Château Lascombes

The estate takes its name from Antoine de Lascombes, born in 1625, whose son Jean acquired the property, then called Segonnes, which already included a single-story charterhouse, a winery and a barrel cellar. The estate's own history traces vine planting and winemaking on the site to the 12th century, a period it calls poorly documented. The Chateau took the Lascombes name in 1805, given by owner Jean-Baptiste Loriague in tribute to the founder. The Chaix d'Est-Ange family owned the estate from 1867 to 1923 and enlarged it over several generations; in 1882 Gustave Gaspard Chaix d'Est-Ange commissioned architect Louis Michel Garros, who also designed a fountain at the Place du Parlement in Bordeaux, to extend the chateau and redesign its facade. His father, Gustave Louis Chaix d'Est-Ange, was Grand Batonnier (head of the Paris bar) and in 1857 defended the poet Charles Baudelaire, accused of insulting public decency, at his trial over Les Fleurs du Mal. During the German occupation, Brigadier-General Raymond Brutinel of the Canadian Army, then the chateau's owner, led the Medoc Resistance from it under the code name Marcus, organizing the escape of downed Allied airmen and the rallying of volunteers to General de Gaulle; in June 1940 a German officer who called at the chateau left after seeing scaffolding staged to suggest renovations. In 1952, the year Brutinel received the French Recognition Medal, a group of investors led by Alexis Lichine bought the chateau; production nearly tripled under Lichine before the estate was sold in 1971 to the British brewing company Bass Charrington. Rene Vanatelle, the winemaker brought in after the Bass acquisition, judged that only around 50 hectares of the planted acreage met Second Growth quality and used the remaining plots for a second wine, Segonnes, renamed Chevalier de Lascombes in 1997. The US investment group Colony Capital bought the estate for $67 million in 2001 and spent heavily on renovation, including a new four-level, gravity-fed vat room and barrel-aging cellars; it brought in Michel Rolland, Dr. Alain Raynaud and Yves Vatelot as consultants, with Rolland eventually remaining as sole consultant. In July 2011 Colony Capital sold the estate to the French health-insurer mutual MACSF for 200 million euros. Gaylon Lawrence, Jr. acquired Lascombes in late 2022, returning it to family ownership, and brought in Axel Heinz, long-time director of the super-Tuscan estates Ornellaia and Masseto, with 17 years at the helm of super-Tuscans, as Winemaker and CEO.

• Named for Antoine de Lascombes, born 1625; the Chateau took its current name in 1805 under owner Jean-Baptiste Loriague
• The Chaix d'Est-Ange family owned the estate 1867-1923 and enlarged the chateau, including an 1882 facade redesign by architect Louis Michel Garros
• Brigadier-General Raymond Brutinel led the Medoc Resistance from the chateau during the German occupation, under the code name Marcus
• Alexis Lichine led the purchasing group in 1952; sold to Bass Charrington in 1971; Colony Capital bought the estate for $67 million in 2001 and sold it to MACSF for 200 million euros in 2011
• Gaylon Lawrence, Jr. acquired the estate in 2022 and appointed Axel Heinz, formerly of Ornellaia and Masseto, as Winemaker and CEO

Lascombes sits on one of the highest gravelly hilltops in Margaux, peaking at 20 meters, on a rise that borders the Route des Chateaux at the entrance to the appellation. Its historic plots are Les Regies, Les Doumens, Curton and Terrefort. Soils mix gravel, clay, sand and limestone over sandstone and clay with iron deposits, with clay-limestone, clay-gravel and gravel sectors; vines average about 35 years of age, planted at 8,000 to 10,000 vines per hectare. Vineyard size figures differ by source: Decanter put the estate at 117 hectares at the time of the 2011 sale, Wine Cellar Insider gives 120 hectares and calls it the largest vineyard in the Margaux appellation, and UGCB lists 130 hectares. In 2022 the estate found veins of blue clay in the clay-limestone soil of a parcel called La Cote, a discovery it calls incongruous in the Medoc, and used it to launch a distinct Merlot wine, La Cote Lascombes.

• Peaks at 20 meters, one of the highest gravelly hilltops in Margaux; historic plots include Les Regies, Les Doumens, Curton and Terrefort
• Vineyard size figures range from 117 hectares (Decanter, 2015) to 130 hectares (UGCB)
• Vines average about 35 years old at 8,000 to 10,000 vines per hectare
• New parcel La Cote, with clay-limestone soil veined with blue clay, identified in 2022 and used for the new wine La Cote Lascombes

The Grand Vin, Chateau Lascombes, is a Second Grand Cru Classe from the 1855 classification, drawn from the estate's historic terroirs. Under its new owners the estate describes a return to a more classic Bordeaux proportion, with a predominance of Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2025 Grand Vin is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot combined, macerated 20 to 30 days by gentle infusion and raised in barrels, casks and amphorae. Many earlier vintages were roughly balanced or Merlot-leaning: the 2010 was 55% Merlot and the 2016 was 50% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. UGCB's current estate profile lists the vineyard's overall grape-variety mix as 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. The second wine, Chevalier de Lascombes, is described by the estate as fresh and vibrant with structured yet supple tannins; its 2025 blend is 70% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. Haut-Medoc Lascombes, a third wine made from about 25 hectares outside the Margaux appellation, debuted in 2007; the estate describes it as an approachable wine with fresh blackberry notes and soft tannins. The newest wine, La Cote Lascombes, is 100% Merlot from the estate's clay-limestone parcel veined with blue clay, with 2022 and 2023 vintages.

• Grand Vin 2025 blend: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot; a shift toward Cabernet Sauvignon since the 2022 change of ownership
• Many earlier vintages leaned more Merlot or were closely balanced; the 2016 Grand Vin was 50% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot
• Chevalier de Lascombes (second wine) 2025 blend: 70% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot
• Haut-Medoc Lascombes, the third wine, debuted in 2007 from about 25 hectares outside Margaux
• La Cote Lascombes: 100% Merlot from the clay-limestone parcel with blue clay veins discovered in 2022, vintages 2022 and 2023

Axel Heinz, Winemaker and CEO, is the long-time former director of the super-Tuscan estates Ornellaia and Masseto, with 17 years at the helm of super-Tuscans; the Lawrence family brought him in after acquiring Lascombes in 2022. The estate's other listed team members are Delphine Barboux, Technical Director; David Houdet, Vineyard Manager; Jerome Le Roux, Cellar Master; Karine Barbier, Director of Communication; and Vincenzo d'Andrea, Sales Director.

• Axel Heinz, Winemaker and CEO, brought in after the 2022 acquisition; previously long-time director of the super-Tuscan estates Ornellaia and Masseto
• Delphine Barboux, Technical Director
• David Houdet, Vineyard Manager
• Jerome Le Roux, Cellar Master
• Karine Barbier, Director of Communication
• Vincenzo d'Andrea, Sales Director

Primary sources (the estate's own site, chateau-lascombes.com): home/vision, tales from the past (history landing plus the four sub-stories on the Chevalier naming, the Baudelaire trial, Raymond Brutinel and Alexis Lichine), the terroir, the wines, renewal (Lawrence family and team), hospitality, press and Primeurs 2025. Secondary sources: Decanter (June 2015, on the MACSF sale), Wine Cellar Insider (full estate history and vintage notes), and UGCB, the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (current estate profile). Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the estate's own site and a secondary source disagree, the estate's own site governs; discrepancies among secondary sources are noted in the text where they occur.