2010 Chateau Leoville Las Cases - St. Julien 2eme Cru Classe

Decanter.com – 100 pts – JA: *Layered, textured, deep, cigar box, cassis and earth, managing to simultaneously stretch out, and burrow down. The edges open slowly but surely and seductively. Still inky in colour, this has all the powerful texture and tannic architecture that you expect from Leoville, and unlike the 2009 at its ten year point it is still keeping plenty of secrets close to its chest. But you are going to want to be around when it fully opens.* - 01/2020

Falstaff Magazin - 96pts - PM: *Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe. In der Nase mit einem Hauch von Eukalyptus unterlegte schwarze Beerenfrucht, zart nach Cassis, erinnert fast an die besten New-World-Rotweine, ein Hauch von Minze zeigt eine Nähe zu Pauillac an. Komplex, saftig, finessenreich strukturiert, reife Kirschen und Weichseln, seidige Tannine, zarter Schokotouch, sehr gut anhaftend, ein Wein mit Rasse und ­Länge, mineralischer Nachhall.* -03/2015

NM (01/14): *Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. The Léoville Las-Cases 2010 has a very
elegant bouquet with earthy, tobacco infused black fruit, fine delineation and well-integrated oak. It is tight
at first, but opens nicely in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip on the entry. Very
fine tannins, very elegant and harmonious with beautifully judged acidity leading to a classic finish that is
totally seductive. Glorious. (97/100)*
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NM (11/12): *Tasted at the chateau. The aromatics on the Leoville Las-Cases 2010 stop you in your tracks:
blackberry married with dark plum, Mirabelle, crushed stone and a scent of Christmas cake in the
background. It is incredibly well defined and develops subtle floral notes with aeration. The palate is
medium-bodied – an immediately elegant, classic Las Cases. It is certainly not the powerhouse that is
the 2009, but focused, linear...perhaps athletic and honed. It has outstanding minerality and finesse on
the finish to die for. This is an exceptional wine from Jean-Hubert Delon. Tasted November 2012. (98/100)*
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RP (04/11): *The 2010 is a quintessentially elegant, classic wine of Bordeaux – firm, rigid, perhaps slightly lighter
than most of the other St.-Juliens, but stylish, potentially complex, and reminiscent of the style of the 1986,
but more concentrated and powerful. It is a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 8%
Cabernet Franc with a normal pH of 3.56. It was raised in 75% new oak and the alcohol came to 13.7%.
This wine displays loads of black currants, cedar wood and vanillin, but needs a good 7-8 years of cellaring,
if not much longer. It should last for 30+ years. (96+/100)*

Vinum Magazin – 19/20pts: *Der Negativpunkt zuerst: diese Flasche steht heute bereits mit 300 Euro zu Buche und wird garantiert nicht billiger. Doch im Glas versteckt sich auch der beste Las Cases, den wir je verkostet haben, ein Charaktertier von grösster Rasse und Dichte, Länge und Tiefe, endlosem Reifepotential. Wer davon eingekellert hat, sitzt auf einem Schatz, den er wie seinen Augapfel hüten sollte!* - 03/2013

WeinWisser – 19/20pts: *82 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 10 % Merlot, 8 % Cabernet Franc, Ertrag: 36 hl/ha. Extrem dunkles Purpur mit lila und violetten Reflexen. Berauschende Frucht, dezent dropsiger Beginn, dann viel schwarze Kirschen und Edelhölzer zeigend. Eine unglaubliche Souplesse bei massiven Tanninen, stoffiger, veloursartiger Gaumenfluss, sehr homogen, erinnert im Stil an den 2006er.*

*Stunning and pure from the get-go, with intense cassis and blackberry fruit. Ultimately takes a slightly
austere approach, with a wrought-iron structure driving along while pastis, black tea, licorice snap and
asphalt notes course underneath. Long and loaded with grip, this remains remarkably fine-grained. A
very chiseled Cabernet that is wonderfully precise and incredibly long. (99/100)*

JamesSuckling.com - 95pts - JS: *Wow. Very intense and aromatic nose with crushed currants and blueberries with hints of nuts and dried flowers. Full body, with very refined tannins and a lovely undercurrent of fruit. Balanced and juicy. Better in 2018.* -02/2013

Vinous.com - 95+ pts - ST: *Bright ruby-red. Vibrant nose combines black and blue fruits, lead pencil and crushed-stone minerality, with a note of kirsch emerging with air. Utterly silky in texture yet extremely backward, with a medicinal quality keeping the penetrating dark berry flavors under wraps today. But with a powerful impression of tangy energy, a superb spine of saline minerality, and an extremely long, lively, firmly tannic finish, this classic Las Cases should be a knockout with 12 or 15 years in the bottle.* -07/2013

Vinous.com – 96 pts – NM: *The 2010 Léoville Las Cases has a clean and precise bouquet, beautifully focused with blackberry, melted tar, cigar humidor and crushed stone aromas. It gains intensity with aeration without ever losing its precision. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins, a fine bead of acidity, a sense of abiding symmetry and detail as it fans out on the mineral-driven finish. This is an absolutely awesome Saint-Julien with a long life ahead. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.* - 04/2020