Leoville Las Cases Tasting (81,82, 85, 86, 88, 89, 90, 93, 95, 96, 98, 99, 00, 01)

A group of Bordeaux lovers in PR got together today for a look at 14 vintages of Chateau Leoville las Cases. It was a great experience that communicated a few common themes.

1. Leoville las Cases certainly has a terroir signature and style that shines through across decades and different vintages strong and weak.
2. Leoville las Cases is correctly ranked as a super second. It is not a first growth. There were plenty of wonderful wines but there were no wow wines across the line up.
3. These wines require a lot of cellaring to showcase their true level of quality and distinctiveness.

1981- Wonderful mature wine with sweet fruit and clean acid backbone. The wine opened up in the glass and held up for hours. Good elegance and tipicity with above average persistence.

1982- Beautiful mature Bordeaux. Typical case of velvet glove around iron fist. Will benefit from additional time.

1985- Classic 85 Bordeaux, fruit forward, sweet, green pepper and very long. Structure is there but fully integrated.

1986- More 86 than Leoville las Cases. Great wine but structure still strong and winning the battle against the fruit and elevage. Not sure where this will go.

1988- Best 1988 I’ve ever tasted. Pretty, balanced, nuanced, tipicity, and very long.

1989- This bottle was off. No cork or Brett but just off.

1990- Candidate for wine of the afternoon. Amazing balance with powerful fruit and juicy acid lift. Pretty.

1993- Meh. Diluted with good attack but weak palate and short.

1995- Surprised by this wine. Thought that the combination of house style with vintage character would make for a monster of a wine. Nope. Balance, clean fruit, integrated tannins and very long. Upside.

1996- Good not great. Dark fruit with tons of structure and high acid. Triple checked that we had not crossed thev95 and 96.

1998- Ready to drink with complex dark fruit and secondary aromatics. Almost Pomerol like. Gorgeous.

1999- Ouch. Structure front and center and angry. Not in a good mood today.

2000- This wine will be great. Like the 90 but with a bit more of everything. Powerful and gorgeous.

2001- Corked.

Thanks for reading.

Wow Carlos, fantastic lineup and great report. The 1982 LLC taught me the virtue of waiting for Bordeaux to mature. But it was a hard lesson. I drank through 3/4 of a case before it started to hit its stride.

Is LLC the slowest maturing claret? I think it could be.

Really surprised by this - I guess you and I have different palates. I have had a number of these over the past couple of years and consider the 1982, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990 and 1996 to be wow wines.

Montrose comes 2nd.

To me 85, 86, 88, 90 Las Cases are all amongst the best wines of the vintage.

I agree that it is the slowest maturing. In addition, the cleanest and very straightforward in a good way. Here is my impression from 2017.

LÉOVILLE LAS CASES DINNER WITH PIERRE GRAFFEUILLE - Ripple Restaurant in DC (4/26/2017)

Panos organized another top Borddeaux chateau dinner. This time it was Leoville Las Cases with Domaines Delon director Pierre Graffeuille. In the past, I had found the wines of Leoville Las Cases to age glacially, even slower than Chateau Latour. I also found the wines to be quite clean and singular. It was fascinating to taste the Chateau direct bottles. In the past, some of the Chateau direct bottles were not as fresh as the US bottles. However these wines showed perfectly, i.e. very youthful but also with generous fruit.

Chef Ryan Ratino did an excellent job creating the menu to complement the wines. The wine service was very good as well.

I was extremely impressed by the very detailed and thoughtful decanting instruction from Pierre.

First flight :

• Petit Lion du Marquis de las Cases 2009, Saint Julien : Double decantation 30 minutes before pooring
• Clos du Marquis 2005, Saint Julien : Double decantation 60 minutes before pooring

Second Flight :

• Château Potensac 2003 : Double decantation 15 minutes before pooring
• Château Nénin 2001, Pomerol : no decantation

Third Flight :
• Grand Vin de Léoville du Marquis de las Cases 1996 : Double decantation 180/240 minutes before pooring
• Grand Vin de Léoville du Marquis de las Cases 1990 : no decantation
• Grand Vin de Léoville du Marquis de las Cases 1989 : Double decantation 30 minutes before pooring

Forth Flight :
• Grand Vin de Léoville du Marquis de las Cases 1986 : Double décantation 60 minutes before pooring
• Vin Surprise : 100% Petit Verdot Las Cases 1986 : Double decantation 30 minutes before pooring
Fifth Flight:
• Grand Vin de Léoville du Marquis de las Cases 1982 : Double decantation 30 minutes before pooring
• Grand Vin de Léoville du Marquis de las Cases 1975 : no decantation
Flight 1

• 2009 Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Fresh and slightly green. A bit surprising for a ’09. Medium to light concentration, a hint of tannins. (88 pts.)
• 2005 Clos du Marquis - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Medium expressive harmonious nose displaying perfectly ripe red and black fruits, cassis, plum, cedar, light caramel and flowers. Very good concentration, nicely layered ripe fruit, good richness, nicely integrated tannins and a medium to long cassis and cedar driven finish. Not the most complex wine but quite rich and drinking beautifully. It has reach the youthful peak but will last for another two decades. (92 pts.)

Flight 2

• 2003 Château Potensac - France, Bordeaux, Médoc
  Beautifully mature ripe nose displaying plum, shy cherry and cassis, licorice, lead pencil, cedar and earth. Fully integrated palate, sort and warm, ripe round red fruit driven palate impression, good acidity, nicely integrated tannins and a medium to long cedar driven finish. There is a hint of bitterness that I associate with the 03 vintage. It certainly is ripe but don’t exhibit obvious roasted fruit. Surprisingly enjoyable. (92 pts.)
• 2001 Château Nenin - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
  Beautiful polished nose displaying abundant dark flowers, black currant, bitter chocolate, a hint of smoke and mineral. Medium concentration, beautifully layered, silky and polished, good acidy, strong mineral presence and a lovely long silky finish. I seem to love the wine a lot more than the other CTers, i.e. the second highest rating is 91pts. Most of the ratings seem to be in line with the Tanzer’s ratings. This is a classic Pomerol with beautiful floral nose and polished palate. (94 pts.)

Flight 3
I love the 96 and 90. Although very enjoyable, the 89 was a step below for my palate.

• 1996 Château Léoville Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Very precise classic claret nose displaying intense cassis, blackberry jam, floral dust, cedar, a hint of vanilla and earth. Excellent concentration, beautifully layered, intense cassis driven palate impression, incredibly silky and polished, bright acidity, strong presence of mineral, still noticeable fine tannins and a long energetic finish with cassis and cedar at the end. This is an incredibly youthful classic claret with a long life ahead. The 96s are showing really well with the incredible energy and purity. Some thinks that it is tight. I am loving it, my WOTF by a slim margin, to the hedonistic and explosive 90. (97 pts.)
• 1990 Château Léoville Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Explosive hedonistic nose displaying cassis, blueberry pie minus crust, black cherry, licorice, milk chocolate, floral dust, mint, eucalyptus, sweet spicies and earth. There is a hint of green bell pepper that gives freshness. Excellent concentration, beautifully layered opulent sweet black fruit, chewy yet silky and polished, noticeable sweet tannins and an incredibly long finish with cassis and licorice at the end. Certain the most ready and expressive wine of the flight. Excellent showing. I strangely prefer the classism of the 96, kinda weird. (96 pts.)
• 1989 Château Léoville Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Harmonious nose displaying subtle cassis, blueberry, plum, more red fruit than the 96 and 90, a hint of mint and eucalyptus, coffee and mineral. Very good concentration, chewy and rich, also quite silky, nicely integrated tannins and a long finish. Not quite up to the 96 and 90 for my palate. Nevertheless, this is a classic wine that is drinking nicely. (93 pts.)

Flight 4
It was fascinating to taste the single varietal cuvee. Thought it was good, the actual LLC showed more complexity and richness.

• 1986 Château Léoville Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Incredibly youthful yet complex nose displaying intense cassis, ink, a hint of plum starts to develop, cigar, ash, cedar, caramel and lead pencil. Excellent concentration, beautifully layered, silky and polished, tobacco and cassis driven palate impression, bright acidity, nicely integrated tannins and a lovely long finish with cedar at the end. This is very similar to the 96 but I find this to be a big richer/oilier where the 96 is purer and more precise. Exceptional showing. It is finally reaching the first stage of the youthful peak. (96 pts.)
• 1986 Château Léoville Las Cases Petit Verdot - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Expressive nose displaying blackberry jam, ink, mint, cedar, pepper as in syrah, and mineral. Very good concentration, silky, sensual, bright acidity, excellent mineral presence, nicely integrated tannins and a long inky finish. It is surprisingly rich and youthful. However a bit one dimensional and lacking nuance and harmony of the 86 LLC. Really fascinating. (93 pts.)

Flight 5
The 82 was exceptional. I was pleasantly surprised by how excellent the 75 showed.

• 1982 Château Léoville Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  The 82 is the reason why I complain about the excruciatingly slow aging curve of Leoville Las Case. Beautiful harmonious nose displaying subtle cassis, crushed blackberry, crushed rose pedals, fine mineral dust, caramel, cedar and earth. Perfectly integrated yet youthful palate, layers upon layers of perfectly mature red currants and cassis, silky and polished, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, fully integrated tannins and a long sweet finish that resonates. It certainly exhibits a hint of ripe and warm 82 fruit without compromising the structure and freshness. Ben mentions how perfect this was for the first five years after release. It is finally delivering the earlier promise. For my palate, very complete and perfectly harmonious. It has finally reach the first stage of the youthful peak but can improve for another decade or two if not longer. Excellent showing. (98 pts.)
• 1975 Château Léoville Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  The 75 tells me that the cellar of Leoville Las Cases is impeccable. Fully mature yet clean and energetic nose displaying a hint of cassis and plum, strong cedar, leather, tobacco, mint, caramel and lead pencil. Beautiful harmonious palate, nothing out of place, silky and sensual, bright acidity, good mineral presence and a long sweet finish that subtly resonates. This is a really complete classic claret. Best showing by far, still retaining good amount of sweet fruit. The reason why we love mature Bordeaux. The surprise of the night. (95 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Very cool line-up and great read, Carlos.

Yea sorta surprised me as I read that none of these really seemed to “wow” you.

I opened up an 88 earlier this year and I think my bottle was not #livingitsbestlife anymore. had a very green olive brine note that I can appreciate in small quantities but that really overwhelmed everything else in the wine. I’m curious if thats just a case of this wine was wrong for my preferred palate style or if that is atypical of LLC?

To my continuing surprise, I am consistently underwhelmed by LLC. I’ve had them repeatedly from the 70’s, 80’s (all except the 82), the 1990 and 96. The only one that really wowed was the 96 but it was still in a primordial state. The 83 is very nice, I liked the 90 but didn’t get the hype, the 75 was good but hardly legendary, the 86 needed another 40 years, the other 70’s vintages were all ashtray.

This sounds harsh. To be sure, most LLCs I’ve had were good wines, correct, etc., but they either seemed like they needed lots and lots more time or came across as foursquare and borderline dull. I want to be disabused of this impression, but so far that’s my experience.

I have had much the same experience, Pat. Great wines but they often don’t have the verve that say Montrose or a good Palmer does. There are other clarets I would buy many times over at this price point.

I would add that virtually every other bordeaux of LLC’s statute has impressed me at some point in a way LLC never has: Palmer (eg, the dazzling 83 and 89), Montrose (the 89 and 90), Pichon Lalande (too many to list), Pichon Baron, L. Barton, all of the Firsts, etc. Maybe Petrus could fit in with LLC, but Ive only 2 Petrus, and neither were from famous vintages, so that doesn’t count.

Echoing some of the points above the wines were really really good but lacked joy. The 82 was great but lacked the oomph of the 82 Lalande for example or the 82 Montrose. The 85 was also really serious juice but it didn’t make you smile like the 85 Lynch or the 85 Lalande.

The 90 and the 00 were the only hedonistic wines that made me smile and enjoy drinking instead of tasting.

It is interesting how different people like different wines. I like Pichon Lalande, Montrose, Pichon Baron (which I probably like less than the others in this group), and Leoville Barton very much. But, I like LLC more than any of these. I probably like LLC more than Palmer, but it is very close for me. And, I clearly would put the 82 LLC well above the 1982 PL, Montrose, and Leoville Barton - esp. in recent years as the LLC has finally started to open up. I have not had the 82 Pichon Baron.

Different strokes for different folks. But from this and other threads, I have the sense that LLC divides Bordeaux lovers more than do most wines. I wonder what this is attributable to? Could it be that these wines take a long time to come around. Could it be that this is a higher acid wine (which puts off some Bordeaux lovers). I wonder if LLC fans tend to like 2005 Bordeaux more than 2009 and the ones who don’t like it as much tend to like 2009 more. Just thinking out loud.

I would say that my favorite Medoc non-first growths are LLC, Ducru and Palmer.

I love LLC but it isn’t usually my #1 favorite Bordeax. Often because they’re just not ready when I drink them.

But they do get mentioned now and then as a candidate for promotion to first growth status.

Has anyone had a clean bottle of 2001 recently, and if so how was it drinking?

The best vintage to drink now is 1988. Followed by 1985 (still on the young side) and 1978 (a point).

With each decade - in the last five - LLC has improved in absolute and relative - to its peers - terms.

This had been reflected in the price action but may be not fully enough yet.

I am not sure it is the longest lived leftie but it is up there with each of the Medoc first growths.