Château Léoville Las Cases, 2ème Cru Classé, St Julien, 2018

Name: Château Léoville Las Cases, 2ème Cru Classé, St Julien
Brand: Château Léoville Las Cases
Price: 741.41 GBP

Available Vintages

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justerini & brooks tasting note

The Las Cases team described 2018 as 'Grandiose and Incomparable…' There is certainly huge potential here. At the time of tasting, it was quite introspective - not the easiest Las Cases to assess, but one senses that all the components are present, and it is only a matter of time before this blossoms. Just 3% press wine and a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc and 9% Merlot, and weighing in at 14.49% alcohol, this requires some coaxing before aromas of pure tayberry, graphite, white pepper and flowers emerge from the understated nose. It is subdued, subtle, tightly coiled. The palate is equally restrained. There is plenty of refined fruit, cool cassis, red cherry and cranberries, but there is nothing flashy or excessive - it is all controlled, with tremendous latent power. The fruit begins to build, such sweetness of fruit and such long detailed fruit tannins. This has real nobility and class. Like all grandiose vintages of Las Cases, this will require decades to show its full potential. Another epic!

critic reviews

98/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,The Wine Independent

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.

DRINKING WINDOW 2028 - 2058

date of review 02/2023

96/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2018 Léoville–Las Cases, which was picked at 35.5hl/ha and matured in 90% new oak, still shows the exuberant floral bouquet that I remarked upon from barrel, featuring violets and (less so) lavender scents that complement the multilayered black fruit. On initial pouring, after a 60 minute decant, it blossoms and evolves greater delineation and poise. The palate is beautifully balanced with silky-smooth tannins that frame the plush, quite heady mixture of red and black fruit. Initially robust, over the ensuing hours it mellows nicely, though it retains the backbone and symmetry you expect from this redoubtable Saint-Julien. An exquisite wine that will age effortlessly over 25–40 years.

DRINKING WINDOW 2024 - 2050

date of review 03/2021