Chateau Labegorce 2018
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Enthusiast
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Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
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Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
There are notions of some serious wood aging here, which are happily sustained by the black currant flavor and lively acidity. It will be a firm wine for many years before it opens up.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
James Suckling
This is a plump and rich Labégorce with a full body, juicy tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Lots of pure and intense fruit.
Barrel Sample: 93-94 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Château Labegorce is a perfumed, already complex Margaux based on 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Its medium ruby hue gives way to lovely notes of blueberries, raspberries, flowers, sandalwood, and assorted baking spice cabinet-like nuances. Medium to full-bodied, with beautifully pure fruit and silky tannins, it's a wine that grows on you with time in the glass. It's not a blockbuster, but it exudes elegance and class as well as balance. Enjoy bottles any time over the coming 20-25 years or more.
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Decanter
Strong grilled oak on the nose that will settle down but definitely needs time. Black fruit comes through on the palate, and a ton of juice that is shot through the fruit and helps the entire thing to power along enjoyably. Good-quality. Drinking Window 2024 - 2042
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Labégorce is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. It has 14% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it leaps from the glass with a beautiful perfume of kirsch, black cherry compote and cassis, plus hints of licorice, lilacs and baking spices. The medium-bodied palate is elegantly played with soft tannins and compelling freshness supporting the fragrant red and black fruits, finishing on a spicy note.
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Wine Spectator
Silky and refined in feel, with perfumy black currant paste, plum reduction and blackberry compote notes forming the core while sandalwood, black tea and cedar accents drape the finish. Best from 2022 through 2034.
Other Vintages
2022- Decanter
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Jeb - Vinous
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The Labégorce vineyards include three main plots, totalling 70 hectares in all, although only approximately 40 hectares are fully planted up. All three plots lie in the northernmost part of the commune. The largest plot, accounting for about two-thirds, lies just northeast of the fine chateau, which was constructed by the renowned architect Courcelles. There is a second plot around the chateau itself, accounting for about a quarter of all the Labégorce vines, while the smallest plot lies a little further north around the church in Soussans. The vines average 30 years of age, with the oldest vines, of which there are just four hectares, dating from between 1902 and 1950. More date from 1951 to 1985, whereas a quarter date from 1989 when extensive replanting took place. Vineyard practices involve careful use of chemicals, with no herbicide used at all, and yields are typically 50 hl/ha. Harvesting is by hand, and fermentation begins with a short, cold maceration followed by a temperature controlled process. Each parcel of vines, of which there are many, is vinified separately. The blend is 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Malolactic fermentation takes place in oak, 30% of which is new, where the wine spends up to fifteen months. It is fined using egg whites before bottling. The grand vin is Chateau Labégorce, and the second wine is Chateau Tour de Laroze. There is also a third wine, produced from a 4 hectare plot entitled to the Haut-Médoc appellation, called La Mouline de Labégorce