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Château Lezongars

It is a sad fact that although Bordeaux receives perhaps more column-inches than any other wine region, it is perhaps also the most systematically ignored. Not the grand châteaux of the left bank communes of Pauillac or St Julien, of course, nor the ancient estates of Sauternes or Pessac-Léognan. There is no shortage of writers keen to wax lyrically about the wines of Latour, Yquem or Haut-Brion. Nor, of course, the somewhat smaller but nevertheless equally famous estates of the top right bank appellations of St Emilion and Pomerol. Although Le Pin, Ausone, Petrus and Cheval-Blanc are priced beyond the reach of many of us, there is no difficulty in finding words, opinions and reviews of the properties and their wines. But these estates, which might appear to constitute Bordeaux in its entirety if we fail to look beyond the annual en primeur campaign and the writings of leading commentators, constitute only a small percentage of the wines of Bordeaux. Beyond these hallowed names there are thousands of vineyards, millions of vines, and more wine produced per annum than by all of Australia. So where are the value wines, that we would find so easily when exploring the Loire, or the Rhône, or even Burgundy?

The wines do exist, and perusing the writings and recommendations of insightful critics such as Matthew Jukes, Tim Atkins and in fact a number of others, the reader will soon become aware of Château Lezongars as a source of good value and good quality Bordeaux. Situated in the small village of Villenave-de-Rions just 32 km to the southeast of Bordeaux, and within sight of perhaps grander and more familiar appellations most notably the vineyards of Graves, Château Lezongars began its ascent in 1998, when it was acquired by Englishman Philip Iles and his wife Sarah. Having built up 20 years of experience in the London restaurant and bar trade, the couple moved to the estate to fulfil a dream of producing their own wine, and they were joined one year later by their son Russell, who forwent a successful career as a marine underwriter to join the team. Russell has since left the business again, to engage in property investment, but Philip and Sarah continue to develop the estate, now aided by their dog, Bollinger (above), whose image in miniature silhouette can be spotted on the label of many bottles of Lezongars.

The wines today reflect a huge program of investment over the last ten years, including a refurbishment of the chai with new ventilation, replanting of several areas of the vineyard and the installation of new drainage. There is a greater commitment to oak in the cellar, barrel purchases have increased and a rolling program of vineyard improvement has been instigated. Looking behind these details, over the years there has been significant input from Michel Puzio, owner of Château Croix de Labrie in Saint-Emilion, who has overseen much of the work in the vineyard and cellar, and there has also been consultation from Jean-Luc Thunevin. Thunevin, best known for Valandraud of course, was particularly involved with the development of the top cuvée, the Spéciale Cuvée de Lezongars.

Today the vineyard covers 45 hectares, of which 60% is Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, with a tiny area of Cabernet Franc, although there is more of this latter variety yet to be planted. In part machine-harvested although also in part harvested by hand, from this vineyard comes three cuvées of Premières Côtes de Bordeaux under the Lezongars label, these being Château Lezongars, the entry-level wine which is typically a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, L'Enclos du Château Lezongars, which typically has similar proportions of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, but with a little Cabernet Franc blended in, and the aforementioned Spéciale Cuvée de Lezongars, which is two-thirds Merlot and one-third Cabernet Franc from a 3 hectare plot of 20 year-old vines harvested at an average yield of 35 hl/ha. There is also a white Lezongars, generally a blend of oak-fermented Semillon and Sauvignon, as well as a second label, Château de Roques, which may be found in red, white and pink forms.

There has been no shortage of accolades over the years, although I confess the first I knew of the estate was when Russell Iles sent me a few samples back in 2002. Fast forward six years, and I was delighted to meet father and proprietor Philip Iles himself in London in April 2008, and subsequently to taste through a comprehensive selection of his wines for myself. Philip is an obvious enthusiast for his project, and he talked me through some of the major milestones at Lezongars, right from the search for the property when they looked at a number of options including a Lalande-de-Pomerol estate named Tournefeuille, up to his current plans, which include increasing plantings of Cabernet Franc. The wines themselves showed well, as with many good-value Bordeaux estates I found a more consistent vibrancy in the whites than the reds, but the latter hit some admirable highs here and there. Since that meeting I have tasted more extensively still, and have found some really very good wines indeed, most notably the Special Cuvée and L'Enclos de Lezongars, in a number of vintages. (20/11/02, updated 17/6/08)

Contact details:
Address: Château Lezongars, 33550 Villenave de Rions
Telephone: +33 (0) 5 56 72 18 06
Fax: +33 (0) 5 56 72 31 44
Internet: www.chateau-lezongars.com
GPS: 44.691414, -0.341365

Château Lezongars - Tasting Notes

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Château de Roques Blanc (Bordeaux) 2007: 100% Sauvignon Blanc, stainless steel fermentation. A good, grassy nose here, rich and aromatic, quite pungent in character. This has a plumper style than the 2006, a fuller body, with moderate acids. Sweet, slightly crystalline fruits. Very attractive style although I prefer the straighter lines of the previous vintage. 16/20 (April 2008)

Château de Roques Blanc (Bordeaux) 2006: 100% Sauvignon Blanc, stainless steel fermentation. Nice aromatics here, grassy, a touch creamy, quite stylish. A characterful palate, full of flavour, fresh and structured. Good acids, a decent concentration, and a nice grip on the finish. This might put some grander names to shame. Very good. 16.5/20 (April 2008)

Château Lezongars Blanc (Bordeaux) 2005: Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, separate oak fermentations. An attractive nose here, obvious barrel-ferment character but it has a nice, creamy character to it. Full, rich, wearing its oak and barrel-ferment character on its sleeve. A nice substance to it, good body, although with a soft finish. Could be very good if the oak integrates. 16+?/20 (April 2008)

Château Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 2005: Cabernet Sauvignon 63%, Merlot 37%. An attractive, evolving, very classically-styled nose here, peppery and dusty, showing good maturity already. The palate has elegance and restraint, with attractive crunchy-spicy fruit although with a slightly burnt edge. There is still a little grippy tannin in the finish so this would benefit from another year or so yet. Give it time. From a 2010 Bibendum tasting. 15.5+/20 (March 2010)

L'Enclos de Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 2005: This cuvée has a delicious ripe and sweet nose, very open and aromatic, showing notes of roasted herbs. Creamy and concentrated on the palate, very ripe, with lots of tannin but also with very good acidity. Plenty of concentrated fruit flavour here. This is lovely, but it needs 5-8 years at least. 16.5-17+/20 (April 2008)

Château Lezongars Blanc (Bordeaux) 2004: 40% Semillon and 60% Sauvignon Blanc, separate oak fermentations. Creamy yellow fruit here, bright and vivacious character. This has a really nice style on the palate, with a great backbone of acidity providing some lovely structure. A nice bite towards the finish. This has less flesh than the 2005, and a less exuberant flavour too. But overall it is very good, and it may develop. 16.5+/20 (April 2008)

Château Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 2004: A somewhat calcareous, stony nose here, with a touch of reduction on this bottle I think. Round and ripe fruits on the palate, a plump style, with good midpalate structure. Appealing but a touch simple. Sappy, slightly stern, with a lot of grip at the finish. Good wine, still on the way up. 14.5+/20 (April 2008)

Château de Roques (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 2004: This is 100% Merlot in this vintage. A rather feral nose here. An attractive palate though, quite soft and with a slightly chalky nature. Crunchy cranberry fruit which I like, and a clean style despite that rather funky nose. Underneath it all there is a good tannic structure. A nice although rather rustic wine. 14/20 (April 2008)

L'Enclos du Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 2003: There is early maturity here, a little rusty-mahogany tinge in amongst the many red hues, although there is still a fine depth of colour. The nose here, once given some time to open out, gives plenty of pleasure; although at first there is a little baked fruit, this is some overwhelmed by attractive cherry notes, and a stony, slightly hard definition to the aroma which I really like, and plenty of bright, minerally character. The palate is nicely defined at the beginning, not short of substance but it is nicely packaged with dry tannins which are not overbearing at all, despite the hot vintage, and decent acidity too. In fact this is just about ready, leaving a gentle but ripe and well buffed layer of tannins at the finish, but otherwise this all comes together very nicely on the palate. This would be great with a steak right now. Really very good indeed. From a tasting of Five Wines from Lezongars. 16.5+/20 (February 2009)

Special Cuvée de Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 2003: This isn't giving away too much on the nose - I think it is just closed down at the moment. There is a lot of structure and texture underneath it all. In its favour it doesn't show the brawny character of the vintage. It is ripe and substantial, but is in possession of good acidity too, with fruit and grip, especially at the end which is dominated by tannin. It is difficult to evaluate this wine when so closed but this should be very good indeed. 16.5-17+?/20 (April 2008)

Château Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 2002: 60% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc. This wine is showing a little maturity in the glass, and is fairly pale and transparent. Sweet, mature, slightly earthy fruit on the nose. Not a lot of punch here. It is quite well rounded, but doesn't show a lot of overt structure. A sweet, mature and surprisingly advanced wine for its age. 14/20 (April 2008)

L'Enclos de Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 2002: 52% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc. This wine is a little behind the straight Lezongars, and is just starting to go a little mature and gamey on the nose. A soft and rounded palate, a touch fleshy, quite appealing and sappy. This is ageing nicely, but still display a good grip, and a nice firm finish. Good. 15/20 (April 2008)

Special Cuvée de Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 2002: Harvested at less than 38 hl/ha. This is much denser than some of the other wines, with a spicy and exotic nose. A lovely character, showing very nice maturity, weight and balance. It has grip and ripe flavours, and finishes with a fleshy yet sappy flourish. This is really very good indeed, and is plainly streets ahead of the other 2002s in the portfolio. 16.5-17+/20 (April 2008)

L'Enclos du Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 2001: Nowhere near as concentrated, or as deeply coloured, as the Speciale Cuvée from the same vintage. The nose starts off in a muted fashion, before displaying some stewed fruit character, together with a green edge to the aroma profile. The fruit eventually settles into what is best described as burnt raspberry, with a mature, iron-tinged note. The palate has a good texture on entry, which moves towards oily in the midpalate, where it is missing some fruit and substance. It is firmer here too, showing some tannins and acids not quite matched by the depth of fruit, which seems a little stretched out here, with the same green edge seen on the nose. What I miss here is vigour and precision. From a tasting of Five Wines from Lezongars. 14/20 (February 2009)

Speciale Cuvée du Château Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 2001: Although now nearly eight years old, this wine still possesses a splendid and vibrant colour in the glass, with an amazingly youthful raspberry-pink hue at the rim, and a dark claretty core. The nose is fairly classically styled, and certainly enticing, with aromas of peppered meats, dark and violet-tinged fruits, and the softness of white chocolate with the hardness of iron filings. The palate starts off in a similarly hard vein, showing a huge amount of grip at first, rich in tannins, and in fact it is a little reminiscent of the 1986 vintage. With a little air the tannins and also the acidity, which is pretty firm, start to play a little more kindly and we can see the texture and flesh alongside. Overall though this is a real vin de garde, dominated by its tannins, which desperately needs time to show its best. Nevertheless, right now it does give some aromatic pleasure, and makes good drinking with appropriate air. Good potential though, if you have the appropriate patience to cellar it. From a tasting of Five Wines from Lezongars. 17+/20 (February 2009)

Château de Roques Sauvignon Blanc (Bordeaux) 2001: A pale lemon-gold hue. A clean nose, with fresh herb aromas which are difficult to pin down, but are more like thyme than anything else. Also some lanolin opulence and a growing note of grapefruit, which comes to dominate. Displaying a rounded mouthfeel on entry, this wine develops into a beautifully textured, minerally wine, with an appealing firm, slightly bitter edge. Smoky edge to the grapefruit. Excellent acidity. Impressive for what it is. 15.5/20 (November 2002)

L'Enclos du Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 2000: This particular cuvée shows plenty of aromatic promise on the nose, which opens out after a very short time in the glass to give some finely perfumed fruit, violets, bonfires and smoke. Later more meaty, rusty, dark and characterful. It is certainly delightful. A fine palate, some weight, quite a polished character, with some substance underneath, backed up by ripe tannins. Despite the elegant perfume there is some juiciness to this wine, a delicious, fresh, oak-free character. Sappy and just a little tannic still on the finish, savoury and nicely composed, with good structure underneath the floral fruit, this is a wine that will continue to drink well and perhaps improve for several years yet, although I wholeheartedly recommend tucking in now if you have any. Really good stuff here - sufficiently so for me to make it my Wine of the Week. From a tasting of Five Wines from Lezongars. 17+/20 (February 2009)

Speciale Cuvée du Château Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 2000: This cuvée has aromas of dark chocolate, mint and dense black cherry fruit, although it remains very fresh despite all this. It has a full but nicely delineated palate, rich but with decent acidity, and raspberry and chocolate-toffee nuances. Deep, structured, with ripe fruit and a velvet-silk texture, and ripe, almost creamy tannins. There is a lot of elegant and well-polished, creamy, almost chewy substance here. This is good for drinking now, provided this sort of rich and ripe flavour profile suits you, and substance is important. I would prefer to look at it again in a few years time, as it surely has the potential. This is one to watch. From a tasting of Five Wines from Lezongars. 17+/20 (February 2009)

Château Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 1999: A youthful colour. There's fruit on the nose, but also a hard quality suggestive of a significant presence of tannins on the palate. Medium bodied, and the expected tannins are there. What it lacks in charm it makes up for in texture, with a polyphenol influenced, very slightly oily mouthfeel. Well balanced, barely noticeable acidity. This wine needs another year or two in bottle before I would approach it again. 15+/20 (November 2002)

L'Enclos du Château Lezongars (Premières Côtes de Bordeaux) 1999: A good colour, a red-black hue, deep and rich. Initially there is plum and bramble on the nose, then chocolate. There is an appealing, silky mouthfeel, immediately apparent on entry, with an underlying layer of strong but ripe tannins. Low acidity, which adds to the opulent nature of the wine. Roasted plum and toasted almond flavours. A firm, chewy. slightly tannin-influenced finish. 16+/20 (November 2002)