Château Léoville Las Cases, 2ème Cru Classé, St Julien, 2009
Our runaway winner in the left bank, this really should have been pitched against the first growths such is its ethereal beauty and breed. One of the rather mundane questions we ask each other between Chateaux visits to break the awkward silence is so what has been the best wine so far?, and Leoville Las Cases kept being mentioned with alarming frequency. Maybe we're being partisan, but Las Cases keeps getting our vote. A stunning bouquet of liquid minerals, graphite, crème de cassis, violets, liquorice and gravel. The attack is pure cassis fruit, then layer upon layer of sumptuous hedonistic fruit including wild strawberries and chocolate liqueur fruits. This is explosive yet poised; refreshing and taut. It possesses serious power and length of flavour, suave fruit, impeccable balance and laser like precision. It is simply a tour de force; an exquisite Las Cases!
critic reviews
Luscious vintage that allows even Las Cases to be generous and almost hedonistic at 14 years old, almost unheard of with this property (helped by slightly higher level of alcohol than usual filling out the mouthfeel). This remains more closed down than most 2009s that you will find, with tannins that are powerful and confident, guiding the cassis fruit while allowing gourmet notes of black chocolate, tarte tatin and pomegrante to surface, along with bitter edges of burnt saffron, liquroice and charcoal. 50% new oak, 3.6ph. Harvest September 22 to October 7.
The 2009 Léoville Las-Cases simply delivers on the nose with intense blackberry, wild hedgerow, graphite and crushed stone aromas on the nose. You would put this down as a Pauillac if served blind, unsurprising given that it borders that appellation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, silky smooth in texture with immense depth. It is blessed with quite brilliant delineation and the precision on the finish is magnificent. Chapeau Mon. Delon. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits Ten Year On tasting.