Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1995

JAMES SUCKLING: "I love the aromas here with forest flowers, wild mushrooms and tobacco, as well as currants. Full and very layered with creamy tannins that caress your palate. So long and enticing. Such a gorgeous Bordeaux that is just starting to show its real self. Love it. Drink or hold."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Showing much better than expected, with time, the wine has fleshed out and softened with layers of ripe, juicy, black, and dark red fruits, spice, cigar wrapper, and black cherries. The wine is full-bodied, deep, long, chewy, and powerful, with layers of dark red fruits and ripe tannins in the dense finish. Drink from 2023-2050."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 1995 Léoville Las Cases is a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc. Medium garnet colored with a touch of brick, it needs a fair bit of swirling to unlock the intense notes of baked plums, dried mulberries and boysenberry preserves with hints of black truffles, Chinese five spice, unsmoked cigars and dusty soil, plus wafts of beef drippings and cast-iron pan. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers good weight and generous fruit, supported by plush tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with loads of earth, sautéed herbs and mineral-inspired flavors."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Pure violets, minerals and blackberries on the nose. Full-bodied, chewy and powerful. Still holding back a lot. This wine needs to break its chains. Give it time.--´95/´96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2010. 18,000 cases made."

WEINWISSER: "Tiefes, sattes Purpur, lila Rand. Traumhaft süsses Bouquet, Cassis und reife Kirschen, leicht laktisch im Ansatz, dahinter Karamell und Butter, gebündelt und kraftvoll, herrlicher Fruchtdruck in der Nase. Im Gaumen viel Stoff, tolles Spiel zwischen roten und blauen Beeren, wunderschöne Süsse in den noch festen und recht griffigen Tanninen. Ein grosser Wein, der im Innern zu einer gewissen Rustikalität neigt; kann noch zulegen."

JEB DUNNUCK: "Showing beautifully today, the 1995 Château Léoville Las Cases is a blend of 67% Cabernet, 26% Merlot, and 7% Cabernet Franc (a normal blend for that period) and hit 12.95% alcohol. Coming from a vintage featuring a cool, rainy spring followed by a sunny, mild growing season, it has a more upfront, fruit-driven style that still offers lots of classic Las Cases minerality in its red and black currant fruits as well as notes of cedary herbs, graphite, wood smoke, and forest floor nuances. With medium to full-bodied richness, a round, supple, mouth-filling texture, velvety, almost resolved tannins, and a beautiful finish, it's ideal for enjoying any time over the coming two decades."

DECANTER: "A dry, although not excessively hot, summer meant there were some blockages in the vines, and there are clear exotic notes through the palate, with the wine showing cinnamon, saffron and dried fruit. This is one of the sweet spots of Las Cases, as it hits the balance between power, tannin, black tea and bilberries, still showcasing the Pauillac side of St-Julien with a freshness and sappiness even at 26 years old. A brilliant example of how well this estate can age - and also how a touch of exoticism can soften its famous austerity. A real tickling of spice on the finish, a little dry as all older Bordeaux can be, but it is full of hidden pleasures if you just let it uncurl in the glass. Jean-Hubert Delon was here alongside his father at the time, taking over alone from 1996."

FALSTAFF: "Kräftiges Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dezente Randaufhellung. Pflaumige Frucht, zart Gewürzanklänge, ein Hauch von Nougat, Kirschen im Hintergrund. Kraftvoll, saftig, etwas weiche Konturen, bereits entwickelt, etwas trocken im Finish, sollte bald konsumiert werden. Da bleibt zu hoffen, dass diese Flasche nicht repräsentativ war, dieser Wein gab in der Jugend Anlass zu schönsten Hoffnungen."