Château Labégorce: Tasting & Drinking
As for quality, despite assertions of grandeur – the château certainly has the air of a classed growth château – the wines of Château Labégorce never truly excited my palate. In more contemporary times this has certainly changed, as recent upheavals have settled and presumably the investments put in place by Nathalie Perrodo have taken effect. Helped by benevolent vintages including 2009 and 2010, I began to see more appeal in the wines than I had in older vintages. While quality took a step back in the 2011 and of course the 2013 vintages, sandwiched between the two was a rather pleasant surprise, the 2012 vintage, which was showing rather well when I tasted it in its youth, admittedly a barrel sample.
Thereafter things have taken off, and after a good 2014 the 2015, a good vintage for the Margaux appellation, was certainly more interesting. And while the 2017 was disappointing (perhaps the frost took its toll in this vintage?) both 2016 and 2018 are candidates for best ever vintage tasted here. The 2016 is classic and supple, while the 2018 full of rich fruit with a deeply polished character. After first tasting the 2009 and 2010 described above I wrote that I was looking forward to tasting future vintages. Well I am glad that I made the effort; the process has certainly borne fruit. (8/4/04, updated 11/5/07, 31/8/11, 6/11/19)
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