- Colour Red
- Producer Château Léoville Las Cases
- Region St Julien
- Drinking 2030 - 2055
- Case size 6x75cl
- Available En Primeur
2023 - Ch Léoville Las Cases 2ème Cru St Julien - 6x75cl
- Colour Red
- Producer Château Léoville Las Cases
- Region St Julien
- Drinking 2030 - 2055
- Case size 6x75cl
- Available En Primeur
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Neal Martin, April 2024, Score: 95-97
The 2023 Léoville Las-Cases was picked from September 9 to October 2 at 43hL/ha and matured in 80% new oak barrels. This has a very precise bouquet, and, like the Clos du Marquis, it is imbued with an attractive estuarine element—aromatics that transport the imbiber to the banks of the Gironde. The oak is neatly integrated; 80% is much more optimal than 100% would have been. The palate is lightly spiced on the entry, moderately deep and quite lively on the mid-palate. This is a more linear Las-Cases than recent vintages, conveying a sense of "seriousness" toward the almost saturnine finish. Impressive in terms of persistence, this is a worthy follow-up to the magnificent 2022, but it will demand patience. Drink 2030-2065.
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Wine Advocate, April 2024, Score: 94-96
A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and only 4% Merlot, the 2023 Léoville Las Cases is one of the more serious, structured wines of the vintage, reminiscent of a modern-day version of the estate's excellent 2001. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of cherries, cassis and plums mingled with hints of licorice, mint and creamy new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a taut core of fruit, lively acids and plenty of fine, youthfully firm tannins. It will require and reward patience.
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Antonio Galloni, April 2024, Score: 94-97
The 2023 Léoville Las Cases is a wine of understatement and class. In so many vintages, Las Cases is quite authoritative, but I find the 2023 rather quiet and unexpressive today. It’s a rather intellectual Las Cases, a wine with tremendous potential, but also a wine that is quite reserved at this early stage. Time in the glass brings out hints of blueberry, graphite, spice and mocha. It will be interesting to see where this goes. This is a very austere, classically built Las Cases for readers who can be patient. Drink 2033-2073.
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James Suckling, April 2024, Score: 97-98
Exceptional quality of cabernet comes through here, with a lot of graphite, lead pencil, crushed stone, walnut and currant fruit. It grows and expands on the palate, remaining in focus at the same time. Refined and seamless with beautiful tannins that show power and intensity. It rolls across the palate with verve. 86% cabernet sauvignon, 10% cabernet franc and 4% merlot.
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Goedhuis Waddesdon, April 2024, Score: 95-97
A very classical blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and touch of Merlot at 4%, with “vin de presse” making up 7% of the total blend, this is a very controlled wine from this exceptional vineyard riding alongside its First Growth neighbour, Ch Latour. It has a perfume of deep cassis and dark cherry, highlighting just how much the Cabernets enjoyed the Indian summer of 2023. The palate is extraordinarily polished, almost silky in nature, offering a very harmonious initial approach. Then follows the property’s characteristic powerful Pauillac-esque core as it builds to a crescendo in a symphonic manner. Almost brooding in nature and so very aware of its pedigree and stature. Long and very thoughtful.
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Jane Anson, April 2024, Score: 98
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.
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LPB, April 2024, Score: 95-97+
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.
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Matthew Jukes, April 2024, Score: 19+
This is not only a stunning Las Cases, but it is also likely to be remembered as a genuine classic. There is extraordinary power delivered here with such control and command that it does its best to confound the senses. On the one hand, ordered and disciplined and then, at once, refreshing, and decorous, there is a style of grandeur here that can only be found at this mighty Saint-Julien property. While the delivery of the beautiful fruit flavours is carefully controlled, at times, bordering on balletic, unexpected moments of flamboyance catch one unawares. I find this style of Las Cases riveting, not least because the considerable percentage of Cabernet, relatively low alcohol and crystal-clear acidity ought to signal a wine of uncommon strictness and composure, but there is an enchanting core of pure cassis that grabs the senses and doesn’t let go.
Producer
Château Léoville Las Cases
If ever another wine gets promoted to first growth category, Léoville Les Cases will undoubtedly bethe one. Owned by the Delon family, this château is comprised of 97 hectares of vineyards. However,unlike most of its Médoc neighbours, it only uses the vineyards classified in the original 1855 classification, an area called "Le Grand Enclos", to make its grand vin.
Region
St Julien
St Julien is like the middle child of the Médoc - not as assertive as Pauillac or as coquettish as Margaux. It lies firmly between the two more outspoken communes and as a result produces a blend of them both. St Julien's wines have often been sought out by aficionados for their balance and consistency, particularly in the UK. Yet due to its middle child nature, it can occasionally be overlooked globally and as a result underrated by those markets outside the UK. Despite the fact that it has no first growths, it has several second growths including Léoville Las Cases, Léoville Barton, Léoville Poyferré and Ducru Beaucaillou as well as the celebrated châteaux such as Talbot and Beychevelle.
