The Côte Lascombes 2023 reveals the personality of a five-hectare parcel of Merlot, a singular expression of the Margaux terroir where freshness, tension, saline energy and precision of the fruit take precedence over the traditional codes of Bordeaux blending.
With La Côte Lascombes 2023, Château Lascombes is pursuing a unique approach in Margaux. Coming from a single five-hectare plot and made from 100% Merlot, this single-plot cuvée constitutes the second vintage of a unique wine for the appellation. After a first 2022 vintage noticed from its launch in 2025, 2023 above all brings confirmation: the personality of La Côte seems to belong to the place as much as to the vintage.
A single-plot cuvée that changes the way we look at Merlot in Margaux
In Bordeaux, great wines are traditionally associated with the art of blending. Côte Lascombes takes another route, choosing a single grape variety from a single plot. Offered under allocation by the 2nd Grand Cru Classé Château Lascombes, the cuvée thus highlights a plot reading of the vineyard and the specific personality of a terroir.
The Coast had already been identified by the Lascombes teams as a separate place. When the first vintage, 2022, is revealed in September 2025, it is part of the new interpretation of the vineyard initiated since 2022 by Gaylon Lawrence Jr. and led by Axel Heinz. Arriving in 2023, the latter undertakes an in-depth study of the different terroirs of the property. The plot of La Côte quickly caught his attention with the particular expression it gave to the Merlot.
Why is La Côte Lascombes 2023 so unique?
From the first tastings, the estate’s teams observed on this plot a Merlot marked by freshness, tension and restraint, far from certain more expected expressions of the grape variety. The 2023 vintage is the first entirely driven by Axel Heinz in Lascombes and marks a new way of approaching these five hectares.
In the vineyard as in the cellar, decisions are made with the objective of letting the terroir express itself in all its nuances. The 2023 vintage above all allows us to compare two years and therefore to begin to distinguish the characteristics linked to climatic conditions from those which seem to relate more sustainably to the place.
“With a second vintage, we begin to distinguish what comes from the terroir and what comes from the year. This is where certainties are built,” explains Axel Heinz, Winemaker.
The 2023 vintage, between freshness and precise maturity
The 2023 vintage was marked by an early growing cycle and a demanding summer, which required constant attention in the vines. Despite these contrasting conditions, the plots of La Côte have demonstrated their ability to support progressive and regular maturation.
The harvest took place from September 11 to 24, with the Merlots harvested at a maturity considered precise. The result highlights a clear definition of the fruit, associated with a dense texture, saline energy and remarkable freshness.
Two vintages thus allow us to better understand the signature of this plot. With 2023, La Côte Lascombes confirms that the characteristics seen in 2022 would not only be linked to the particular conditions of a year. They could well constitute the lasting expression of this unique terroir.
La Côte Lascombes 2023, a new reading by Margaux
With only two vintages available, La Côte Lascombes is part of a still recent approach. But his approach is clearly defined: isolate a plot, preserve its identity and make Merlot the only interpreter of this terroir.
The interest of this vintage thus lies as much in the wine as in the reading it offers of the Margaux vineyard. By choosing to break away from blending habits to concentrate on five hectares, Château Lascombes seeks to bring out a more precise and intimate expression of its terroir.
Revealed in 2025 with the 2022 vintage, La Côte Lascombes received an enthusiastic welcome from collectors and the specialist press. With this 2023, the estate intends to confirm the singularity of this single-plot cuvée and gradually inscribe its identity in the landscape of Margaux wines.
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