Beverage of the Week (BOW)
Lassègue Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2010, Chateau Lassègue
Product Story
Chateau Lassègue's vigneron (winemaker and viticulturist) and co-owner Pierre Seillan has created another masterpiece and it may be my favorite Lassègue to date. There is just so much to love with this wine in this vintage as it demonstrates classic Bordeaux structure with fruit that is seductive now but will only get better with some bottle age. This beautiful wine is made with a blend of 665% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. The vines at Chateau Lassègue average between 40 to 50 years in age and each vine is carefully managed to produce a small number of bunches of super-concentrated fruit. 98 points out of 100.
Brand Story
In 1998 Barbara Banke, the late Jess Jackson, and Pierre and Monique Seillan joined forces to found Vérité in Sonoma County. Logically it was just a matter of time until Pierre Seillan returned to winemaking in Bordeaux. He had previously spent two decades crafting wines in several of Bordeaux’s elite appellations from Saint-Émilion to Saint-Estéphe before partnering with Banke and Jackson to become a global vigneron. In 2003 this same team discovered and fell in love with a beautiful, sun-drenched 18th century estate, Chateau Lassègue. Here old vines (40 - 55 years old) grow on south and southwest exposures in soils of clay and limestone. This was the ideal location for Seillan to create a one of Saint-Émilion’s greatest wines. At Chateau Lassègue, Seillan practices his “micro-cru" philosophy that involves isolating small zones in the vineyard according to soil types, grape varieties, and sun exposure. These micro-crus are treated as separate little vineyards with unique attention and made separately and then potentially chosen to be part of the complex Lassègue blend.
Tasting Note
Deep, dark ruby red color. The aromatics are quite expressive offering waves of black fruits both ripe and dried with generous accents of cassis, black plum, evergreen shrubs, brown baking spices, forest floor, and toasted oak. The palate brilliantly echoes the nose delivering a dense black fruit core with flanking notes of earth, clove, black pepper, nutmeg, and oak with a silky minerality rising on the finish. This young Bordeaux is wonderfully intense with lush fruit and spice showing incredible depth offering flashes of maturity while the bright youthful fruit still dominates.
How to Serve
Despite the abundant ripe fruit found in this sexy wine today it will greatly benefit from another decade or two in the cellar. If you can't wait that long please do decant this wine at least an hour before service as it will allow it blossom. Serve with a roasted leg of lamb.
Price: $ 90
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