Tasted April 2022. St-Julien performed very well in 2021 and none more so than Léoville-Las-Cases. This wine has a pure, ripe core of brambly, black fruit and the tannins are very fine and ripe too. The acidity is very bright and refreshing and there's a lovely juiciness to the fruit. The finish is long and has a cooling herbal quality.
The 2021 Léoville Las Cases is beautifully defined on the nose: blackberry, raspberry, still that subtle marine element, a hint of Japanese wakame and shucked oyster shells. The oak (85% new) is very well integrated, though it needs some time to be completely subsumed. The palate has exquisite balance—very poised and pure. It is not a heavyweight or powerful Las-Cases, yet there is convincing tension and a judicious dab of spice toward the finish that fans out and lingers. It will require several years in bottle, but it will be worth waiting for. This has the substance to age with style.
The 2021 Léoville Las-Cases is a wine of elegance and restraint. Yes, I am writing that about a young Las-Cases. Perhaps it is the higher level of Cabernet Franc in this year's blend that adds aromatic presence and gives the wine its refined character. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, mint, spice and rose petal linger on the delicate, understated finish.
The 2021 Léoville Las Cases has turned out beautifully in bottle and clearly numbers among the very finest wines of the vintage. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of dark berries and cassis mingled with notions of cigar wrapper, violets and pencil shavings, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated with a deep and multidimensional core of fruit framed by beautifully refined tannins and girdled by lively acids, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. Serious and structured without being austere, it's a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc and a mere 5% Merlot.
Maturity Ready 2012 - 2030
Prices shown in bond
Maturity Ready 2013 - 2025
Maturity Ready 1996 - 2030
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