A renowned winemaker returns to his roots in Bordeaux to breathe new life into a historic estate | Canada Voices

Axel Heinz moved to Tuscany in 2005 to make wine at the Frescobaldi family’s Ornellaia and Masseto estates in Bolgheri, thinking it would be a temporary stay before heading to another wine region.

“But then it turned into this exciting journey that lasted 18 years, at which point I needed a bit of fresh air,” says the celebrated winemaker who returned to Bordeaux in 2023 to take over Château Lascombes.

Château Lascombes, an estate established in the Margaux appellation in the 1700s, presented a new challenge for Heinz. Lascombes needed an extreme makeover. The once prestigious producer in Bordeaux, which was ranked as a second classified growth according to the 1855 Bordeaux Classification put in place by Napoleon III, had lost its lustre over the years. In 2022, it was acquired by Lawrence Wine Estates, known for owning Heitz Cellar, Stony Hill and other premium estates in California. Heinz was brought in as winemaker and CEO to oversee the estate’s restoration efforts.

What about the job at Château Lascombes made it more appealing than continuing your role at Ornellaia?

Most of my friends didn’t see it as an obvious choice because it doesn’t have the same prestige as Ornellaia and Masseto, but that’s what I found exciting about the project. There is something to be achieved. Château Lascombes is a historic reference point in Margaux. It’s a second classified growth, and while it might not be perceived as such in people’s minds, the change in ownership came with an ambition for a renewal of fortunes.

How did you discover the potential of Lascombes’s vineyards and the quality of the red wines you could produce there?

Château Lascombes today is not the same as it was when it was classified in 1855. There have been ownership changes and the acquisition of vineyards that transformed a relatively small estate into the largest classified growth in Margaux. We conducted soil studies to assess the true potential of the vineyards across the estate. We also wanted to identify the vineyards that were in use in 1855, which we thought could be the key ingredient for the flagship wine.

How has your flagship wine changed as you narrow its blend to grapes from those original vineyard sites?

Lascombes has vineyard holdings in many different parts of the appellation that yield very different wines. Previously, this was used as an advantage to even out the quality level, resulting in consistently reliable wines. Those wines are nothing to be ashamed of but perhaps lack the level of excitement you would want from a true second growth. We knew we needed to focus on specific parcels within the historic part of the estate to give the wine greater expression and a better personality.

What do you say to producers in Bordeaux who are concerned about the warming climate and its impact on grape varieties?

I have often heard people questioning the future of merlot in Bordeaux. They wonder if it is a grape variety that still makes sense or if it will disappear. I have an outsider view of that, having made and been successful with merlot in a much warmer climate. If I was capable of making merlot at Masseto, why shouldn’t we be able to make great merlot still in Bordeaux?

In that light, what is the future of merlot in Bordeaux, particularly in premium regions like Margaux?

For a long time, merlot has been considered a workhorse variety, producing reliable wines that may not be great on their own but were always useful in a blend. If you had a portion of a vineyard and didn’t know what to plant, you planted merlot because you knew you could find a use for it. That’s not true any more. Moving forward, merlot vines are going to be restricted to specific sites, which give the variety a great opportunity to shine. We are sure to see much better-quality merlot as a result.

How will Lascombes’s vineyards, which are currently almost 50/50 merlot and cabernet sauvignon, change to adapt to the changing climate?

We have planned our replanting program for the next 10 years and, in some cases, existing merlot vineyards will be replaced with cabernet sauvignon or cabernet franc vines. There will be a slight decrease of merlot at the estate.

What was the thinking behind creating La Côte Lascombes, your new single-vineyard 100-per-cent merlot label?

Making a single-vineyard wine was the only way to give a different view of the estate without repeating ourselves with another blended wine. Merlot seemed like an obvious choice, but I thought it might be too obvious coming from the guy who made Masseto [100 per cent merlot from a single vineyard on the Ornellaia estate.] But this wasn’t an effort to try and replicate that formula. We asked the team where we could make something interesting. Their response was pointing to this [five-hectare] parcel that always delivered our best merlot.

What was the reaction to introducing a merlot-based wine from a region famous for cabernet-sauvignon-based wines?

No one expects a single-vineyard merlot coming from an appellation like Margaux. There are still challenges that come with it. Subsequent vintages will have to confirm our decision, and we must ensure that it contributes to the overall prestige of the estate without overshadowing our main protagonist [the Château Lascombes label]. If we succeed, we will succeed with something that nobody had tried before in such a noble and established wine region.

The first wines produced from Heinz’s tenure at Château Lascombes are currently available through the LCBO Bordeaux Futures program; the 2023 vintage sells for $129 a bottle, while the 2024 is $118.

This interview has been edited and condensed.