Château Léoville Las Cases, 2ème Cru Classé, St Julien, 2022

Name: Château Léoville Las Cases, 2ème Cru Classé, St Julien
Brand: Château Léoville Las Cases
Price: 1598.74 GBP

Available Vintages

all 1995 1998 2001 2006 2008 2009 2014 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

justerini & brooks tasting note

Widely regarded as one of the wines of the vintage, the 2022 Leoville Las Cases was tasted away from its natural habitat, in chateau Nenin, due to construction works at home in St Julien. This certainly didn't dampen our enthusiasm, this is one of the great Leovilles, powerful and rippling, but full of tension. As one would expect, this is initially quite introverted, but with coaxing, notes of dark berries, graphite, loamy earth, Asian spices, camphor and lavender emerge. Power and subtlety. The palate is a well of lively, cassis and dark cherry fruit buttressed by glorious, detailed tannins. This is layered and complex, then tapers down to a linear finish: really well measured, this is a wine of huge potential, yet with a sense of control and focus. A blend of 83.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.5% Cabernet Franc and 6% Merlot.

critic reviews

99/100Chris Kissack,The Wine Independent

The assemblage of the Delon grand vin is 83.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.5% Cabernet Franc and 6% Merlot, and the press wine accounts for 8% of the blend. The élevage was in 85% new oak barrels for 18 months. The aromatics here are striking, with an almost confit intensity to the fruits, sweet currant and cranberry, with a touch of white pepper and pressed iris. The palate starts out with an immediately complete style, a fresh and polished substance which shimmers with dark fruits, liquorice, olive, tar and salted black cherries, all of which lies draped over a rich and ripe tannic structure, which provides a beautifully harmonious presence through the end of the palate and into the finish. Such delicious and divine harmony here, with great tannic structure, which builds to a strong crescendo in the midpalate on a second taste, the interplay between the dark tannins and the salted black fruits just glorious, and yet it all feels so fresh and bright. The finish is long and gripped by powdery, polished tannins which linger forever at the end of the palate. The alcohol is 14% on the label.

DRINKING WINDOW 2032 - 2072

date of review 06/2025

99/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

Cassis puree, bitter chocolate, so much power and intensity, with a joy and an immediacy that you rarely get in Las Cases. The tannins have a slight tug on the finish which tells you that the power of this vintage remains a little unruly, needs wrestling into place on this particular site. But hard to argue with, layered, powerful, confident, slow-moving. Arnaud Delon is joining his father at the Delon estates, and the new winery is due for completion by September 2025. 84% new oak for ageing. Eric Boissenot consultant, harvest September 8 to 30.

DRINKING WINDOW 2032 - 2050

date of review 03/2025

99/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The nascent 2022 Léoville Las-Cases, matured in 85% new oak, instantly makes an impression and vindicates my rhapsodizing from barrel. Intense yet boasting exquisite delineation, the aromatics are endowed with immense depth, retaining those estuarine nuances, hints of blue fruit, fig and crushed violets. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins. Stunningly balanced and poised, satin-like in texture yet with ample backbone and grip to guarantee longevity, this ranks amongst the best Grand Vins that I have tasted from Jean-Hubert Delon's Saint-Julien estate. This flirts with perfection.

DRINKING WINDOW 2032 - 2080

date of review 02/2025

98-100/100William Kelley,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

One of the wines of the vintage this year is the 2022 Leoville Las Cases, a monument in the making that combines unerring classicism with unusual sensuality and charm by the standards of this estate's sometimes youthfully forbidding wines. Exhibiting deep aromas of dark berries, violets, pencil lead, rose petals and tobacco leaf, it's full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, with terrific concentration, beautiful purity of fruit, abundant but refined tannins and a long, vibrant finish. On the several occasions that I tasted it, the 2022 was surprisingly open for a young Las Cases, but it wouldn't surprise me if it were to shut down after a few years in bottle. It's a blend of 83.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.5% Cabernet Franc and 6% Merlot.

date of review 04/2023