CHÂTEAU LABÉGORCE
2019 Cru Bourgeois Supérieur Margaux
A brilliant wine with heart and personality. This captures so much Left Bank signature, as is often the case with Labégorce. Slate texture, grippy tannins that tug through the palate, holding tight to the brambled blackberry and cassis fruits laced with hawthorn and raspberry leaf. Great quality. 33% new oak. Harvest September 19 to October 12, technical director Marjolaine de Coninck. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Mar 2023)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2019 Labégorce is slightly more savory on the nose compared to its peers, blackberry and cedar, hints of meat juice. Slightly animally, but it is not Brettanomyces. The palate is well-balanced with more substance than its peers. Fresh and saline, gently builds in the mouth towards its sappy and satisfying finish. Very fine. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drinking range: 2025 - 2042 Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
The 2019 Labégorce is a rich, heady wine. Succulent black cherry, plum, espresso, licorice, menthol and chocolate are all dialed up. Readers will find an extroverted, lush Margaux. Soft curves and layers of plush fruit add to its considerable immediacy. Drinking range: 2027 - 2039 Rating: 93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
The 2019 Labégorce was the first vintage vinified in the new cellar and also the first to use Cabernet Franc from the north part of the appellation, on more limestone soils, a massal selection from an organic producer in the south of France. Matured in 40% new oak, this has a voluminous, multifaceted bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit, cedar and perhaps more rose petal than violet at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, very well balanced, and a little spicier than I found from barrel, leading to a detailed, tensile finish. Drinking range: 2024 - 2045 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2022)
The 2019 Labégorce is a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, harvested from the 19th of September to the 12th of October. It has an alcohol of 14% and is being aged in French oak barrels, 40% new. Deep garnet-purple in color, the nose offers fragrant scents of damp soil, cedar chest, dried lavender and incense over a core of stewed plums, blackcurrant pastilles and chargrill with a waft of dried herbs. The medium-bodied palate is pretty much open for business with bags of juicy black fruit and an approachable chewiness to the texture, finishing savory. Rating: 89-91 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Jun 2020)
The largest of the Perrodo estates in Margaux, this is a little heavier set and muscular than the Marquis d'Alesme, extremely accomplished and majoring on coffee beans and tobacco alongside blackcurrant fruits. Enjoyable, a little less signature Margaux that its sibling property but this is a delicious gourmet-edged wine, and a brilliant (relatively) value choice in the appellation. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 92 Jane Anson, Decanter (Jun 2020)
The 2019 Labégorce, picked from 19 September to 12 October and matured in 40% new oak, has one of the more flamboyant Margaux bouquets with expressive black cherries, bilberry, light cedar notes and crushed violet. It develops impressive cohesion with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied and what you first notice is the finesse of the tannins. This has a satin-like texture and very well judged acidity. The new oak does poke out a little on the finish - if that can be assimilated during its barrel maturation, this could turn into a very serious Margaux. Drinking range: 2024 - 2045 Rating: 93-95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2020)
A creamy, refined red with currant and berry aromas and flavors. Hints of citrus and chocolate. Medium to full body with ripe, creamy tannins. Rating: 91-92 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2020)
Château Labégorce
Nathalie Perrodo brought her father's dream to reality with the 2010, the 'first' vintage from the newly reunited Labégorce vineyards, after they had spent a couple of centuries split into three. The Labégorce vineyard seems to have been named after an Abbé Gorsse, but the truth is somewhat shrouded in mystery. Feret, in his edition of 1865, mentions the existence of the noble La Bégorce house in Margaux from 1332. The estate was split into three after the revolution. The part that was named Labégorce Zédé in 1840 was reintegrated for the first time since then in 2010. Hubert Perrodo bought Labégorce in 1989, and the buildings of l'Abbé Gorsse de Gorsse in 2002 (the vineyard of this one escaped him, bought by Château Margaux). But his dream of re-uniting the historic Labégorce estate after he bought Labégorce Zédé in 2005 was cut short by his death in a ski-ing accident at Courchevel in 2006. After a couple of years of reflection, his twenty-five year-old daughter Nathalie has taken up the challenge of continuing his work, directing this really quite large domaine which also includes the fifteen hectares of the Cru Classé Château Marquis d'Alesme.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2024 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.