Château Leoville Las Cases 2021
IN BOND
Delivery 2024
Appellation - St Julien
Owner - Jean-Hubert Delon and Geneviève d'Alton
80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc
Second wines – Le Petit Lion, La Petite Marquise
Annual production – 400,000 bottles
TASTING NOTES
"The 2021 Léoville Las Cases was picked from 28 September until 8 October and includes just 5% Merlot from the northern sectors of the vineyard due to coulure. They found that increased percentages of Merlot did not contribute to the blend. Matured in 85% new oak, it has an intense nose with black fruit, graphite and light iris flower aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, quite a potent marine influence at play, almost briny (perhaps accentuated by the changeable weather on the day of my visit). Very impressive in terms of depth and backbone/grip with iodine and oyster shells towards the finish, this is a cerebral Las-Cases that will demand patience. Then again, name me a vintage of Las-Cases that doesn't! Alcohol here is at 13.20%."
94/96
Neal Martin, vinous.com, May 2022
"One of the wines of the vintage, the 2021 Léoville Las Cases is reminiscent of a hypothetical blend of the 1999 and 1996—only better. Offering up incipiently complex aromas of cassis, plums and dark berries mingled with loamy soil, cigar wrapper and exotic spices, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with superb amplitude and concentration, velvety tannins, lively acids and a long, penetrating finish. Uniting classicism and charm, it exemplifies how a great terroir, exigent agronomy and meticulous winemaking can deliver greatness even in a less propitious vintage. It's a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc and a mere 5% Merlot this year, checking in at 13.2% alcohol."
95/97
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (260), April 2022
"The 2021 Leoville Las Cases is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Merlot, harvested from 28 September to 8 October, and to be aged in 85% new oak. Deep purple-black colored, it opens with profound notes of ripe, juicy blackcurrants, black cherries, and plum preserves, leading to hints of lilacs, cedar chest, dusty soil, and graphite, plus a hint of cumin seed. Light to medium-bodied, the palate delivers a quiet intensity of earth-laced black fruits with very fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and minerally. pH 3.71, IPT 77."
2026-2046
91/93+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, May 2022
