Château Lèoville Las Cases

6/12/2018 Jeb DUNNUCK JEB DUNNUCK (JEB DUNNUCK) : 95-97 / 100 The flagship 2017 Léoville Las Cases is made from 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Merlot, still aging in 90% new barrels, and it’s unquestionably one of the greatest wines in this complex, far from homogenous vintage. Inky black colored with sensational richness in its black currants, scorched earth, graphite, and charcoal aromas and flavors, this blockbuster barrel sample is full-bodied, powerful, and concentrated. It has bright acidity, building tannin, and is going to need 5-7 years of cellaring to be drinkable. 6/4/2018 Le Point LE POINT (JACQUES DUPONT) : 18 / 20 6/3/2018 Wein Wisser WEIN WISSER (RENÉ GABRIEL) : 18,5 / 20 5/28/2018 Vinifera VINIFERA (JACQUES PERRIN) : 96 / 100 Il se distingue par sa grâce aristocratique, la précision de sa construction et sa continuité de bouche, avec une véritable dimension séveuse et figure sans conteste parmi les grandes réussites du millésime. 5/28/2018 Bettane & Desseauve BETTANE & DESSEAUVE ( BETTANE & DESSEAUVE) : 18-18,5 / 20 Comme souvent, il est difficile de ne pas s'émerveiller devant l'harmonie et la plénitude immédiates de cette expression insurpassée du potentiel du millésime. (...) Seul Latour semble en état de soutenir la comparaison. 5/27/2018 La Revue du Vin de France LA REVUE DU VIN DE FRANCE (OLIVIER POELS) : 18-18,5 / 20 5/22/2018 Jukes MATTHEWJUKES.COM (MATTHEW JUKES) : 18,5 / 20 5/21/2018 Jancis Robinson JANCIS ROBINSON (JULIA HARDING MW) : 18 / 20 5/15/2018 Vinous VINOUS (ANTONIO GALLONI) : 94-97 / 100 The 2017 Léoville Las Cases is remarkably elegant and polished for this typically brutish Saint-Julien. Persistence more than power is the key element that distinguishes the 2017 from most other vintages and most other Saint-Juliens as well. The classic Las Cases flavor profile is very much in evidence, but in a wine that is silky, nuanced and exceptionally polished. In 2017, Las Cases is truly magical, and one of the most complete wines of the Left Bank. In a word: sublime. Don't miss it. Tasted two times. 5/11/2018 The Wine Cellar Insider THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER (JEFF LEVE) : 95-97 / 100 It is not often you can use the word fruity to describe Leoville Las Cases but it is certainly fitting for 2017. Yes, the wine is fruity! And in addition you’ll find complexities of licorice, cigar box and lead pencil with tannins so refined it’s almost precocious. The fruit is airy and bright with a sweetness that carries through from start to finish. This is the perfect vintage to enjoy while waiting for the bigger, more tannic vintages to come around. The wine was made from a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot, reaching 13.28% alcohol with a pH of 3.72. The harvest took place from September 15 to October 4 and the wine was made from 60% of the harvest. 5/1/2018 Vinous VINOUS (NEAL MARTIN) : 93-95 / 100 The 2017 Léoville Las-Cases was picked between 15 September and 4 October, cropped at 37hl/ha and as usual, comes from the oldest vines that average around 50-years old. This year there is 13.28° alcohol. It is matured in 90% new oak and contains 7.5% vin de presse. It has a very clean and precise bouquet with blackberry, just a touch of blueberry, violet and a hint of bay leaf. This gains intensity with aeration but it is not as detailed as last year’s 2016. The palate is medium-bodied with more supple tannins than usual (that word is apt – there is nothing “soft” about this Saint-Julien). It has great depth with layers of black fruit laced with graphite and a pinch of white pepper, whilst it delivers fine salinity on the sappy finish. Excellent. 4/27/2018 Wine Advocate WINE ADVOCATE (LISA PERROTTI-BROWN) : 96-98 / 100 The 2017 Léoville Las Cases, a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon with 11% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot from 50- to 90-year-old vines, is deep garnet-purple in color and simply sings of crushed blackcurrants, wild blueberries and plum preserves with notions of wood smoke, cigar boxes, crushed rocks and beef drippings. Medium-bodied with wonderful intensity and vivacity, it gives a firm, fine-grained frame and a densely packed mid-palate, finishing long and earthy. This should age incredibly! 4/25/2018 Decanter.com DECANTER.COM (JANE ANSON) : 97 / 100 One of the very few wines in this vintage that truly stains the glass with its wonderfully vibrant anthocyanins. This is an exceptional wine - Léoville just knows how to knock it out of the park again and again. An early vintage meant everything was blended and in barrels before Christmas, with 7.5% press wine, so this has had some time to settle down already. There's huge persistency through the palate, very similar to last year. It has presence and a grip that doesn't want to let go, and you don't want it to either. It continues to reveal itself over the course of the glass, showing slate, cassis, blackberry and charcoal. It's not as powerfully knitted as the 2016, but watch out for those tannins. I expect this will be a wine that, like the 1996 and 2016, will close down and evolve extremely slowly. Stunning aromatics. 90% new oak. 4/17/2018 Quarin JEAN-MARC QUARIN (JEAN-MARC QUARIN) : 18 / 20 4/17/2018 Wine Enthusiast WINE ENTHUSIAST (ROGER VOSS) : 95-97 / 100 This normally serious, complex wine has a smile on its face in this vintage. Even at this young stage the black fruits shine. It is certainly concentrated and dense, but the intense fruitiness cuts the tannins. This very fine wine will certainly age, although it is likely to be accessible sooner than usual. 4/6/2018 Jamessuckling.com JAMESSUCKLING.COM (JAMES SUCKLING) : 96-97 / 100 This is very muscular with formed and bright tannins that give the wine super drive and length. The tannins build on the finish with a lovely integration of black fruits. Serious for the vintage. 4/4/2018 Wine Spectator WINE SPECTATOR (JAMES MOLESWORTH) : 93-96 / 100 This has the vintage’s fresh acidity, which does a wonderful job of driving the core of blueberry, black currant and blackberry fruit along. Light anise and graphite accents lend typicity, with a sleek mineral edge on the finish. Rock solid.—J.M.