Clos du Marquis, St Julien, 2018

Name: Clos du Marquis, St Julien
Brand: Château Léoville Las Cases
Price: 50.65 GBP

Available Vintages

all 1982 1996 2000 2001 2002 2003 2018 2019 2020 2022 2023 2024

justerini & brooks tasting note

We're big fans of Clos du Marquis. This Jean-Hubert Delon wine is always pure and ravishing, sleek and honest, a proper wine that expresses its terroir and is never plastered with make-up - a natural beauty that will age with grace and charm. A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, this hails from a separate plot to the west of the D2. For the first time (we can remember) there is a second wine called La Petite Marquise, so there is greater selection for Clos du Marquis. This is a connoisseur's wine, it's athletic, graceful, sleek and floral. It's so composed and classy with clear detailed red berry fruit, cherries, cool cassis and fine minerals. The palate is all noble fruit - focussed, tight knit and persistent. As always, there's no puppy fat, this is svelte, intense, seamless fruit with superb tannin integration - there's a super sense of tension and so much verve. A wine for purists!

critic reviews

92/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,The Wine Independent

Clos du Marquis 2018 has a deep garnet purple color. It rocks up with open-knit notes of blackcurrants, plums, and blueberries, plus suggestions of tree bark, pencil lead, and lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate offers a good core of pure black fruits and a firm, grainy texture, finishing long and refreshing.

DRINKING WINDOW 2023 - 2035

date of review 02/2023

93/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2018 Clos du Marquis is composed of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, with 13% press wine added back to the blend. The wine has 14.5% alcohol and was aged in 55% new barriques. Deep garnet-purple colored, it strolls confidently out of the glass with notes of warm cassis, ripe black plums and boysenberries and hints of underbrush, cedar chest, graphite and black olives plus a touch of baking spices. The medium to full-bodied palate is jam-packed with juicy blackberry layers, supported by firm, grainy tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long with an invigorating burst.

DRINKING WINDOW 2023 - 2040

date of review 03/2021

92/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2018 Clos du Marquis is consistent with my tasting note from barrel. It has a perfumed, camphor-tinged bouquet featuring plenty of brambly red fruit, and maybe just a hint of dark chocolate loitering in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and quite saline in the mouth with fine depth. It is not the most complex Clos du Marquis that I have tasted, but I appreciate the persistent black pepper aftertaste, which is quite Pauillac in style. Very fine.

DRINKING WINDOW 2023 - 2045

date of review 03/2021