One of the more modern-styled wines from the appellation of Margaux, always with a prominent overlay of toasty new oak, espresso roast, and sweet black fruits, this wine seems more restrained and has backed off its concentration with the 2006. It is a mid-weight, elegant wine with notes of licorice and black currants as well as a hint of tobacco leaf. The wine is concentrated and obviously outstanding, but the moderate tannins in the finish suggest cellaring it for 2-3 years and drinking it over the following 15-20.

Tasted at Bordeaux Index's annual 10-Year On tasting in London. The 2006 Chateau Lascombes has an open and generous bouquet: red berry fruit, cured Italian meat, quite savoury compared to its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe red cherry and blueberry fruit, quite sweet in the mouth with a gentle, quite sensual finish. It is not a complex Margaux, although there is an appealing plushness to the texture and it has upheld better freshness on the finish than I initially thought. That said, a bottle subsequently tasted blind was below par and was besmirched with a tinny veneer. Tasted April 2016.

Displays blackberry and blueberry aromas, with a hint of cappuccino. Full and silky, with a lovely texture of ripe tannins and an aftertaste of dark chocolate, berry and light vanilla. This is a solid estate making solid wines now. Drink after 25,000 cases made. -JS

Beautiful deep colour. The nose gradually unfurls a delicate marriage of red fruit and oak with a few spicy tones. On the palate, remarkable volume, fullness, mellow character. Savoury length and aromatic persistency. A good wine with more ageing potential yet.