x
  • Country ranking ?

    990
  • Producer ranking ?

    21
  • Decanting time

    1h
  • When to drink

    2020-2035

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

Close

The Story

The Grand Vin is the product of exceptional terroirs from the former Léoville estate. These terroirs are located mainly in the Clos Léoville Las Cases, which you pass as you leave Saint- Julien village for Pauillac. They extend over nearly 60ha producing Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet Francs with a complex, polished expression and characteristics which are totally unique to the Grand Vin of Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases and have been widely recognized for years.

 

Château Léoville Las Cases is one of the largest and oldest classified growths in the Médoc known since 1707. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen Second Growths in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.


Today’s Léoville Las Cases was once part of a much larger estate until the time of the French Revolution when a portion of this estate was separated into what is today Château Léoville-Barton. In 1840, the estate was again divided and land that would eventually become Château Léoville-Poyferré was split off. When the 1855 Classification was completed, all three properties from the original Léoville estate were classed as Second Growths. Since the mid 20th century the Delon family have been owners of this estate.

The soil of St Julien is ideal for vines, due to its geographic situation and its climate; every element is present to produce wines of exceptional quality and elegance. Léoville Las Cases' 97 hectares of vineyards are superbly sited on gravelly-clay soils with the largest plot being surrounded by a stone wall and stretching between the village of St-Julien and Château Latour.
 

Close

Wine Information

Château Léoville-Las-Cases

The hottest wine in Bordeaux

History has shown that every wine district tends to have producers whose ideology or production methods diverge from the norm in the area. One of the most classic wine regions, however, Médoc in Bordeaux, is unusual in this respect. With the exception of one, the area’s producers have toed the line and conformed to the 1855 Bordeaux classification and their position in the rankings. Mouton-Rothschild, led by Baron Philippe de Rothschild, was upgraded from a second to a first growth thanks to vigorous lobbying by the baron, but otherwise there have been few major changes. However, in recent years an estate has gained publicity and market interest by deciding to challenge the historic classification and to do things differently. Château Léoville-Las-Cases, located in the commune of Saint-Julien, is currently the hottest Bordeaux estate among wine collectors and investors.

Located next to Château Latour, Léoville-Las-Cases, one of the largest vineyards in Bordeaux, has perhaps the best location in St.-Julien, right by Pauillac. All in all, the estate has 97 hectares of land around the commune, but the best plots are situated, surrounded by walls, on a gentle slope next to Latour. The fifty-hectare parcel produces strong, very Pauillac-like wines for which the centuries-old château is famous.

This is one of the estates with the longest histories in Bordeaux. It reaches all the way to the seventeenth century, when the estate was owned by the royal family of Las Cases. The estate was passed down through the generations, finally to Alexandre de Gascq, who had married into the family. He bought more lands for the estate, making it the largest in Bordeaux. In 1840 the estate was split into three; one parts was retained in the Las Cases family and began operating under the name Léoville-Las-Cases. Another went with a daughter into the Poyferré family and was named Léoville-Poyferré. The third section was auctioned off to the wine merchant Hugh Barton. The Las Cases ownership was eventually divided into many portions through inheritance, and some of the children decided to sell their shares. The vineyard director Théophile Skanwinski expressed his interest and bought the shares in tranches. From Skanwinski, the estate was inherited through his daughter by André Delon, whose family has since then retained ownership. Significant qualitative changes have taken place at the estate in the last thirty years.
André’s grandson Michel Delon, who took over the estate in 1976, held it under strict control for nearly 25 years, with the aim of producing nothing less than top-quality wines. Although many of his neighbours considered Michel Delon a profiteer who raised his wines’ prices by releasing them to the market only a small batch at a time, he did take actions previously unseen in Médoc to improve the quality of his wines.

In the 1980s he launched the green harvest method for improving grape quality during the growing season, and used it systematically on his vineyards. Even in the high-quality harvest years of 1986 and 1990, Delon cut his crop – by half in 1986 and by up to two thirds in 1990 – in order to ensure superior quality. In his cellars, he had the floors made of marble. In wine production he used vats of different materials – oak, concrete and steel – to give the wines a nuanced character. He was also one of the first in Bordeaux to conduct reverse osmosis experiments to improve concentration.

This pioneer and trailblazer passed away of a heart attack in 2000, after which the estate has been led by his son, Jean-Hubert Delon. Jean-Hubert has laudably continued to invest in the wines’ quality, which has also led to growing demand. In addition to developing the estate’s grand vin, Jean-Hubert has been committed to improving the quality of the second wine, Clos du Marquis, launched in 1902. Due to more careful selection of grapes for the number two wine, a third label, Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases, was released in 2007 to use up the grapes from the vineyards’ youngest vines. Only a few first growth estates have a similar procedure.

The Delons’ decades-long insistence on the estate’s right to a first-growth classification was in 2008 supported and justified by a study conducted at Cornell University. The reasons given in the study were both the wines’ quality and the prices paid for them. As their base data, the researchers used average scores given by the most esteemed wine critics in the previous 35 years, and the prices paid for Léoville-Las-Cases wines, which have been three times that of other second growths.

Even though the estate’s wines are significantly pricier than others in their category, they are still more affordable than those from first growth estates. Therefore one could be justified in saying that Léoville-Las-Cases offers one of the best price-to-quality ratios of all Bordeaux wines.

Close

Latest Pro-tasting notes

12 tasting notes

Tasting note

flavors

Blackcurrant, Mint, Plum, Tobacco, New-oak and Chocolate

nose

Open, Seductive and Charming

taste

Complex and Full-bodied

Written Notes

The 1990 Leoville Las Cases has long been one of my favorite wines; in fact, it is probably the best overall quality-to-value ratio in the vintage. I will never forget how Las Cases convincingly won a blind tasting of 15 wines and 60 people in Hong Kong with most top wines. Deep chocolate was the first quality that came to mind in the LLC. It was rich and creamy, possessing loads of cassis and great allspice. There was this Christmas goodness to the Las Cases, call it trees, pudding and/or warmth. This was a rich, classic and outstanding wine (96).

  • 96p

A grand wine of unmistakably premier cru quality. Fullish, still youthful after a mere 26 years! Very lovely, harmonious fruit. Great depth and concentration; mellow and lush, and very long on the palate. Very classy indeed. Excellent! 

Ruby, thin garnet rim. Scented and quite up front. Licorice, cassis and a quite rich nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, a bit sweet, sweeter than 89. Lovely and long, but lacks a bit of nuance for me. Needs ten years to shed some fat.
  • 93p
1990 Chateau Leoville-las-Cases, Bordeaux, France D1,5h, G2h (Gothenburg, Sweden, Oct 2012) This nose is just super sexy, charming and open. Dark liqueur like fruit with Créme de Cassis, sweet plums, dark chocolate, mint and lush, expensive oak notes. Feels very luxurious but shuts down a bit in the glass after 30 min. The sensation of liquid luxury continues on the palate with full bodied, spicy, silky, dark fruit. Completely seamless from start to finish. What it delivers today is much more pleasure for the palate than the mind but who cares when it tastes like this. Chocolate, mint and tobacco notes back up the fruit and ads complexity. Perhaps a touch more hedonistic than elegant at this stage but still utterly enjoyable. Tasted twice with consistent note Drink 2017-2047 97p.
  • 97p
Load more notes

Information

Origin

St.Julien, Saint-Julien
Incorrect Information
If you found some information that is wrong, let us know
Are you sure you want do delete this wine? All information will be lost.
Are you sure you want to recommend this wine?
Are you sure you want hide this written note ?
Are you sure you want show this written note ?
UPGRADE MEMBER PLAN
Upgrade your membership now, it's quick and easy. We use PayPal, the world's largest payment system, it accepts all credit cards. Once you've chosen your membership level, you'll go directly to PayPal. You can cancel your membership at any time.
Thank you for your support!
 

Pro Member

 

Winemerchant Member

 

Winery Member

 

User

 

HOW TO USE TASTINGBOOK?

We recommend you to share few minutes for watching the following video instructions of how to use the Tastingbook. This can provide you a comprehensive understanding of all the features you can find from this unique service platform.

This video will help you get started



Taste wines with the Tastingbook


Create Your wine cellar on 'My Wines'



Explore Your tasted wines library



Administrate Your wine world in Your Profile



Type a message ...
Register to Tastingbook
Sign up now, it's quick and easy.
We use PayPal, the world's largest payment system, it accepts all credit cards.
Once you've chosen your membership level, you'll go directly to PayPal, where you can sign up for a free 7-day trial period. You can cancel your membership at any time. We wish you a rewarding journey to the world of Fine Wines.

Free 7 days Member trial

 

Member

 

Pro Member

 

Winemerchant Member

 

Winery Member

 

User

  Register