Chateau Labegorce - 2015

Beautifully deep colours hint at a very fine red wine. Blackcurrant and vanilla on the nose. Well structured with tannin curling around dark berry fruit. Can still be stored.

Country

France

Region

Bordeaux

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot

Vintage

2015

ABV

13.5

Code

10802

Style

Red

Chateau Labegorce is a great value introduction into the fine wines of Margaux, being a Margaux Cru Bourgeois Superieur as determined by the recently ratified 2003 Cru Bourgeois classification but without the hefty price tag commanded by some of its famous neighbours.

A long established property, there are references to land in the Margaux commune belonging to the Gorce family as long ago as the 14th Century. As the centuries passed, the land saw many changes, not least the fragmentation of the estate following the French Revolution.

In more recent times the estate has changed hands on several occasions, finally coming under the ownership of Hubert Perrodo in 1989. Hubert's dream was to reunite the original three properties under a single banner. He achieved the first part of this by buying Labegorce Zedé in 2005.

Sadly, he died before completing his mission. Many in Bordeaux expected his family, who were not directly involved in the wine business, to sell off the property, but Hubert's daughter Nathalie (pictured on the right with Chateau Labegorce general manager Marjolaine Maurice de Coninck) stepped up to the mark. She succeeded in reuniting the original Chateau Labegorce Estate with the acquisition of L'Abbé Gorsse de Gorsse.

Nathalie's winemaker is Marjolaine Maurice De Coninck who is renowned throughout the region and works as an adviser winemaker at other estates in Margaux. Under her dextrous management, the first vintage from the re-unified Chateau Labegorce was released in 2010.

The vines average 30 years of age but the oldest vines, on a four-hectare patch, date from between 1902 and 1950. Harvesting is by hand, and fermentation begins with a short, cold maceration followed by a temperature controlled process. Each parcel of vines is vinified separately.