Region: Saint-Julien, Bordeaux

Grapes: 79% Cabernet Sauvignon、10% Merlot、11% Cabernet Franc

Alcohol: 13%

Website: https://www.domaines-delon.com/

🌟 Second Growth 1855 Grand Cru Classe

🏅 Wine Advocate 98+ pts

🏅 James Suckling 98 pts

🏅 Vinous 97+ pts

🏅 Wine Spectator 96 pts

🏅 Wine Enthusiast 96 pts

A STORY THAT STARTED IN THE 17TH CENTURY

One of the oldest Medoc estates, Domaine deLéoville belonged to some of the wealthiest and most influential noble French families before it was acquired by the Las Cases family. The estate was split up between 1826 and 1840 as a result of the French Revolution. (Expropriation of emigrants’ property and constitution of egalitarian redistribution). Château Léoville Las Cases was created, thanks to a kind of birthright, from 3/5 of the original estate and the heart of the domain.

The Grand Vin’s current terroir has therefore been at the historic heart of the original terroir since the 17th century. Pierre Jean, A dolphe and Gabriel de Las Cases were successive heirs to the property until 1900, when Théophile Skawinski purchased a share in the estate and became its manager. Léoville Las Cases has now been managed by the same family since the late 19th century and is today represented by Jean-Hubert Delon, sole owner of the Château and proprietor of Château Potensacin the Medoc and Château Nénin in Pomerol.

AN EXCEPTIONAL, UNIQUE TERROIR

The Clos encases a terroir of very great complexity. It is mainly composed of Quaternary gravel ("graves")over gravelly sand and gravelly clay subsoils. We also find clays which are variably deep and compact, but which sometimes break through to the surface.The proximity of the Gironde River has created the wide diversity of soils,formed over various geological periods by successive superimpositions.

The river also creates a special micro climate that enables very early ripening of the grapes and protects the vineyards from frost. This cameo of geological combinations influences the growth of the vine and the composition of the grapes: regular but restricted water supply and a very low intake of nutrients bring out the best in the great Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet Francs which usually achieve their full potential whatever the vintage. The incomparable terroir gives this great wine its unique personality.

The Grand Vin is the product of exceptional terroirs from the former Léoville estate.
These terroirs are located mainly in the Clos Léoville Las Cases, which you pass as you leave Saint- Julien village for Pauillac. They extend over nearly 60ha producing Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet Francs with a complex, polished expression and characteristics which are totally unique to the Grand Vin of Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases and have been widely recognized for years.

Rating

Wine Advocate 98+ pts

The 2017 Léoville Las Cases is deep garnet-purple in color, and the nose bursts with beautiful blackcurrant cordial, blackberry pie and blueberry preserve notes followed by hints of lilacs, dark chocolate, cedar chest, sassafras and licorice with emerging wafts of oolong tea, lavender and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is an exercise in elegance and soft-spoken nuances within a mouth-coating palate of almost electric black and blue fruits, framed by very firm, exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing epically long and wonderfully perfumed. Largely spared by the frost thanks to its Gironde riverbank location, with extremely strict grape selection. It outscored all five First Growths of the vintage.

James Suckling 98 pts

The purity here is really something. Blackberries and blackcurrants with sandalwood, mint and other classic herbs. Full-bodied and dense with ultra-fine tannins. Silky in all ways. Goes on for a long, long time. A blend of 79% cabernet sauvignon, 11% cabernet franc and 10% merlot. Joyous and serious wine for the vintage. Comparable to 2014 and 2015.

Vinous 97+ pts

The 2017 Léoville Las Cases captures all the best the vintage has to offer. Remarkably elegant and polished for this typically powerful Saint-Julien. Persistence more than power is the key element that distinguishes the 2017 from most other vintages. Classic Las Cases black fruit, graphite, violet and cedar flavors are all present, wrapped in silky tannins and vibrant, lively acidity. Silky, nuanced and exceptionally refined. In a word: sublime. It will evolve slowly over decades.

Wine Spectator 96 pts

A very focused, very pure rendition, laden with cassis, plum reduction and boysenberry puree fruit that is mostly waiting in reserve. A cold cast iron edge imparts a sense of restraint, while smoldering tobacco, charcoal and alder notes are deeply buried on the finish. The opposite of flamboyant, with cool graphite mineral backbone anchoring every layer. Firm, grippy tannins wrap the fruit tightly. 

Wine Enthusiast 96 pts

The watchword for this wine is style. Tannins underline the fruit. This rich structure, while not losing the swaths of berry flavors and crisp black currants, presents perfect balance between the ripeness and freshness of the vintage. Dark spice, slate and cigar box linger on the finish.

$2150/支