious amounts of dry, sawdusty oak. If you could get past that, there were some nice fruit and floral notes there, and 2 of our 15 guests said this was their favorite wine of the three. (87 pts.) The Jordan felt the most youthful of the bunch, perhaps owing to what appeared to be stunning provenance. Whereas the other two bottles has top-shoulder fills, this bottle was filled well into the neck. And its pristine red capsule still spun! I wondered if this might be a later disgorgement of this wine. In any event, this wine had a sweet --almost porty-- core of fruit in addition to its generous secondary aromas and flavors. This was still delicious but a bit tougher to match with food because of the sweetness. That said, in five years, the Jordan will probably be in the best shape of the bunch. (90 pts) (1589 views) | |
| Tasted by bacchus on 2/9/2005 & rated 89 points: selected this wine in view of posted comments and parker review indicating that it may be on its last legs. well, the surprises of the wine world will never cease to amaze. this bottle showed a low neck fill. the cork was loose fitting and somewhat powdery on top. cork extracted in two parts with some back pressure. cork was fully saturated but with no ullage. foil intact. the wine needed 10 minutes to lose bottle funk. then the beautiful fruit emerged and continued strong for 30 minutes offering a typical margaux nose throughout the evening. the wine finished with a mouth filling blast of chewy backbone. all sediment adhered to bottle. wine was clear and color was deep and bright. no browning or thinning at edges. short finish. (4355 views) | |
| Tasted by AlanM5 on 2/8/2005: A group of us went to dinner at Bay Wolf last night and took along a few cellar treasures. Three 1978 cabernets. This bottle, a bottle of Freemark Abbey Cabernet Bosche and a bottle of Chateau Lascombes Margeaux. All bottles had been down in the cellar for at least 15 years. The Sterling was the best of the lot. Sound cork. No leakage around or through the cork at all. Great clear color. No sign of age on the color. Wonderful nose that got better for at least 15-20 minutes. Some fruit still in the taste, but not much. Berries, I would guess, would be the major taste, perhaps dried berries, Some cedar chocolate taste. Good aged cabernet taste. Lingering aftertaste. I have no more bottles, but if I did, I would drink them immediately. The Freemark Abbey was completely gone. The cork broke in two on extraction, but did not crumble. Fill still in neck. Nose smelled of soy sauce. Taste was sort of interesting, maderized, but not a taste I have come across in old California Cabs. Sherry. Too bad. The Chateau Lascombes was very delicate in nose and taste. Well past its prime, but still sound. Nothing bad, just light. The cork came apart on extraction, but none went back into the wine. Fill was in the neck. Color a bit bricked. Floral nose. One drinker more familiar with bordeaux than I said that it was a classic Margeaux nose. The taste was a bit of tobacco and a bit of dried fruit. Pleasant. (4098 views) | |
| Tasted by bacchus on 1/1/2000 & rated 90 points: this is a summary note for 11 bottles consumed between 1990 and 2000. all wonderful memories. (3884 views) |
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About red wine The variety Red Bordeaux Blend on CellarTracker implies any blend using any or all of the five traditional Bordeaux varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. As such, this is used worldwide, whether for wines from Bordeaux, Meritages from California and Canada, some Super-Tuscan wines etc. Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia) Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux) | Simple Bordeaux primer Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines. As with a large part of the Bordeaux vineyards, vines first appeared in Margaux during the Gallo-Roman period. In 1705 a text mentions Château Margaux . But we have to wait for the end of the eighteenth century and the coming of the earliest techniques in aging for the concept of wines of high quality to develop. The confirmation of this was the famous 1855 classification which recognized 21 Crus Classés in the Margaux appellation. One hundred years later, the Viticultural Federation and the Margaux appellation of controlled origin were born. The appellation, which stretches out over five communes, is actually unique in the Médoc in that it is the only one to contain all the range of wines, as rich as they are vast, from First Great Cru Classé to the Fifths, not forgetting its famous Crus Bourgeois and its Crus Artisans. In Margaux there is a predominance of Garonne gravel on a central plateau of about 4 miles in length and one and a quarter wide. To the east-south-east, it overlooks the low lying land by the estuary. Its east side is marked by gentle, dry valleys and a succession of ridges.The layer of gravel in Margaux was spread out by a former Garonne in the early Quaternary. Rather large in size, it is mingled with shingle of average dimension and represents the finest ensemble of Günz gravel in the Haut-Médoc. It is on this ancient layer on a Tertiary terrace of limestone or clayey marl that the best Médoc crus lie. All the conditions for successful wine are present : a large amount of gravel and pebbles, poor soil which cannot retain water and deep rooted vines. It is customary to say that Margaux wines are the "most feminine" in the Médoc, thus stressing their delicacy, suppleness and their fruity, elegant aromas. This does not affect their great propensity for aging; just the opposite, for the relatively thin terroir imparts tannins which give them long life. The other characteristic of these wines which combine an elegant vitality, subtlety and consistency, is their diversity and personality. Over and above the flavour which is their "common denominator", they present an exceptional palette of bouquets, fruity flavours which show up differently from one château to another. Production conditions (Decree dated August 10 1954) In order to have the right to the Margaux appellation of controlled origin, red wines must: - come from the commune of Margaux, Cantenac, Soussans, Arsac and Labarde, "excluding the land which by the nature of its soil or because of its situation, is unfit to produce wine of this appellation". - satisfy precise production conditions: grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare). |
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