Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1994

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Michel Delon, a great man, is the consummate proprietor, meticulously administering this vast estate spread out along the St.-Julien/Pauillac border, separated from Latour's finest vineyard by a mere ten feet. The 1993-95 vintages from Delon are brilliant wines. Leoville-Las-Cases remains one of the irrefutable reference points for high class Bordeaux. One of the more massive Medocs of the vintage, this opaque purple-colored wine exhibits fabulous richness and volume in the mouth. Layers of pure black-cherry and cassis fruit are intermixed with stony, mineral-like scents, as well as high quality toasty oak. Medium to full-bodied, with a sweet, rich entry, this wine possesses plenty of tannin, yet fabulous extract and length. Leoville-Las-Cases is one of the half-dozen great wines of the Medoc in 1994. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2025. This lion never falls asleep on the job!"

WEINWISSER: "Tiefes, sattes Weinrot, dicht in der Mitte. Noch verhaltenes Bouquet, Gebäcknote von den Barriques, abklingende Fruchtphase. Im Gaumen etwas rauhe Noten, zum Teil kernige Tannine, an sich recht eindrucksvoller Körper, Muskeln und Fleisch zeigend, als Las-Cases aus einem sonst recht grossen St-Julien-Jahr etwas zu rauh und burschikos. Zwei Stunden dekantieren."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Firm, or perhaps austere is a better term for its character, there is fruit, but the wine is better on the nose, with its tobacco, earth, cedar, cassis, herbs and blackberry scents, than on the palate with its drying tannins. This is very classic in style and will appeal more to tasters convinced that Robert Parker ruined the Bordeaux of their youth. Drink now, or age it further, but you should not expect this to get better with more age."