Chateau Leoville Las Cases 2007

JAMES SUCKLING: "Complex aromas of currants, mushrooms and forest flowers. Some leaves. Medium to full body and firm, silky tannins with berry, light vanilla and cedar. Blackcurrants. Cigar box. Just opening. So delicious and drinkable now."

DECANTER: "A deeper register of fruit than many of the 2007s on display, this is one where you would never pick the vintage blind. Here we get wet stones sliding up against slate and liquorice, dark bristling cassis and bramble fruit. There is just so much hold and confidence, and yet juiciness. No need to open this one yet."

WEINWISSER: "Tiefes, sattes Granat mit violettem Schimmer. Erstaunlich dunkelbeeriges Bouquet, Holunder und Brombeeren, füllige Süsse im Untergrund, Vanille, Palisander, dunkles Karamell. Im Gaumen mit Weincharme, weiche, cremige Hülle wie bei keinem anderen Médoc-Grand-Cru, nachhaltiges Finale, wiederum schwarzbeerig mit Lakritze, Holunder und Black Currant. Einer der besten Weine vom linken Ufer, wie schon in den letzten Jahrgängen, nahe bei 19/20 Punkten, kann sie in der Genussreife erreichen. Propriétaire Jean Hubert Delon: «Für mich ist der 2007er ein Cousin des 1996ers, die Klasse des Weins liefern die Cabernet Sauvignons, die alle zwischen 13 und 13,3 Volumenprozent lagen, und grosse Las-Cases-Jahrgänge werden immer von der Qualität der Cabernets getragen.»"

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2007 Léoville-Las Cases is beautiful. Offering a youthful, tight style at first, it opens up nicely with time in the glass and gives up classic notes of crème de cassis, cedar pencil, graphite, and tobacco. With a medium to full-bodied, elegant, concentrated style and the sweet tannin of the vintage, it’s approachable today but will keep for another 15+ years. It’s a terrific wine in the vintage."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "For the year, this is a big wine, a success. New wood flavors and tannins blend well with the weight of fruit, depth of flavor and concentration. The wine has freshness to give with the structure, solid and intense. Certainly for aging—five years and more."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Tasted at BI Wine & Spirits' 10-Years-On tasting, I tasted two bottles of the 2007 Leoville-Las Cases since the first bottle was not faulty, but did not feel right to me. I requested a second bottle, and it was completely different. The 2007 has a very backward bouquet with blackberry, bilberry, tobacco and marine-like aromas that blossom in the glass given adequate aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin, layers of blackberry and boysenberry fruit, sea salt, black pepper and plenty of tobacco towards the long and sustained finish. I would be inclined to give this a year or two in bottle, unlike most of the other Saint Julien wines this vintage, because there is a class act here. Tasted February 2017."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe. In der Nase feine dunkle Beerenfrucht, zarte Gewürzanklänge, feine Nuancen von Kardamom, Nelken, etwas Nougat. Am Gaumen saftige Kirschenfrucht, sehr gut integrierte Tannine, harmonisch, zarte Extraktsüße klingt an, Anklänge von Zwetschken und Kirschen, dezente Mandarinennote im Nachhall, mittleres Potenzial. Ein eleganter Wein mit viel Charme."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "The blackberries are ripe. There is some weight and richness, though there is a lack of complexity as most of what you find is sweet blackberries. The wine is a bit short in the fruity finish, which is accompanied by a distinctive green olive, herb, and leafy streak. For such a difficult vintage, this is a very strong effort."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Offers mineral and berry aromas, with hints of dried fruits. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a long finish. Racy and refined. Very beautiful and polished. Best after 2012."