France

Cabernet Sauvignon

Merlot

Cabernet Franc

Petit Verdot

Ch. Leoville Las Cases

Chateau Leoville Las Cases 2eme Cru Classe Saint-Julien

Bordeaux

Saint-Julien

Structured and powerful, this is not as forbidding as En Primeur in many vintages of Las Cases, showing both flesh and florality, but the tannic walls of this great estate remain fully in place, coupled with layers of cassis and bilberry fruits, subtle hints of bitter aniseed, fennel, cola, espresso, squid ink, textured slate tannins. Expect inky depths and unashamed austerity, a wine that will take its time to open, making no excuses for demanding patience. So so good, with a balance and classicism that delivers on the best of the vintage. 80% new oak, 6.6% press wine, 3.79h, harvest September 9 to October 2, 43hl/h yield. First year in the new cellars, with 43.5ha going into the main wine from the historic walled vineyard site.

Inside Bordeaux

The 2023 Leoville Las Cases is deep garnet-purple in color. After a little shaking, notes of ripe blackcurrants, black cherries, and mulberries slowly emerge from the glass, giving way to a fragrant undercurrent of iris, crushed rocks, fertile loam, and dark chocolate. The medium-bodied palate is very tightly wound with taut black berry layers and loads of mineral accents, framed by firm fine-grained tannins and wonderful tension, finishing on a lingering ferrous note. This should be a very long-lived Las Cases! The blend is 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Merlot, with pH 3.79, alcohol of 13.1%, and TPI 72. It is aging for around 18 months in French oak barriques, 80% new.

by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

Blåbær, solbær, bjørnebær, og skogsbær, mørk lagdelt og mystisk frukt.

Smak av blåbær og mørke jordbær. Utrolig flott og sammensatt frukt. Veldig pen integrert eik. Balansen skinner alltid hos Las Cases. 

94-96p.

Expert

Deep garnet-purple colored. Sashays out of the glass with gregarious notes of red currant jelly and fresh black cherries, plus nuances of iris, camphor, fragrant soil, and graphite with a touch of underbrush. The medium-bodied palate is refreshing and elegantly knit with very fine-grained tannins and bold red berry flavors, finishing long and minerally.

Cocoa bean, smoked coffee bean, intense tannins, powerful with depth and concentration, dense tannins, cassis and baked plum fruits, a ton of dark pepper spice, and baked earth, expands outwards through the palate, plenty of St Julien character. 34 hl/ha, 53% new barrels, 3.7ph. As of this vintage, the vines that were in le Petit Marquis have been included back into Clos du Marquis.

A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and 15% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Leoville Las Cases is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a fair bit of swirling and coaxing to reveal a pronounced core of cassis, Morello cherries, and mulberries, giving way to a fragrant undercurrent of tilled soil, charcoal, violets, and cedar, plus a touch of Sichuan pepper. The medium-bodied palate delivers impressive, tightly wound layers of black fruits and minerals, framed by ripe, fine-grained tannins and wonderful tension, finishing long and perfumed. All minerals and florals - very pretty!

Merker veldig fort hvor lagdelt denne vinen er. Mørke og røde bær, noe dypere toner som jord og noe sopp toner. Veldig pene kryddertoner.

En saftig, elegant og fløyel munnfølelse. Veldig introverte røde bær, sammen med en tilbaketrukket «lengde». Dette er bra. 

Bx messe.

Made from 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Leoville Las Cases is deep garnet-purple in color. It bursts from the glass with seductive scents of black cherry compote, creme de cassis, violets, and dark chocolate, leading to wafts of cedar and star anise. The full-bodied palate has amazingly fine tannins and great tension supporting the mineral-accented black fruits, finishing very long.

The 2018 Leoville Las Cases has a deep garnet-purple color. It bursts with notes of baked plums, fruitcake, and crème de cassis, plus suggestions of sandalwood, dusty soil, and powdered cinnamon. Medium-bodied, the palate has just enough tightly wound, restrained fruit, with a very fine-grained texture and a persistent, mineral-laced finish. Typically, it's retreated to its shell and will need a good five years more in bottle before it really shows its pedigree.

This is a vintage that, like 1997, just might give you a chance of enjoying a bottle of Las Cases before the 20 year mark, and shows the hint of smoked caramel on the nose that you get in the lighter years. A kick of oyster shell salinity runs through the palate, helping to lift the wine out of the glass, alive with orange zest, mandarin peel, safffron, and crayon alongside the cassis and lighter redcurrant fruits. Atypical for Las Cases, but retaining clear St Julien signature.

Parfymert nese. Kjølig og dyp blåfrukt. Lakris, sommervarm asfalt, Jernaktig mineralitet - Klassisk og nyansert. Sylskarp vin med lekre detaljer. Vakker årgang for både området og slottet 

Amatør

We are here in signature Las Cases territory - a slow burn, a seemingly delicate lace-like tannic structure that is so St Julien, and then builds up to a powerful Pauillac-like squeeze of tannins halfway through the palate. This is an impressively constructed wine, with liquorice, cassis, bilberry and rose bud. Not the most muscular Las Cases (and certainly a long way from the brilliance of the 2016) but joyful, and standing on the edge of its drinking window, which is rare in the world of this powerful 2nd Growth, and makes it one to look out for. 50% new oak for ageing.

Less exuberant than some of its neighbours, as you might expect, but no less exceptional. Very much in the estate signature, demanding attention but expecting you to wait and pay homage until it is ready to speak. Give it time to unveil its muscular, concentrated cassis and bilberry fruits, puncuated by crushed mint leaf, crayon and liqourice bud. Huge depth through the mid palate, serious, structured, very much in the estate signature, showcasing the idea of it being a wine that is Burdundian in its balance of frustration and delight. Huge potential, but as I said last time I tasted it around a year ago, for now it's not giving much away. 50% new oak.

The 2013 Leoville Las Cases is medium garnet colored with a touch of brick. It slowly unfurls to offer scents of violets, fallen leaves, and spice cake over a core of blackcurrant pastilles and dried cranberries with a hint of cigar box. The medium-bodied palate is lively and energetic, with a good intensity of red berry flavors and a plush texture, finishing perfumed.

The tannins are noticeably bigger than the other St Juliens in the lineup, with more grip through the palate and you feel the structure exerting a gentle pressure at the close of play. There are fruits here also, in the cassis and bilberry frame as with Léoville Barton, with touches of mint leaf and eucalyptus. Not generous, but plenty of impact, and a gentle mouthwatering salinity. Lighter framed within the Las Cases world, but one of the more impactful 2012s overall.

Luscious vintage that allows even Las Cases to be generous and almost hedonistic at 14 years old, almost unheard of with this property (helped by slightly higher level of alcohol than usual filling out the mouthfeel). This remains more closed down than most 2009s that you will find, with tannins that are powerful and confident, guiding the cassis fruit while allowing gourmet notes of black chocolate, tarte tatin and pomegrante to surface, along with bitter edges of burnt saffron, liquroice and charcoal. 50% new oak, 3.6ph. Harvest September 22 to October 7.

Great to taste this alongside the other two names from this trilogy of St Juliens that once formed the vast Lionville estate. In 1855, Las Cases was owned by Théodore Galhaud, a prominent Bordeaux wine merchant. It's right on brand in 2008, muscular and brooding, and a little reserved, needs serious coaxing, and I would give two to three hours in a carafe to uncurl those bilberry and blackcurrant fruits that sit alongside pencil lead, cigar box, slate, all thos classic St Julien signatures that this property delivers so consistently. 50% new oak, Delon family owners in 2017 (as they had been throughout the 20th century).

An underestimated vintage that has aged a little quicker than the 2005 (or 2006, 2008 and 2009), and therefore makes it a good choice for any impatient Las Cases lovers. This focus on a floral character aromatically, along with truffles, brambled fruits, orange zest, earth, this is a gorgeous wine that floats above the palate, and takes you far above what most 2007s can deliver. It's a vintage that I really enjoy right now, and can recommend several wines from, but this stands out for its quiet concentration and interest - there doesn't seem to be any other word for it, it's a wine you want to read, spend time with, be quietly impressed by. Jean-Hubert Delon owner, 50% new oak.

This is still too young to drink, and provides a lesson in how Léoville Las Cases can be out of step with the rest of its appellation. This remains austere, with tannins that are well built but still hiding the dark chocolate shavings, cloves, cassis, slate and black truffle character underneath. Right now this is a 2005 that accentutes the structre of the year, and is not yet showing its generosity. Mouthwatering finish though, with the frssh acidities that make this wine such an ageing powerhouse. Give it time, the rewards will come. 50% new oak. mark LLC and make it such an ageing powerhouse. Jean-Hubert Delon owner.

I am loving classified Pauillac and St Julien from this vintage right now, and Las Cases doesn't disappoint. Its texture is all satin and velvet, with waves of spiced turmeric and cloves, brambled blackcurrant, blueberry, pomegranate, passion fruit, liqourice and crushed rock, with orange rind freshness that gives a kick and a shiver of electricity. Grip and freshness, still full of life. A record temperature of 48C clocked in at the estate's weather station during the baking summer of 2003, with over 50 days when it never dropped below 30C even during the night. 50% new oak, 3.62ph, harvest September 11 to 26, Jean-Hubert Delon owner.

Deeper in colour and presence than the 1995, this jumps into the world of young Las Cases, a reminder that 20 years of age is pretty much the minimum to begin truly drinking and appreciating this wine, as it makes its shift from monumental to graceful. Black fruit, cassis, blackberry, tannins are tingling and gripping, transmitting power and energy to the mint leaf, slate, crushed rock and eucalyptus finish. Just revving out of the gate, and as it lingers in the glass, the earthy truffled notes you find in the older vintages are just making an appearance, the ghost of Las Cases future. A tightrope walk of concentration and elegance. 50% new oak. Jean-Hubert Delon owner.

Ruby red with a garnet rim. Cassis, blueberries, leather, sweet sour cherries and minerals. Fresh acidity. Playful and refreshing. Elegant and smooth with still grippy tannins. Loads of dark and red berries with crowberries, cassis, licorice, anise and spice. Very long.

Drink from now with a few hours decant and until 2050+.

A super second or a real first growth? Château Leoville Las Cases was, in 1855, classified as a second growth.

Today we talk about super seconds. This refers to Châteaus that are almost or on the same level as the first growths, but not classified as a first growth. Leoville Las Cases is one of the super seconds. In my opinion, if the whole classification had been done today, I do think they would be classified as a first growth. Just superb wines.

Dufter av moden morell, krydder, flott frisk rød frukt

Flott frukt, perfekt konsentrasjon, lang utgang med integrerte tanniner


Crazy god vin som er perfekt akkurat i år. Flott balanse med et nydelig duftbilde med litt tertiært anslag. 

WSET Diploma

Smoked tea, cassis, blackberry, cigar box, camomile, mint leaf, slate and spice, this explodes out of the glass and then holds its own, going nowhere at all over the two or three hours that we sat around the table enjoying it. The 1970 may have had the initial heartstopping armatics, but it was the 1996 that delivered long into the night. Concentrated, tannic, confident. Opened 1.5 hours before drinking, 50% new oak.

A year that can get overlooked on the Left Bank compared to the (majestic at this property) 1986, but I would strongly suggest not forgetting about the 1995 Las Cases. No Petit Verdot, unusual at the time and making it more reflective of modern blends, stong salinity, with waves of oyster shell and white truffles that head towards dried roses, finely boned tannins, campfire, soot, undergrowth, blackberry, and a shot of mandarin juice that injects a shot of freshness and youth. At this stage it isn't loudly proclaiming its brilliance, just gently reminding you that this is a wine built to last, with a shot of electricity running through it. 50% new oak. Michel Delon owner.

Utrolig flott utviklet bdx, kraftig og elegant på samme tid. Litt solbær, ceder og krydret. Nydelig silke taniner. 


Holy konsentrasjon

Floralt, sexy, bringebær, lukter peak peak moden bdx

Jordbær, sutsør, kons, eike, teriær aromer av forest floor, cigar, klassisk

Klikker, må dekanteres m mye luft, nesten perfekt, bringebær, 

Ustrukturert notat her men mye endring over tid

WSET 1

Great to see how Las Cases has survived from one of the good-but-not-great vintages of the 1980s. This was opened just before tasting, and needs time to uncurl. Opens up to show earthy, brambled notes of blackberry, tomato leaf, undergrowth, raspberry, saffron and crushed mint leaf. So much complexity and layers of flavor, perfectly read to drink. Harvest October 3 to 16, 50% new oak. Michel Delon owner.

Gentle bricking around the edges of the glass, rose petals and campfire smoke on the first nose. Elegance personified, the tannins are so fine and the overall body so fresh, that it explains right there in the glass why St Julien is loved world over. Las Cases can almost be Pauillac-like when young, but as it ages it reconnects with its St Julien character, and here it shows freshly tilled earth, loam, truffles. Very much on its drinking plateau, but the kind of wine that will quietly, unobtrusively deliver for the next two decades or more. gold, no question. Slight deposit thrown, so suggest carafing, but for the first few hours after opening I would simply let stand. 50% new oak. Michel Delon owner.

tatt med av Andreas Larsson, bra valg, old school bdx, ren frukt mot solbær, tobakk, sigarkasse og blyantspiss, fortsatt fast og tannisk, men korrekt balansert mot dyp kjølig frukt. Mer lik 1928 enn 1986. Fullt mulig at denne vinen vil lagre best av alle områdets 1975 (96++)

You could feel the excitement ripple around the table at the aromatics on this wine, as a clutch of wild roses came floating out of the glass. 1970 was one of the highlight years of the (generally weak) decade, but at this point you'll be hard pressed to find examples that are still going strong. This is certainly one of them, legendary from its first years, still showing crushed raspberry puree and gentle blackberry fruit, white pepper, soft leather, smoked earth, soy, a great example of the meaning of umami in wine. It doesn't last as long in the glass as the 1996, softening over a few hours, but it's one to look out for. Opened just before drinking.

If you want to be picky, this is more evolved on the palate than the Latour 1966, but it was still one of the wines of the tasting. Gorgeous jewel-like ruby colour, melted tannins, good vivacity, pretty much a perfect moment to drink to showcase how Las Cases is a slow-burner that is almost always worth betting on. Fresh and finessed, with tobacco, orange peel and wild strawberry. Owned at the time by a consortium of shareholders, with the Delon family dominant but not yet in the majority, headed by André Delon. His son Michel had just joined his father, but not fully taking over until 1976.

Magnum - Rund med høstpreg og mørke toner

Category	Red wine
Vinmonopolet no.
Producer	Ch. Leoville Las Cases
Vintages	2023
Country	France, Bordeaux, Saint-Julien
Bottle	75 cl

Alcohol	%
Acid	%
Sugar	g/l

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