Exclusive: Axel Heinz leaves Ornellaia to join Château Lascombes in Bordeaux

Axel Heinz, estate director of Ornellaia and Masseto since 2006, is set to move Bordeaux to take up the role of director and CEO at Château Lascombes.

It’s an impressive coup for Lawrence Estates, new owners of the Margaux 1855 2nd Growth since just November 2022. Heinz will leave the iconic Bolgheri estate to join Lascombes in time for the 2023 harvest.

Lascombes is Lawrence Wine Estates’ – headed up by billionaire businessman Gaylon Lawrence alongside Group CEO Carlton McCoy – first vineyard in Europe, part of a portfolio which includes Heitz Cellar, Burgess, Ink Grade, and Stony Hill Vineyard. On purchase McCoy made clear that they were aware of the task that awaited them in bringing Lascombes up to fully deliver on its 2nd Growth potential.

The largest estate in Margaux at 120ha, with plots all over the appellation that range in size from 0.5ha to 3 ha, across pretty much every terroir type that you can find in this large and varied AOC, it needs somebody with strong viticultural as well as winemaking understanding, and the appointment of Axel Heinz is one that any Margaux lover can’t help but be excited by.

Heinz was born and raised in Germany, although his mother is French, and from the Archachon region of Bordeaux. He attended an agricultural high school in Blanquefort, before studying at the faculty of oenology in Bordeaux, and has said that he originally thought he would spend his entire career in Bordeaux, before Ornellaia came calling. Heinz also has experience in Napa, where he has been making DVO for the past few years in a joint venture with Ornellaia and Maya Dalla Valle, and was previously on the board of the International Cabernet Symposium held by the Oakville Growers’ Association.

It means he will be working in the same appellation as Thomas Duroux, who was winemaker at Ornellaia from 2001 to 2004, and is now director of Château Palmer.

“It has been an incredible honour to contribute to the success of Ornellaia and Masseto in these years and I’d like to thank Giovanni Geddes and the Frescobaldi family for this invaluable journey,” said Heinz in a press release announcing his departure.

“I am thrilled and honoured to join Château Lascombes,” Heinz said. “After 18 years spent in Tuscany it is time for me to return home. Along with Gaylon Lawrence, Jr. and Carlton, I intend on leading this historic Bordeaux estate into its next great chapter.”

“Axel is a master of his craft and the work he has done while overseeing Ornellaia and Massetto have taken this already heralded estate to new heights,” McCoy said. “I am thrilled to work with Axel to bring Château Lascombes to its full potential as one of the greatest wine estates in the world.”