Former Winemaker Of Top Merlot Wine Is Now Making A 100% Merlot In An Unexpected Place

Forbes

a day ago

Glasses of red wine on a stone table
The sound of several gasps along with widening eyes followed by broad smiles brought an exuberant energy to the room that was palpable. Few things can bring such awe to adults who have already lived a full and eventful life, as very little can catch them off guard with a joyful revelation. Yet at that moment, the words "blue clay" associated with a Merlot wine in a place other than where one would expect turned seasoned fine wine drinkers into giddy adolescents again.
Blue clay is associated with some of the most outstanding Merlot wines in the world, such as Château Pétrus, located in the Right Bank of the prestigious wine region of Bordeaux. But there is another Merlot wine that sometimes outdoes Château Pétrus in certain vintages, according to some, and that is Masseto from the impressive wine area of Bolgheri in Tuscany. Masseto has a devoted cult of collectors that will go to great lengths to acquire a range of vintages in various formats and come together with other Masseto obsessives in fantastical gatherings to bask in the glory of these wines as a devoted collective.
The famous Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux City, France
The former winemaker of Masseto, Axel Heinz, became the estate director for both Ornellaia and Masseto properties in 2005 and had stayed there for 17 years, longer than any other estate director. Under his guidance, he had made Ornellaia and Masseto some of the most sought-after wines on the auction market, and now, he is man aging director and CEO of an estate with a longer history than his Italian predecessor, Château Lascombes on the Left Bank of Bordeaux in the eminently elegant wine sub-region of Margaux.
Blue clay from the special plot that makes the La Côte Lascombes 100% Merlot wine
Blue clay, also known as smectite clay, is a soil with significant iron composition, hence, it is known to give a distinct mineral character not found in wines grown in other types of clays or soils in general. The absorption of minerals is more significant for blue clay as it has properties that increase its ability to attract those desirable substances that help a wine to transcend excellence to a level where words cannot do it justice.
Merlot has been the ideal partner for blue clay as it has enough expression of fruit potential to balance the fierce intensity of minerality that is endowed to the wine grapes that grow in this legendary soil. Also, clay has the ability to keep the ground cooler as it retains more water than other soils, so it is conducive to a grape that finds ideal balance with a slower ripening cycle. In Merlot's case, it keeps it from becoming too overripe, to which it has the tendency under certain conditions, yet allows it to gain enough concentration and complexity to become a magnificent wine with a regal power.
Grape vine on the Château Lascombes estate
And as Axel has been surveying the Château Lascombes' estate, he has found one area of their vineyard with some blue clay, and Merlot has already been planted there. Once he left Masseto and Ornellaia to go to a Bordeaux property on the Left Bank, to a Grand Cru Classé château (classified as a Second Growth in 1855), he thought that he would never make a majority Merlot, let alone a 100% Merlot wine, ever again (as Masseto, like Pétrus would sometimes add a touch of Cabernet Franc), as it is unheard of to make such a wine among the top producers on the Left Bank, unlike its neighbors on the Right Bank. But he never thought that he would find that much-desired substance that creates wines that still baffle many a wine collector who tries to make sense of their transcendental qualities.
Reassessing the multitude of vineyard plots of Château Lascombes, which broadly span the Margaux region as they have holdings in three out of the five villages of the region, has become the main priority for Axel as he wants to make sure that only the best vineyards, except those deemed for the 100% Merlot wine, go into their grand vin. The grand vin, aka top wine of the estate, is in line with the tradition of Left Bank Bordeaux, hence a blended wine of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, sometimes with small percentages of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot grape varieties.
Like many other Grand Cru Classé châteaux, the amount of vineyards that Château Lascombes owns has significantly increased since they received the privilege of being listed within the Grand Cru Classé classification of 1855. As a Left Bank classified château is allowed to include any vineyards within the region, such as, in this case, the region of Margaux, to their grand vin; hence, Château Lascombes has added plots that were acquired after 1855 to their top wine in the past. But Axel is changing that "modern" concept and going back to a more "traditional" idea, an idea that deemed Château Lascombes as a Second Growth over a century and a half ago, and he is only placing those original vineyards from the 1855 classification into their top-tier wine.
Axel Heinz in the vineyards at Château Lascombes
Yet he is not against progress when it is true to the terroir matching the expected quality level of the wine, and that is why he is making the 100% Merlot from those vineyards with the blue clay – it is a top-tier wine that defies all convention. It is all about the sense of place of the vineyards being utilized in the most appropriate ways.
Axel was born in Germany but fell in love with wine while he studied winemaking in Bordeaux and worked in the area after graduating. It was an incredible opportunity for him to become the estate director and winemaker of Ornellaia and Masseto in 2005. Yet, he says he never thought he would stay so long as he always figured he would return to Bordeaux. And no matter how much glory there is at an estate that is an international sensation, through time, one starts to reassess one's priorities in life, and it was time for Axel to go back to his spiritual home.
Yet he returns to the special place that ignited his passion with a wealth of experience from overseeing the most sought wines in the world with the mission of elevating a great château to the level of international sensation. And being a man who has worked with outstanding vineyards, he knows that delving into the soil is the path to preeminence.
2022 Château Lascombes
The 2022 vintage was generally warm and dry for Bordeaux, so these wines are riper than usual. Yet they all still display a freshness and vibrancy despite the warmer temperatures.
2022 Chevalier de Lascombes, Margaux, Bordeaux, France: 68% Merlot and 32% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the second wine of Château Lascombes' grand vin wine. A nose that is lovely and inviting, with aromas of freshly picked raspberries during a sunny day, is enhanced by a complex note of tar with a concentrated mid-palate underpinned with lots of blueberries and plum fruit and continues with an incredible depth of flavor until the finish.
2022 Chevalier de Lascombes
2022 Château Lascombes, Margaux, Bordeaux, France: 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Multifaceted bouquet of sage, dried flowers and fresh leather dance with vivacity in one's head with deeply concentrated blackberry fruit on the palate framed by finely sculpted tannins with an intense lifted energy along the finish that balances out the rich fruit.
2022 La Côte Lascombes, Margaux, Bordeaux, France: 100% Merlot from plots that have soils with clay over limestone with veins of blue clay throughout. Aromas that intrigue with dark, brooding fruit entice the drinker to dive into this abyss filled with delight and wonder. Slowly, the wine unravels its secrets with notes of crushed violets, sea spray and smoldering earth with a voluptuous quality on the body that satisfies on many levels, yet there is always something held back, so with each sip, more is revealed among the big velvety tannins and bright acidity that are seamlessly integrated along the sustained finish.