Château Leoville Las Cases 2018
IN BOND
Delivery 2021
Appellation - St Julien
Owner - Jean-Hubert Delon and Geneviève d'Alton
66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot
Second wines – Le Petit Lion, La Petite Marquise
Annual production – 400,000 bottles
Tasting notes
| “We produced great Cabernet Franc this year,” Directeur Général Pierre Graffeuille told me during my visit to Léoville Las Cases. Even though only 3% of the press wine was added back, he was also absolutely glowing about the quality of this too. And he should be—the finished blend for the 2018 Léoville Las Cases is yet another triumph for this great estate. Composed of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc and 9% Merlot, harvested September 15 to October 4 with yields of 35.5 hectoliters per hectare, it has 14.49% alcohol and will be aged in barriques, 90% new. Very deep purple-black in color, it is a little closed to begin, slowly emerging from the glass to reveal subtle woodsmoke, violets, tilled soil and underbrush scents over a core of warm cassis, wild blueberries and redcurrant jelly plus hints of rare beef and iron ore. Full-bodied, rich, super concentrated and bursting with latent energy, this is an atomic bomb waiting to go off in your mouth. It has a rock-solid foundation of firm, very ripe, very finely grained tannins and bold freshness supporting the muscular fruit through the epically long, amazingly nuanced finish. Simply breathtaking. |
| Score: 98/100 |
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (April 2019), April 2019 |
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OMG. This shows amazing depth of fruit and density. Full-bodied and so layered with incredible fruit and power. Blackberries. Blueberries. Violets. Hints of dried flowers. Fantastic fruit and tannins, yet agile and energetic. The château says 2016 plus, plus.
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| Score: 99/100 |
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2019 |
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This is backward and dense, with thickly layered plum, blackberry, fig and blueberry reduction flavors wrapped liberally in warm ganache and melted licorice notes. A long echo of smoldering charcoal emerges at the very end. There's a lot to resolve here as the rich and austere sides are still melding, but the extra amplitude doesn't distort anything; it just all goes to 11.
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| Score: 97/100 |
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, March 2019 |
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(80 Cabernet Sauvignon, 11 Cabernet Franc, 9 Merlot) | 90% new oak | 14.49% alc | 80 IPT Las Cases manages, yet again, to make one of the most composed and complete wines of the year. Following on from a sensational nose, a super-complex initial burst of fruit hits the palate and it left me reeling, while I desperately tried to compute what was going on. There is a coolness here which balances the exuberance on the palate and it is magical. In complete contrast to Ducru, this is a Zen-like wine with very fine length and serious definition. On the face of it the blend, the alcohol and oak look very similar to that of Ducru’s but the flavour is the antithesis and I adore the fact that two great estates have made such exquisite but contrasting wines in this vintage. Already very complex, there is every sign that this will turn out to be one of the truly great vintages for Las Cases. I know that this is a relatively forward style of wine for this venerable Château but I would still bet that patience rewards those who wait. There is so much depth and harmony in this wine it would be a shame to drink it before every nook and cranny can be fully explored.
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| Score: 19.5+ |
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com, April 2019 |
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