2018 Chateau Leoville Las Cases - St. Julien 2eme Cru Classe

*2018 is another vintage where it´s pretty much impossible to find fault with Las Cases, and where you get a kick of happiness from tasting it. Owner Jean-Hubert Delon compares the 2016 to the 1961 and the 2018 to the 1959 - let´s all check back in a few decades to see if that´s true! But where the 2016 was monumental, this has a subtlety that´s rarely seen in such a young LLC. It´s not that you´d call this approachable but you rarely see this level of plush density to the fruit at this stage. There´s a civilised quality to the structure that makes you think, just maybe, the 2018 will be at optimum drinking before the 2016. You´re still getting the complex cigar box and cassis aromatics, with deep, rippling black fruits on the palate accompanied by a cassis and liquorice whoosh and the layering up of dense but fine tannins. It demonstrates precise balance and an exceptionally long finish. All in all, this is a standout St-Julien. This year sees the lowest percentage of press wine ever used at this estate,
coming in at under 3% (it´s normally double this), because the wine already had so much structure that the normal level of press wine threw it out of balance. I´m pretty sure that I´ve never given a drinking window this early for LLC at En Primeur, which says something. 90% new oak. 80IPT. 3.65pH. Yield of 35.5hl/ha.* (98/100)

Falstaff Magazin – 100 pts - PM: *Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Zarte Edelholzwürze, feines schwarzes Waldbeerkonfit, ein Hauch von Lakritze und Brombeeren, facettenreiches Bukett. Kraftvoll, extraktsüße, reife Supertannine, mineralisch und sehr lange anhaftend, tolle Frische, reife schwarze Kirschen, wird längere Zeit auf der Flasche brauchen, Riesenpotenzial, ein Wein de Garde.* - 05/2019
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Falstaff Magazin Juni 2019 – 100 pts: *Der Deuxiéme Grand Cru mit der Qualität eines Erstgewäches.*

*>We produced great Cabernet Franc this year,< Directeur Général Pierre Graffeuille told me during my visit to Léoville Las Cases. Even though only 3% of the press wine was added back, he was also absolutely glowing about the quality of this too. And he should be—the finished blend for the 2018 Léoville Las Cases is yet another triumph for this great estate. Composed of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc and 9% Merlot, harvested September 15 to October 4 with yields of 35.5 hectoliters per hectare, it has 14.49% alcohol and will be aged in barriques, 90% new. Very deep purple-black in color, it is a little closed to begin, slowly emerging from the glass to reveal subtle woodsmoke, violets, tilled soil and underbrush scents over a core of warm cassis, wild blueberries and redcurrant jelly plus hints of rare beef and iron ore. Full-bodied, rich, super concentrated and bursting with latent energy, this is an atomic bomb waiting to go off in your mouth. It has a rock-solid foundation of firm, very ripe,
very finely grained tannins and bold freshness supporting the muscular fruit through the epically long, amazingly nuanced finish. Simply breathtaking.* (98-100/100)

Vinum Magazin – 18/20pts: *Majestätische Tanninstruktur, ungewohnt fruchtiger Ausklang, begleitet vom schwelenden, aber perfekt abgestimmten Feuer; gelungener Balanceakt zwischen Jahrgang und Typizität.* - 06/2019

*This is backward and dense, with thickly layered plum, blackberry, fig and blueberry reduction flavors wrapped liberally in warm ganache and melted licorice notes. A long echo of smoldering charcoal emerges at the very end. There´s a lot to resolve here as the rich and austere sides are still melding, but the extra amplitude doesn´t distort anything; it just all goes to 11.—J.M.* (97-100/100)

JancisRobinson.com – 18/20pts – JR: *Tasted blind. First bottle TCA. Bright, dense crimson. Rather enticingly enigmatic on the nose. Then rich and ripe and expansive on the palate. Lovely balance and restraint. Really builds towards the end. Very fine tannins.* - 01/2022

*A solid and statuesque Latour with an extremely dense yet refined center palate of steely tannins and lots of blue fruit and an undertone of graphite. Some slate, too. It’s tight and very powerful. Reminds me of the texture of the 1959 (which I didn’t taste in barrel!) But the density here is so, so long. Steely.* (99-100)
JamesSuckling.com - 99pts - JS: *An elegant, complex nose of blackberries, blueberries and herbal and spice notes with dark-chocolate and earthy undertones. Violets, flowers and graphite, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, layered tannins and a crushed-stone undertone throughout the fresh, velvety and layered palate. Very complex, muscular and formed. The finish is endless. Lowest percentage of press wine ever in this. So deep. Try after 2027.* - 01.2021

Vinous.com – 97 pts – AG: *The 2018 Léoville Las Cases is a very sensual wine. Silky and nuanced, the 2018 exudes extraordinary finesse from start to finish. The 2018 is a bit closed in on itself at first, but then again, that is Las Cases. At the same time, the tannins are nowhere as brooding as they once were. Inky dark fruit, crème de cassis, mocha and a whole range of savory Cabernet nuances run through a dense, packed Las Cases that is all class. The 2018 is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 9% Merlot and that spent 21 months in oak, 90% new. One of the recent developments at Las Cases has been a decease in the use of press wine, about 2.7% for the 2018 versus the average of 5-10% and the 15% or so that was the norm in the 1980s. I imagine that, plus the ripeness that is common these days, goes a long way towards explaining the seductive quality of many recent vintages. This is a fabulous effort from proprietor Jean-Hubert Delon and his team.* - 03/2021

*It is the tannins that mark out this powerful wine, presenting a fine balancing act between a firm structure and rich dark fruit flavors. It is the epitome of elegant Saint-Julien, with a welcome mix of weight and freshness.* (96-98/100)

Vinous.com – 96 pts – NM: *The 2018 Léoville–Las Cases, which was picked at 35.5hl/ha and matured in 90% new oak, still shows the exuberant floral bouquet that I remarked upon from barrel, featuring violets and (less so) lavender scents that complement the multilayered black fruit. On initial pouring, after a 60 minute decant, it blossoms and evolves greater delineation and poise. The palate is beautifully balanced with silky-smooth tannins that frame the plush, quite heady mixture of red and black fruit. Initially robust, over the ensuing hours it mellows nicely, though it retains the backbone and symmetry you expect from this redoubtable Saint-Julien. An exquisite wine that will age effortlessly over 25–40 years.* - 03/2021