2025 Château Léoville Las Cases, St-Julien

The 2025 Léoville Las Cases is the earliest harvest since 1989, starting on September 5 until September 20. Yields are 23 hl/ha, with a soft extraction using air pumps introduced in 2019, and it was matured in 80% new oak. It is the third vintage made in the new, impressive facility. This has another intense nose, quite flamboyant for Las Cases due to the warmth of the summer, with hints of pencil shavings and cigar box coming through with time. The palate is medium-bodied but very concentrated. Real depth and density here, very primal, with an intense, multi-layered finish that coats the mouth. Not a subtle Las Cases, nor should it be, though I aver that it will oblige long-term ageing.

Deep, violet-hued in the glass, this barrel sample opens with remarkably expressive aromatics of cool blue fruit and ripe cassis, layered with hints of hawthorn and integrated oak spice, signaling this estate's pedigree. The attack is immediate, initially juicy with mid-palate fruit that swiftly yields to a formidable structure. The tannins are powerful (IPT 82), dense and commanding, their presence further accentuated by a relatively low pH of 3.56. At this stage, the balance clearly favors Pauillac styled power over St Julien charm, with the fruit somewhat restrained by the sheer scale of the tannic frame. The Cabernet Sauvignon dominant blend combined with low yields of 23 hl/ha due to the tiny grapes harvested underscores the wine’s concentration and depth. Élevage is expected to extend up to 22 months in 80% new oak, a choice that should help absorb and refine the structure. A distinct mineral, saline edge emerges on the finish, though presently dominated by the tannic grip. This is the first vintage produced in the estate’s new six-story cellar, equipped with 120 fermentation tanks in oak and stainless steel (up from 40), enabling highly precise parcel-by-parcel and intra-parcel vinification. The addition of a vinothèque reflects the estate's long-term vision. Under the direction of Arnaud Delon, marking his first vintage alongside his father, Jean-Hubert Delon, the technical precision is evident in the glass. A wine of impressive scale and clear potential, though one that will require patience to fully harmonize. (PK)

One of the most serious, brooding wines of the vintage is the 2025 Léoville Las Cases, a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 6% Merlot. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of dark berries, plums, pencil shavings and creamy new oak, it's medium- to full-bodied, deep and dense, with prodigious reserves of sweet but assertive tannin, lively acids and a long, muscular finish. This will require patience.

The 2025 Léoville Las Cases is powerful, tightly wound and very shut down—a throwback to a more muscular, classically austere style. It offers tremendous persistence and sheer power, but is hard to read in the early going. A wine for readers who have actuarial tables on their side.