Five from Château Lezongars, 2009
It was in 2002 that I first noticed Château Lezongars. In truth though I could hardly fail to notice – Russell Iles, son of proprietor Philip, sent a trio of samples for me to try. Samples were a novelty in those days! Since that early tasting I have since met Philip himself, in early 2008, and tasted through many more of the Lezongars wines; but not all of the wines it seems, and that was something Philip seemed determined to put right. Just a year later he sent some more bottles – another half-dozen, in fact – in order to try and fill in the gaps.
The Lezongars vineyard covers 45 hectares, of which 60% is Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, although Philip plans to plant more Cabernet Franc (there is a tiny plot already in existence) and so these numbers will certainly change with time. The fruit sees a mix of machine and hand harvesting, and three cuvées of Premières Côtes de Bordeaux result. The first two are the entry-level Château Lezongars and then the L’Enclos du Château Lezongars; these are both blends of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with very similar proportions, but the latter also benefits from the addition of the product of that aforementioned plot of Cabernet Franc. The third in this vinous threesome is the Special Cuvee du Château 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. It is perhaps the top wine in the trio.
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