Chateau Leoville Las Cases 2019

WEINWISSER: "79 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 10 % Cabernet Franc, 11 % Merlot, 14,05 %-vol.. Tiefes Purpur mit satter Mitte und lila Rand. Ein konzentriertes Parfüm nach Wildkirschen, Sandelholz und tiefgründiger Terroirwürze. Im zweiten Ansatz zarter Veilchenduft, Wacholder und Pflaumen. Am komplexen Gaumen sehr präzise, man spürt die Tiefe und Länge, trotzdem behält die Finesse ganz klar die Führung, super seidige Textur, das Ganze umrahmt von einer magischen Rasse, Anklänge an Bleistiftmine. Im nicht enden wollenden Finale wie ein Pfeil lang und elegant, eindrücklich mit einem gewaltigen Potenzial, das DNA von Las Cases. Eine grandiose Meisterleistung, Gänsehaut! Der Wein des Jahrgangs?"

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Feines Edelholz, ein Hauch von Nougat, schwarze Beeren unterlegt, etwas Kardamom, dunkle Kirschen, ein Hauch von kandierten Orangen. Kraftvoll, straff, engmaschig, frischer Säurebogen, würzige, tragende Tannine, ein Hauch von Schokolade im Abgang, überzeugende Balance, mineralisch und sehr lange anhaftend, Herzkirschen im Nachhall, ein Vin de Garde, kann mit einigen Stunden in der Karaffe auch bereits jung probiert werden, enormes Zukunftspotenzial."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "Made from 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Leoville Las Cases is deep garnet-purple in color. It bursts from the glass with seductive scents of black cherry compote, creme de cassis, violets, and dark chocolate, leading to wafts of cedar and star anise. The full-bodied palate has amazingly fine tannins and great tension supporting the mineral-accented black fruits, finishing very long."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2019 Léoville Las Cases is a brilliant young wine that will delight Bordeaux purists. Unwinding in the glass with scents of cassis, dark berries, cigar wrapper and pencil shavings, it’s full-bodied, layered and tightly wound, with a deep core of fruit, lively acids and an abundance of rich, powdery tannins. Concentrated and serious, much like its immediate neighbor Château Latour, it is likely to emerge as one of the vintage’s longest lived—and greatest—wines."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Currants and blackberries with crushed stones, bark and some conifer and pine cone. Perfumed. Discreet. Medium-to full-bodied with an integrated tannin structure that’s full of fine tannins that are weightless and seamless, building on the palate and coming out at the end. Needs five or six years to open. Texture of heavy silk. 79% cabernet sauvignon, 11% merlot and 10% cabernet franc. Try after 2027."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "The new version of classic modern is on display here. While the 2019 lacks the power of the 2018, instead you find one of the few great vintages of Leoville Las Cases that you can enjoy relatively early, which is early for LLC. The wine shows good color with a nose of currants, blackberry, spearmint, tobacco leaf, cigar box, flowers, cedar chest, and espresso. Here you find intensity, ripe, regal, creamy tannins, complexity, and refined textures with length and purity. Give this at least 12 years before popping a cork. The wine is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2028-2060."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Remarkably sleek and pure, considering the generally burly and obvious tannic profile of the vintage. Delivers a pure and unadulterated beam of cassis and plum reduction flavors inlaid seamlessly with a glistening iron girder that seems to have no end point through the finish, where violet, anise and black tea notes shimmer. Reserved overall, with a beautiful austerity, this is an example of how great terroir always shines through—even in extreme years. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2030 through 2050."

JEB DUNNUCK: "More backward, deep, and layered, the Grand Vin 2019 Château Léoville Las Cases is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc that saw 90% new French oak. Just awesome aromatics of pure crème de cassis, graphite, tobacco leaf, burning embers, and gravelly earth all soar from the glass. This is followed by a quintessential Léoville Las Cases that's medium to full-bodied, pure, concentrated, and regal on the palate, with beautiful tannins. The purity of fruit is spot on, it's flawlessly balanced, and it’s going to age for decades. While it offers pleasure today, I'd wager it will take 10-15 years to hit maturity and will be a 50+ year wine."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Dark crimson. Restrained nose. Juicy, yet not too sweet. Lots of detail and length. Fruit almost masks the massive, ripe tannins. Really lifted and savoury. Masses going on here. Vibrant and almost painful acidity. Lots of tannin on the end. Luscious fruit and very dramatic. Thick and emphatic."

DECANTER: "This vintage shows great precision at four years of age, though still very young and precocious. Deep mineral tones leap from the glass, the crushed slate, smoke and bright blue fruits accented by a savoury note of garrigue and lavender. Lovely elegance on the palate as black and red berry fruits are met with an earth-driven minerality. Umami notes of dried morel mushrooms, a touch of soy and chicory lead to wisps of pencil lead. While a joy to taste so young, this wine has a long life ahead."