Bordeaux Collector Wines

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Needs coaxing out of the glass, as is true with so many 2005s even at 16 years old, but straight off the first nose you get the most beautiful nuance and turmeric-strewn spice. It’s exotic if subtle, with a creamy texture, grilled oak, black chocolate shavings, cassis and raspberry, all with the most beautiful sense of tiptoing through the palate, holding the line. Exceptionally well balanced, slate and smoked earth, giving signature St Julien finesse. You have really had to be patient for this wine, but it is utterly spellbinding, and starting to show its potential. Harvest September 20 to October 10. This one really does benefit from being carafed, because it keeps so much of itself hidden (I tasted it once in a carafe and once straight from the bottle). Brilliant, full of flavour. Harvest September 20 to October 11, 35% new oak.Jane Anson | 98 JAThis tastes of great Cabernet Sauvignon, with its black currant, cedar and herbs and fresh, juicy acidity. It is as fresh as it is rich, but it has a structure of dense tannins that balances the wine. This is one of the best wines from Gruaud-Larose for several years.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEAromas of blackberry, meat and earth follow through to a full body, with velvety tannins and a rich finish. Decadent, balanced and very approachable already. I thought it would have been a little better than this. Best after 2014.Wine Spectator | 91 WSLicorice spice and tough black tannins form tight boundaries around this wine. Within them, sweet red fruit lends a gracious impression, gentle and refined. Age will allow the wine to expand as the tannins relent, but this offers impressive drinking now, particularly if decanted with steak.Wine & Spirits | 91 W&SGood red-ruby. Redcurrant, leather and game on the expressive if slightly rustic nose. Sweet and concentrated but a bit youthfully aggressive, and not showing the refinement or definition of the 2006. Strong nutty oak component. Finishes with substantial tannins that are a bit richer and more fully buffered by the wine’s middle-palate material than those of the 2006. It will be interesting to compare these two vintages in ten years or so.Vinous Media | 90 VMThe 2005 Gruaud Larose has a deep ruby/purple color, excellent concentration, and clean, pure black and red currant fruit, licorice and spice. It is medium to full-bodied, lush, and very soft and round. I’m surprised how drinkable it is already, although it is certainly capable of lasting 15 or more years.Robert Parker | 90 RP

A very strong effort for Gruaud Larose, possibly eclipsed by what they have done in 2009, this is a pure, full-bodied Gruaud Larose with plenty of new saddle leather, cedar wood, black currants, cherries, licorice, and Provencal herbs. Spicy, earthy, full-bodied, and rich, it has hit its plateau of full maturity, where it should stay for another 20 or more years.Robert Parker | 94 RPNo written review provided. | 94 W&SThere’s nice richness here, with velvety-textured blackberry, fig and boysenberry confiture flavors rolling through, edged by a graphite note that slowly takes over on the finish. This has serious spine, with tar and ganache echoes hanging in the background, boding well for continued development.—Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2023. 18,750 cases made. Wine Spectator | 93 WSFully mature (yet I’d say in the early stages of its drink window), the 2000 Château Gruaud Larose offers a ripe, powerful, medium to full-bodied style as well as lots of currant and darker fruits followed by cedarwood, tobacco, iron, and assorted meaty, spicy nuances. It’s a rich, almost chunky effort with a great mid-palate, still present yet ripe tannins, and a great finish. It lacks some of the purity and precision of today’s wines yet is a satisfying, rich, impressively textured Saint-Julien to drink over the coming 15-20 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 92 JDThe 2000 Gruaud Larose is a vintage that I have not tasted for some 10 years. It has a somehow sedate bouquet of dark red berry fruit, cola and tobacco scents, ever so slightly smudged with age. The mellow, soy-tinged palate is medium-bodied with soft tannins and fine acidity but maybe just a little sauvage on the ferrous, slightly bretty finish. I feel this had more pep several years ago.Vinous Media | 91 VM

Still stubbornly backward, yet beginning to budge from its pre-adolescent stage, this dense, murky ruby/purple-colored wine offers up notes of graphite, sweet caramel, black cherry jam, cassis, and minerals. The nose takes some coaxing, and the decanting of 2-4 hours prior to service is highly recommended. For such a low acid wine, it is huge, well-delineated, extremely concentrated, and surprisingly fresh. Perhaps because I lean more toward the hedonistic view of wine than the late Michel Delon, I have always preferred this to the 1986, but the truth is that any lover of classic Medoc should have both vintages in their cellar. This wine has monstrous levels of glycerin, extract, and density, but still seems very youthful, and tastes more like a 7 to 8-year-old Bordeaux than one that is past its twentieth birthday. A monumental effort. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2035. Last tasted, 9/02.Robert Parker | 100 RPTasted at the domaine, the 1982 Leoville Las Cases is just about pure perfection, and while certainly mature, it has plenty of life ahead of it. Thrilling notes of blackcurrants, kirsch, tobacco leaf, cedar box, menthol, and exotic spices all emerge from this seamless, powerful yet magically elegant Leoville Las Cases. Opening up in the glass, with a smoky, singular character, it’s an incredible wine from this terroir that has an almost Latour-like regal quality. It should continue drinking well for another 10-15 years and I’m sure will keep even longer.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDIt’s impossible, I know, to believe that a St-Julien might not be perfectly ready to drink at this ripe old age, but here we are, face to face with the conundrum that is Léoville Las Cases. You’ll be happy to hear I had the 1981 Léoville recently and it was actually open, soft and ready to go. This 1982 is still a little stubborn on first opening, but gets better and better in the glass, with sweet brambly ripe fruits, and rippling tannins that are almost honeyed at this stage. Classic, dense, mineral minty touches on the finish, great persistency and a way still ahead of it. Michel Delon, father of today’s owner, was in charge at this point (and until 2000) and the cellar master Bruno Rolland remembers that they were working in shorts at night in the vat house because even after harvest the temperature was not dropping below 20 degrees at night. They were the first estate in St Julien to start harvesting in 1982 by the way, on September 13. Petit Verdot 5% finishes the blend. Drinking Window 2018 - 2045.Decanter | 97 DECA racy, classy, silky wine. Inky-ruby color. Black cherry, mineral and wet earth aromas. Medium-bodied, with very silky tannins and a long, superfine finish. Has always been excellent.--1982 Bordeaux horizontal. Best after 2000.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Leoville Las Cases) The 1982 Leoville Las Cases is a very nice and youthful wine, but I have always been under the impression that this wine was made in the cellar, rather than the vineyard, and will never really attain the level of greatness that is attributed to it elsewhere. The wine is certainly deep and concentrated in personality, offering up a still quite primary bouquet of cassis, black cherries, cigar ash, a touch of mint and plenty of toasty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, quite extracted in profile and still fairly tannic, with a good core, fine focus and grip and very good, but not great length on the youthful finish. Maybe this will eventually become the complex wine of its considerable reputation, but I am skeptical, and rather expect the ’82 Las Cases to always trade on its power, but never develop the complexity of the truly great wines of this vintage. Call it good, not great. (Drink between 2023-2075).John Gilman | 93 JGSadly, it is not a great night for Bordeaux. The 1982 Léoville Las Cases is powerful but also incredibly compact, with little appeal or mid-palate depth. This is a very stubborn wine, even within the context of Las Cases.Antonio Galloni | 92 AG

Again so young, almost not ready to drink but if you are patient things open up and start to sing. The tannic structure on this wine is just so impressive, still doing a good job of cradling blackberry and cassis fruits. It's a little less welcoming than the 1982. Harvest September 28 to October 18 (they began here one day before they finished up the 1982, and the yields were even bigger). More Cabernet in the blend than in 1982 because this was such a late ripening year that suited this variety. Petit Verdot 5% finishes blend. Drinking Window 2018 - 2045.Decanter | 94 DEC(Château Leoville Las Cases) The 1983 Las Cases is still a very young and primary example of the vintage, and at age thirty, I am not sure if the wine is still in an extended “dumb” phase, or if this vintage is always going to be a bit dense in style. The bouquet is a youthful blend of cassis, black cherries, Cuban cigars, gravelly soil tones and spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and still quite compact, with a sound core, rather moderate tannins (particularly for such an unevolved wine!) and good, but not great length and grip on the hunkered down finish. Perhaps this wine will blossom with more bottle age, but it is also very possible that the use of concentrators or what have you has left this wine eternally bound up in its cellar techniques and will never really develop the purity and charm that characterize so many of the great wines in this vintage. It is still not a bad wine in its forceful manner, but one expects more from Las Cases in a top vintage. (Drink between 2018-2050)John Gilman | 90+ JG

(The whole wine is finely tuned, full of grip, depth and complexity. Still young although softening, and there is lovely juice and mint leaf on the finish that slowly but surely brings the focus up out of tannin and fruit to a more savoury feel. 95% new oak. First year for optical sorting for La Croix and Ducru, and the yields were extremely low, 25hl/ha, the lowest for 25 years at the time. Took an extra 10% out after the optical. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040.Decanter | 95 DECThis is rather well-endowed for the vintage, with thickly layered ganache, currant paste, fig sauce and blackberry confiture notes still grappling with one another, while briary grip and dark spice fill out the toast-fueled finish. Very long, showing a level of power that belies the vintage. Best from 2018 through 2028.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château Ducru-Beaucaillou) The 2011 Ducru-Beaucaillou is one of the best wines on the Left Bank in this vintage, with a sense of completeness and refined balance that is fairly rare in this difficult vintage. The superb nose jumps from the glass in a complex mélange of cassis, sweet dark berries, cigar smoke, an outstanding base of soil and a nicely-integrated base of spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very pure on the attack, with a rock solid core of fruit, ripe, fine-grained tannins and outstanding focus and grip on the very, very long, primary and impeccably balanced finish. This will take a long time in the cellar to really blossom, but all of the constituent components are in place here to make this one of the great wines of the vintage on the Left Bank. (Drink between 2025-2075)John Gilman | 94 JGDespite the huge weight of fruit and accompanying structure, this is a stylish wine. It’s impressively dense, concentrated and solid. At the same time, the juicy black fruits give a generous, full-in-the-mouth character. Drink this very fine wine from 2022. Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEDeep garnet colored, the 2011 Ducru-Beaucaillou features fragrant notes of underbrush, tilled soil, tree bark and fungi over a core of red currant jelly, preserved plums, cassis and mulberries. Medium-bodied, elegant, refreshing and with a sturdy, grainy texture, it offers just enough black fruit and earthy layers in the mouth and a savory finish.Robert Parker | 93 RPThe 2011 Ducru-Beaucaillou has a focused nose, a melange of red and black fruit, sandalwood, orange rind and humidor, fine delineation, and it coheres in the glass. The palate is fresh and vibrant, well-defined with taut tannins, gaining more depth towards the finish that demonstrates admirable finesse and poise. This is a lovely Saint-Julien, unashamedly classic in style, and it should give another 20 years of drinking pleasure, probably more. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.Vinous Media | 93 VMThis shows excellent aromas of crushed berries, minerals and roses. Full body with silky, balanced tannins. Fruity and reserved. Shows wonderful finesse for the Médoc in 2011. Better after 2018.James Suckling | 93 JS

(Château Léoville Poyferré, St-Julien, Red) Didier Cuvelier had taken over in 1979 and was undertaking a huge replanting programme, so the 1980s at this estate were a time of serious change that slowly but surely came through in the wines. At this point in time the consultant was still Emile Peynaud - Michel Rolland didn’t arrive until 1994. It has sweet plum fruits with some hedgerow and bramble notes through the mid-palate, leading to a eucalyptus finish. Fermented and aged in 50% new oak, with malo in barrel - Poyferré was pretty much the first château in the Médoc to do this. (Drink between 2019-2036)Decanter | 94 DEC

A legendary wine in the making from the Delon Family is the 2015 Leoville Las Cases and there are very few wines more impressive in the vintage. A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Merlot, this full-bodied, tight, super-concentrated, focused 2015 boasts an awesome bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, charcoal, lead pencil, and minerality. Deep, layered, with perfect ripeness and building tannin, hide bottle for 6-7 years and enjoy this prodigious effort over the following 3-4 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThis wine that comes mainly from a magnificent walled vineyard within sight of the Gironde estuary is structured and dense. Its tannins and firm character show its enormous aging potential. Powerful black fruits come from the 85% Cabernet Sauvignon in this rich, juicy wine. Drink from 2027. Wine Enthusiast | 99 WEThe 2015 Léoville Las Cases is simply captivating. Sumptuous, racy and explosive in the glass, the 2015 is endowed with tremendous energy from start to finish. An exotic melange of crème de cassis, graphite, menthol and licorice bursts onto the palate as the 2015 shows off its alluring personality. Spectacularly rich, dense and full-throttle, with huge tannins that are nearly buried underneath the fruit, the 2015 is an unusual Las Cases. It is also breathtakingly beautiful. Readers who can find it should not miss it.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGBlackcurrant, blueberry and currant aromas with hints of black licorice and hot stones. Full-bodied with dense and integrated tannins and a long, long finish. It is all there and all about proportional harmony. Excellent focus and beauty. Drink in 2022.James Suckling | 98 JSFilled with blackberry, black currant, fig and boysenberry preserve flavors, this starts off showy, but a back end of brambly grip, warm tar, and pastis-soaked apple wood emerges slowly before taking an authoritative lead on the finish. All the while, a cool charcoal note weaves in and around everything. Best from 2025 through 2045. 16,667 cases made. — JMWine Spectator | 97 WSAt 94% (85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Cabernet Franc) this is the highest-ever Cab content in this grand vin. Very dense at first but full of power and elegance, with lots of energy. Beautifully made, and seems more Pauillac than St-Julien. This will be a very great wine. Drinking Window 2025 - 2050.Decanter | 96 DECRicher and more demonstrative than the 2016, the 2015 Léoville Las Cases dodders up generous aromas of sweet berries, pencil shavings and loamy soil, framed by a deft application of creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, broad and expansive, with a fleshy core of fruit, succulent acids and a giving, gourmand profile, like many 2015s from the Northern Médoc, it’s already quite structurally open today, and it will likely attain its peak before both the 2014 and 2016 vintages that bookend it. For many consumers, that may be an advantage.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RP

Very deep purple-black colored, the 2016 Léoville Las Cases (composed of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc) is quite closed to begin, yet with patient coaxing it unfurls beautifully to reveal suggestions of ripe blackcurrants, black raspberries, warm redcurrants and wild blueberries, followed by touches of unsmoked cigars, tilled red soil, cast iron pan, fallen leaves and lavender plus wonderfully fragrant wafts of lilacs and baking spices. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with tightly knit, very subtle layers of minerals, floral notions and black and red berries, all framed by exquisitely ripe, silt-like tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. Simply captivating even in its youth, give it at least a decade in the cellar and then enjoy it over the next 50+ years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPThe 2016 Léoville Las Cases is the finest vintage I’ve ever tasted from this estate; in fact, in this reviewer’s opinion, this magical, perfect wine couldn’t be better. Made from 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc aged 22 months in 90% new oak, it reveals a deep, saturated purple color as well as a thrilling bouquet of crème de cassis, iris flowers, graphite, crushed rocks, and freshly sharpened lead pencils. A perfect example of the old saying “an iron fist in a velvet glove,” it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered, stacked mid-palate, flawless integration of its acidity and tannins, and a monster finish. The balance and purity here are off the charts. Hide bottles for a decade or so and enjoy over the following half a century.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDVery complex and alluringly spicy aromas that bubble in and out of the nose, together with fresh tobacco, raspberries and iodine, moving into blackcurrants, blackberries and a gently gravely, stony edge. The palate has incredible polish that is a foil for the intense power and concentration of this wine. The texture is flawless, building smoothly with fine-grained and focused tannins that sustain a long, fresh finish. The new 1986, which was a legend. This is probably better. A blend of 75 per cent cabernet sauvignon, 14 per cent merlot and 11 per cent cabernet franc. Try from 2024.James Suckling | 100 JS(Léoville Las-cases Léoville Las Cases Red) The 2016 Léoville Las Cases is a majestic, seamless, opulent wine. Yes, I am talking about Las Cases, traditionally one of the Left Bank’s most austere, forbiddingly tannic wines. Sumptuous and full-bodied, the 2016 takes over all the senses, with seemingly endless layers of inky, purplish fruit. Mint, lavender and white flowers are some of the many notes that emerge from the exotic, arrestingly beautiful bouquet as the 2016 makes its case for consideration as one of the wines of the vintage. The 2016 got an extra three months in barrel and was therefore bottled on the later side, but that does not appear to have done anything to close the wine down. The 2016 was magnificent on both occasions I tasted it. Put simply, the 2016 Las Cases is a total stunner. Don’t miss it! (Drink between 2026-2066)Antonio Galloni | 98 AGThis is really dense, yet remarkably polished and poised, delivering wave after wave of blueberry, açaí berry, raspberry and blackberry puree notes, all while warm tar and sweet tobacco details cruise underneath. There’s a long, smoldering cast iron note through the finish that adds both austerity and authority in a truly unique manner. Best from 2025 through 2045. 13,333 cases made. — JMWine Spectator | 98 WSDominated by the great Cabernet Sauvignon vines of the clos of Léoville las Cases, this wine is superbly rich and smoky while being stylish. Its power comes from the complexity, ripe fruits and dense tannins.This wine has enormous potential. Drink from 2025. Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE

Huge structure, huge potential, a wine that will bring out all the fruit and density of the vintage while remaining very fresh. Black plums are already showing strongly along with the dry core that promises aging. It’s serious while alive and bright. Drink this major wine from 2022.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThis has some toast to shed, but retains a terrific core of crushed plum and blackberry confiture. Has a beautiful ripple of charcoal for texture, honest acidity for balance and a bolt of iron that keeps this firmly grounded. A brick-house Cabernet. Best from 2018 through 2030. 8,330 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Leoville Las Cases) The 2011 Château Leoville Las Cases is a classic in the making, but like the 1986 that Monsieur Rolland compares this wine too, it is going to take a long time to come around from behind its substantial wall of tannin. The superb nose offers up a classy and very pure blend of cassis, black cherries, tobacco leaf, gravelly soil tones, cigar smoke, espresso, a touch of tobacco leaf and a discreet base of nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite pure on the attack, with a very tightly-knit personality, a rock solid core of fruit, seamless and very firm tannins and outstanding length and grip on the laser-like finish. This will be a superb vintage of Leoville Las Cases in the fullness of time, but plan on cellaring it at least fifteen years before opening a bottle and most likely, the wine will take every bit of thirty years in the cellar to really reach its apogee. (Drink between 2027-2075).John Gilman | 94+ JGA very, very good wine with creamy oak across ripe summer pudding and poached purple berries; superb balance and drive. The tannins are assertive but never threaten. Sweet ripe fruit is served up with bright, vibrant and ripe style; raspberry, mulberry and red plum flavors, great sustain, long and impressive.James Suckling | 94 JSOne of the more formidably backward and potentially long-lived wines of the vintage, the medium to full-bodied 2011 Leoville Las Cases behaves like a first-growth, which in a sense it truly is. Revealing a dense inky/purple color, it is a structured, rich, impressively endowed effort that is meant for the long haul. Atypical for this vintage, it requires 5-7 years of bottle age and should drink well for two decades thereafter. The final blend was 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Yields were a low 27 hectoliters per hectare, and the natural alcohol achieved 13.4%.Robert Parker | 93+ RPThe 2011 Léoville Las-Cases is much more introspective on the nose than its peers, though it unfolds to reveal quite mineral-driven black fruit, leather and graphite aromas. It never fully lets go. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, fine acidity, fresh and lively with a focused, graphite-tinged finish. Maybe a little conservative in keeping with the vintage, though this is well crafted. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.Vinous Media | 92 VM

This combines considerable power and concentration with rich, impressive fruits. It has both style and elegance, with density to give it great aging potential. The tannins are firm while also having a velvet texture. The wine, dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, is for serious aging. Drink from 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEWafting from the glass with aromas of rich berries, plums, loamy soil, baking spices and pencil shavings, the 2012 Léoville Las Cases is medium to full-bodied, lively and layered, with impressive concentration for the vintage, supple tannins and a charming, enveloping profile. Seamless and beautifully integrated, at age 10, this quintessential classic is already surprisingly approachable, though of course it still has several decades of graceful evolution ahead of it.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPStanding out for its sheer purity and class, the 2012 Leoville-Las Cases is about as seamless as they come, with medium to full-bodied richness, fabulous notes of crème de cassis, cedary spice, plums, spice and wood smoke, with its oak component pushed well into the background. While not a blockbuster, it is impeccably balanced, with a full, layered mid-palate, building tannin and a rock-solid finish. Give this straight up classy 2012 4-5 years in the cellar and enjoy bottles over the following two decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDThis is very tight at this early stage, with a wall of smoldering charcoal holding the core of dark plum, blackberry paste and cassis in reserve. The sleek finish shows admirable length and a mouthwatering echo of iron. This harnesses the austerity of the vintage to its advantage, and should unwind slowly in the cellar. Best from 2018 through 2030. 10,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe 2012 Léoville-Las-Cases offers lovely up front voluptuousness, something I am almost shocked to write about one of the Left Bank’s most notoriously slow agers. Sweet red cherry, dried flowers and pipe tobacco scents meld into a translucent, mid-weight Las Cases that should drink relatively early by this wine’s standard. The silky finish only adds to the wine’s considerable early appeal. The blend is 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc.Antonio Galloni | 93 AGSo pure on the nose with aromas of blackcurrants, raspberries and licorice. Hints of stones. Full body, polished yet chewy tannins and a long and racy finish. Layered tannins. Citrusy undertones. Bright acidity. Better in 2019.James Suckling | 93 JS(Château Léoville-Las Cases, St-Julien, Bordeaux, France, Red) Structured palate with deep-scented fruit and potential, but lacking the extra excitement and distinction that this terroir can provide. (Drink between 2028-2040)Decanter | 92 DEC

The 2016 Beychevelle has a stunning bouquet of vibrant, shimmering blackberry and wild strawberry fruit laced with crushed stone and rose petals. The well-balanced palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and a slightly savory/dried blood finish that lingers in the mouth. Tasting both in London and in Bordeaux, I found the latter bottle to have a little more precision and race on the finish. This will surely be a benchmark for this Saint Julien estate.Vinous Media | 96 VMI was able to taste the 2016 Château Beychevelle on two occasions, and it showed beautifully both times. This is also the first vintage made in the new cellar. Medium to full-bodied, incredibly seamless and elegant on the palate, yet beautifully concentrated, it offers a heavenly perfume of spring flowers, violets, saddle leather, and blueberry and cassis fruit. A blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and the rest Cabernet Franc, brought up in 50% new oak, it’s still tight, taunt, and reserved on the palate, yet has the hallmark purity of fruit and balance of the vintage front and center. Hide bottles for 4-6 years, and it will keep for 25+ years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDThe 2016 Beychevelle is comprised of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. It spent 18 months aging in 50% new and 50% second use barrels. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it is a little broody to begin, opening slowly to reveal subtle savory notes of dried herbs, charcuterie and black olives before breaking through to a profound core of warm cassis, baked black plums, red currant jelly and candied violets. The palate is medium-bodied and delicately played with a quiet intensity of tightly wound nuances and fantastic freshness, finishing with a lingering savory lift. This latent beauty will require a bit more time than most 2016s, but it promises to overdeliver to those prepared to wait. Around 19,000 cases were made.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPStacks of cassis, graphite and smoke on the nose of this rather full-bodied St.-Julien with a ton of velvety tannins that drive the long finish that’s simultaneously sweet, fresh and powdery. Try in 2022.James Suckling | 94 JSNow with a brand-new, see-through glass winery, this estate is showing its true elegance. The wine does not have great power but it offers a ripe, smooth, sophisticated texture and black fruits. It already shows delicious flavors that will improve. Drink from 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThis has a slightly beefy edge, with warmed plum and blackberry paste flavors pumping through. Shows a touch of heft on the back end, with dark tobacco and earth notes leaving a subtly chewy feel, though there’s ample fruit to soak that up. Best from 2024 through 2038. 19,167 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSBy this vintage, the gravity-operated vat room and cellar were in operation, with smaller steel vats allowing for greater parcel selection. Still closed on the nose, though with firm blackcurrant and blackberry aromas in the background, it’s suave and concentrated, showing ripe tannins and ample acidity. The wine seems balanced, though it’s not showing much complexity yet. Structured and persistent. Drinking Window 2024 - 2045.Decanter | 92 DEC

Made in a more flamboyant, lifted style than the 2016, the 2015 Château Beychevelle offers a beautiful, medium to full-bodied, sexy yet elegant style as well as perfumed notes of black cherries, plums, incense, spices, and dried flowers. Given the sweetness in its tannins as well as its purity of fruit, it can be enjoyed today yet will keep for 20+ years.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDThis elegant estate, with its views down to the Gironde estuary, has produced an excellent 2015. It is properly firm with tannins although this structure is well balanced with the ripe, stylish black-currant fruits and acidity. A juicy finish bodes well for the future. Drink this generous wine from 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2015 Beychevelle comes across as much more powerful and plush in bottle than it did as a barrel sample. The black cherry, smoke, leather, tobacco, spice and incense notes are all endowed with notable textural depth. Voluptuous but also quite tannic, the 2015 is going to need at least a few years to come into its own. Readers should expect a powerful, brooding Saint-Julien. Tasted two times.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGPerfumed red with so much presence and brightness. Flowers, currants and blueberries. Some citrus. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Very fine and vivid. Better in 2022.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2015 Beychevelle is a blend of 47% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot aged 18 months in barrel, 50% of which were new and 50% second fill. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it’s scented of smoked meats, scorched earth, garrigue and new leather with a core of cassis, cherry cordial and plum preserves. The medium-bodied palate is a little firm but delicate, with lovely vibrancy and a bit of grip on the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPLovely mulled plum and blackberry fruit glides along a cleanly embedded graphite edge, while violet and anise details skirt along the edges. The finish picks up a tasty ganache coating while keeping the energy up. Rock-solid. Best from 2022 through 2040. 20,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThis really does expand outwards in the mouth, with an excellent quality of juicy black fruit on display. This has more potential than the 2014 vintage — contrary to many other wines in this part of the Médoc. 4% Petit Verdot makes up the blend. Drinking Window 2024 - 2043.Decanter | 93 DEC

Vintage 2018 was generous to the style of Ducru-Beaucaillou. The rich character of this wine is enhanced by the ripeness and concentration of the vintage, yet at the same time it keeps an amazing freshness. This will go down in the annals of this historic estate. It is not likely to approach drinkability before 2028.Wine Enthusiast | 100 WEAromas of blackberries, blackcurrants, new leather and bark follow through to a full body with a dense, deep palate that goes on and on, but is still shy and reserved. Large amount of ultra fine, cashmere-like tannins that are silky, sleek and wonderfully integrated. Extremely long and focused. Needs at least four to five years to start opening. A beautiful wine for the cellar. Try after 2027.James Suckling | 99 JSThe Grand Vin 2018 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou checks in as 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot that was harvested at the end of September through October 10 and brought up all in new French oak. This is a gorgeous, incredibly complete, classic expression of this terroir, offering a heavenly nose of crème de cassis, cedarwood, unsmoked tobacco, new leather, spring flowers, chocolate, and a touch of chalky minerality. With full-bodied richness, a monster of a mid-palate, remarkable purity, and a great, great finish, it's one of the most concentrated, impressive wines of the vintage, and might also be one of the longest lived. It actually reminds me of an improved version of the 1996 or a hypothetical mix of the 2010 and 2016. For the tech geeks out there, the IPT checks in at a massive 95 and the pH is 3.7.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDThe 2018 Ducru-Beaucaillou is composed of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, aged 18 months in 100% new barriques. It has a pH of 3.7, 14.5% alcohol and an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 95. Deep purple-black colored, it has a powerful nose of baked black cherries, blackberry preserves and crème de cassis with nuances of menthol, pencil lead, cedar chest and Indian spices, plus fragrant wafts of violets and licorice emerging after a few minutes. Medium to full-bodied, the palate bursts with impactful black fruits and exotic spices layers, supported by firm, ripe grainy tannins and bags of freshness, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note. There is a brightness to the wine—surprising freshness—and yet it remains very rich and hedonic, presenting an extraordinary vinous paradox that will blow away fans of this great estate.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPStunning concentration, power and finesse, with a ton of chocolate, charcoal, slate and liquorice, set against sweet blueberries, damson and cassis. This is silky and polished, with a ton of layers and complexity. With 18 months' ageing in 100% new oak, this has delivered on its en primeur potential, but still needs a good decade in bottle. Drinking Window 2028 - 2044.Decanter | 97 DECThe 2018 Ducru-Beaucaillou is surprisingly reticent at this stage, almost shockingly so. I imagine that won't be an issue in time. If anything, I am quite struck by the wine's energy and drive. Dark-fleshed fruit, spice, mint, lavender and new oak build in the glass. From barrel, the Ducru was opulent and sensual, but it appears to be going through a closed phase at the moment. Decanting helps, but I would not be in any rush to drink this. The 2018 is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak.Antonio Galloni | 96+ AGAnother rock 'em sock 'em St.-Julien here, brimming with nearly exotic blackberry, plum, blueberry and açaí berry reduction notes, bristling with brambly energy and racing through a graphite-edged finish. Shows gorgeous perfume throughout, despite the fairly obvious level of concentration. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.Wine Spectator | 96-99 WS

Gorgeous aromas of currants, crushed stones, blackberries and flowers. Full-bodied with refined tannins that are long and very polished. Creamy texture. It goes on for minutes. Lovely energy and sophistication to this. Try after 2026.James Suckling | 96 JSDark nose, quite serious and seductive. This draws you in from the first smell with lovely florality and delicacy. On the palate it’s deep and the power is on show no doubt, there’s concentration but also such aromatics and purity of fruit with tannins that are gentle and svelte. Lifted the whole way through, good acidity and a subtle creaminess at the end. A well framed, pretty and powerful style. Great winemaking with precision. (Drink between 2027-2045)Decanter | 95 DECComing in close to equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with just a splash of Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Château Beychevelle shows a classic Saint-Julien purity and finesse-driven style as well as notes of red and blue fruits, sappy flowers, tobacco, and chalky minerality. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, I love its overall balance and purity of fruit, it has silky tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. This wine always has upfront appeal, but the 2019 will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and should have 30 years of overall longevity.Jeb Dunnuck | 95+ JD94–96. Barrel Sample. Dense and concentrated, this wine is layered in dark tannins, rich chocolate and black fruits. The estate is producing richer wines than in the past without sacrificing the Saint-Julien style. Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2019 Beychevelle presents a perfumed nose of blackberry, wilted rose petals, incense and a touch of violet that ebbs with aeration. Elegant, poised and focused, this is a succinct and quite complex Saint-Julien. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and wonderful depth, still retaining the discreet marine influence but showing a little more depth and rondeur on the persistent finish. This is a delicious Beychevelle. 13.7° alcoholVinous Media | 94 VMAromas of raspberries, currants, pencil shavings and sweet spices introduce the 2019 Beychevelle, a medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping wine that’s fleshy and seamless, with a generous core of fruit, ripe tannins and succulent acids, concluding with an expansive finish. This is an open-knit, demonstrative Saint-Julien that will offer a broad drinking window.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPDark, with plum, açaí and blackberry compote notes, this is juicy and expressive. Features racy wood spice, graphite and apple wood notes, which give this a structured feel through the finish. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2038. 2,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

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.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPRemarkably 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.Wine Spectator | 98 WSWet stone, smoke and floral aspects to the aromatic profile - seriously inviting. Density and power here, but cooling and all in balance, full of blackcurrant and black cherries with obvious minerality. It gives such plushness in terms of roundness and grip of tannins, but also layers of perfumed fruit, ripe fruit and cooling slate and liquorice elements. A distinguished wine with a seamless tannic structure and excellent length. Lots of life here and also a real, almost sweet acidity that gives life and lift. Lots going on now but designed for long and steady ageing. Drinking Window: 2029 - 2050Decanter | 98 DECCurrants 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.James Suckling | 98 JSThis is an immense wine. Made from 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, it shows great structure, richness and aging potential. The tannins are ripe, showing the gentlest of extraction and are what is going to drive this wine for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEMore 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.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDJust as it was from barrel, the 2019 Léoville Las-Cases is a wine of pure and total sophistication. There is not the size of some recent vintages, but instead that heft is replaced by cool refinement. The expression of fruit leans into the redder end of the spectrum as opposed to the typically darker Las-Cases profile. Hints of cedar, tobacco, mint and blood orange linger. I can’t wait to see how it ages.Antonio Galloni | 96+ AG

The 2021 Ducru-Beaucaillou captures all the potential it showed from barrel. A delicate, understated wine, the 2021 impresses above all else with its finesse. All the elements are impeccably balanced throughout. Time in the glass brings out the wine’s inner sweetness and gorgeous perfume. The balance with oak, at times a challenge here, is also flawless. With lower alcohol and therefore also less extraction from oak than recent vintages, the 2021 is shaping up to be a modern-day classic. The blend is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Merlot, the highest amount of Cabernet Sauvignon ever here. What a wine.Vinous Media | 98 VMI was also able to retaste a barrel sample of the 2021 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, and it showed in line with my tastings last year. It’s a shockingly concentrated, medium to full-bodied, balanced Ducru Beaucaillou that I think will surpass most of the so-called petits millésimes of the past two decades, and that just goes to show the level of attention to detail and talent at this address.Jeb Dunnuck | 95-97 JDFirm, structured and pure with a cool and solid core of dark currants, blackberries, tar, pencil lead and bitter chocolate. Hints of tobacco, too. Firm but silky tannins. Very pure, with a long, mineral finish. Intense and very focused. 98% cabernet sauvignon and 2% merlot.James Suckling | 96-97 JSA wine that will delight Médoc purists, the 2021 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a blend of fully 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Merlot and checks in at a mere 12.5% alcohol. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cigar wrapper, violets, loamy soil and spices, it’s full-bodied, layered and velvety, with superb depth at the core, lively acids and powdery tannins. Complete and penetrating, it’s a true classic, reminiscent of a modern-day version of Ducru’s brilliant 1996—though today’s precision winemaking means that the 2021 is unlikely to go through so long a hibernation as that vintage.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RPBeautiful and beguiling nose, perfumed blackcurrants and dark fruits; damsons, plums, raspberries and rose petals. Lovely crunchy fruit, real bite and presence in the mouth. Excellent precision, tannins are succulent and ripe they fill the mouth with a juicy, intense granular texture. There is such depth to this - perfume, tobacco, earth, violets and concentrated fruits that have a verticality to them with an unprecedented 98% of Cabernet Sauvignon providing the support and the backbone. There is a crystalline purity to the fruit giving tension to the overall frame, it’s focussed and driven all with excellent definition. This is not a wallflower of a wine - it’s charming and confident, strutting its stuff right now and giving you absolut St-Julien terroir and vintage markers in the glass with slate, graphite and liquorice salinity on show. Skilled winemaking on show.Decanter | 96 DECThis is a wine with enormous potential with rich tannins and dark black fruits. At the same time, it has lightness that gives it a lift of fine black currant fruits. It will age, of course.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2021 Ducru-Beaucaillou, 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Merlot, was tasted as a tank sample just before bottling. Deep garnet-purple in color, it opens with notes of crushed blackcurrants, fresh raspberries, and Morello cherries with touches of dried herbs, mossy tree bark, pencil lead, and damp soil. The light-bodied palate delivers mouth-filling, crunchy, black and red berry flavors with chewy tannins and a lively backbone, finishing with an herbal lift.The Wine Independent | 92-94+ TWI

The top wine, the 2021 Château Léoville Poyferré is a beauty and certainly makes the most of the vintage. Based on 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that hit 14% alcohol (with an IPT of 78 and a pH of 3.85), its dense purple hue is followed by a rich, concentrated, medium to full-bodied Saint-Julien that has terrific purity of fruit, notes of cassis, violets, and spicy wood, ripe tannins, and remarkable overall balance. It brings more richness and depth than most in the vintage and is unquestionably going to offer tons of pleasure over the coming 20-25 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94-97 JDThe 2021 Léoville-Poyferré has developed into a fabulous wine. Surprisingly rich, the 2021 possesses notable depth. Kirsch, blood orange and wildflowers open first, lending a decidedly exotic, perfumed quality. On the palate, the 2021 is fleshy and expressive. There’s a bit of new oak that needs to integrate. Otherwise, the 2021 is impeccably balanced. Tasted two times.Vinous Media | 96 VMExcellent depth and complexity with a nice modern touch of cocoa powder to the black olives, pencil shavings, cassis, violets, black mushrooms and dark earth. Full-bodied palate with fresh, vertical tannins and lots of juicy fruit that seamlessly dissolve into the flavorful, persistent finish. Refined power with real length. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSA rich, ripe toasted nose, clearly concentrated. Good fruit density, underlying power and sense of structure. This has personality, it does feel a tiny bit pushed on the palate with acidity opening the expression but the fruitiness fades quite quickly and is replaced by the tannic structure and menthol, herbal Cabernet aspects. It’s smooth with a long length. Nice bones for ageing, so give this a few years.Decanter | 94 DECDeep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 Leoville Poyferre slowly expands from the glass, revealing notes of warm cassis, blackberry pie, and black cherry preserves, followed by hints of menthol, pencil lead, red roses, and charcoal. Medium-bodied, the palate offers great intensity of youthful black fruits with firm, fine-grained tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and peppery. The blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot, harvested between 28 September and 12 October, is to be aged 18-20 months in French oak, 80% new. The wine has a pH of 3.84 and an IPT of 78.The Wine Independent | 92-94 TWIThe 2021 Léoville Poyferré opens in the glass with notes of minty berries, dark berry compote, pencil shavings and toasty oak, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and dense palate that’s quite muscular and extracted, built around a chassis of sweet, abundant tannins that assert themselves on the youthfully firm finish. This will require a bit of patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP

Moving to the Grand Vin, it’s a slightly more Merlot-influenced blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot, raised in new barrels. It brings the same level of concentration and structure as the La Croix but has another level of class, elegance, and purity, with sensational aromatics of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed stone, sandalwood, and graphite. The purity here is truly remarkable, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, perfectly integrated oak, silky tannins, and a great finish. This beauty hit 14% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.8 and an IPT of 95. Given its balance as well as its texture, it’s going to offer pleasure with just short-term cellaring yet also evolve for decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDBeautiful and beguiling nose, perfumed blackcurrants and dark fruits; damsons, plums, raspberries and rose petals. Lovely crunchy fruit, real bite and presence in the mouth. Excellent precision, tannins are succulent and ripe they fill the mouth with a juicy, intense granular texture. There is such depth to this - perfume, tobacco, earth, violets and concentrated fruits that have a verticality to them with an unprecedented 98% of Cabernet Sauvignon providing the support and the backbone. There is a crystalline purity to the fruit giving tension to the overall frame, it’s focused and driven all with excellent definition. This is not a wallflower of a wine - it’s charming and confident, strutting its stuff right now and giving you absolut St-Julien terroir and vintage markers in the glass with slate, graphite and liquorice salinity on show. Skilled winemaking on show.Decanter | 97 DECSome much creme de cassis and blackcurrant aromas and flavors here. Full-bodied with powerful tannins, yet fine and layered. Chewy. You can really feel the thick grape skins here. Excellent length. Tannins spread across the palate. Minerally and crushed stone.James Suckling | 97-98 JSMade from 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot, the 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou is deep garnet-purple in color. It comes barreling out with powerful notes of blackcurrant cordial, boysenberry preserves, and licorice with hints of mocha, graphite, and cedar. The medium to full-bodied palate is rich and super firm with ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with epic length and purity.The Wine Independent | 97-99 TWIThe 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou contains less Cabernet than last year and is closer to the normal blend of the Grand Vin, picked between 7 September and 4 October - the longest harvest in their history. The IPT is 95. Matured in 100% new oak, the bouquet bides its time in the glass, almost reluctantly unfurling with scents of blackberry, briary, cigar humidor and sous-bois. At this nascent stage, it is more backward than its peers. The palate is undoubtedly one of the most dense and muscular that I have encountered over many years tasting at the estate, full-bodied with vice-like tannins. Continuing the theme of the estate’s other cuvées, there is a lovely Pauillac-like presence throughout, with graphite/pencil lead infusing the black fruit. The finish exerts a considerable grip and feels saline, almost briny on the aftertaste. This Leviathan Ducru-Beaucaillou threatens to overwhelm the senses, uncompromising in many ways, and it will patently take many years for the tannins to soften. I feel that it is only once in bottle that one will be able to gauge its trajectory.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMOne of the Médoc’s most powerful wines this year is the 2022 Ducru-Beaucaillou, a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot that opens in the glass with aromas of dark cherries and berries mingled with pencils shavings, vanilla pod and spices. Full-bodied, broad-shouldered and muscular, with a core of ripe but lively fruit underpinned by a chassis of powdery, liberally extracted tannin that asserts itself on the finish, it’s a punchy, modern Saint-Julien reminiscent of a hypothetical blend of the 2018 and 2020.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RP

This shows no gravity. The tannins are totally melted in the wine and give it fantastic structure, but the texture is so fresh and vivid. Crushed stone. Cloves. Chinese spices. Great finish. Opening and flying away. Orange peel. Very special. Thought-provoking. Endless. 83.5% cabernet sauvignon, 10.5% cabernet franc and 6% merlot.James Suckling | 99-100 JSOne of the wines of the vintage this year is the 2022 Léoville Las Cases, a monument in the making that combines unerring classicism with unusual sensuality and charm by the standards of this estate’s sometimes youthfully forbidding wines. Exhibiting deep aromas of dark berries, violets, pencil lead, rose petals and tobacco leaf, it’s full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, with terrific concentration, beautiful purity of fruit, abundant but refined tannins and a long, vibrant finish. On the several occasions that I tasted it, the 2022 was surprisingly open for a young Las Cases, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it were to shut down after a few years in bottle. It’s a blend of 83.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.5% Cabernet Franc and 6% Merlot.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98-100 RPThe 2022 Léoville Las-Cases was picked 8-30 September with more infusion than extraction, matured in 84% new oak. Precocious, almost decadent blackberry and blueberry fruit on the nose, there is something lavish and audacious about this Saint-Julien. There is an underlying estuarine element, a whiff off the banks of the Gironde. The palate is medium-bodied with polished tannins, very detailed, extremely pure, what you might call a "vertical" Las-Cases with fabulous precision on the finish. This surpasses the 2018-2020 trio and to use that clichéd expression, is a "tour de force".Vinous Media | 98-100 VMLooking at the Grand Vin 2022 Château Léoville Las Cases, it has an almost Pauillac-like style in its ripe, powerful aromatics of graphite, lead pencil shavings, cassis, and liquid rock-like minerality. Full-bodied, massively concentrated, and powerful on the palate, it nevertheless stays flawlessly balanced, has just about off-the-charts purity, ripe yet building tannins, and a great finish. This will clearly rank with the truly greats from this address and reminds me slightly of a mix of the 2016 and 2018. It is not, however, going to be for those looking for instant gratification.Jeb Dunnuck | 98-100 JDA luminous and utterly brilliant wine in 2022 that really sets itself apart. Hints of black bramble fruit, spicy peppercorns, violets, sweet cherries, crushed stones, ink and cocoa powder on the nose - all so very appealing. Tension and direction from the get go, this is sleek and slick, dense but such alluring coolness, with crushed stones and blueberries giving minerality as well as juicy acidity providing lift. It’s not out to shine right now, but there’s such confidence on show. Direct, slowly expanding effortlessly as it goes from start to finish, elongating the fine tannic structure that supports but doesn’t overwhelm. So poised and refined, charming in a dark, utterly seductive way. Firm, but fruity, cool and calm, coming in waves. One of the wines of the vintage with striking power but delivered so perfectly with everything in balance. 3.80pH. 85 IPT. A yield of 36-37hl/ha. 98-100 points. Decanter | 98 DECA blend of 83.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.5% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Merlot, with a pH of 3.8, the 2022 Leoville Las Cases is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a lot of waking up before it strides confidently out of the glass with classic scents of warm cassis, juicy black plums, and pencil shavings, giving way to wafts of evocative scents of iron ore, crushed rocks, wood smoke, and violets, with a hint of star anise. The medium to full-bodied palate is the Taj Mahal of Cabernets, built with an amazing structure and so many intricate layers, it makes the mind spin. Youthful, crunchy black fruits and mineral sparks give way to a core of savory notes and plum preserves, intertwined with a firm backbone of exquisitely ripe tannins, and a very long, seamlessly lively finish. Wow!The Wine Independent | 98-100 TWI

The 1961 Léoville Las-Cases is a wine that I have not tasted for quite some time, although I have several notes from the last decade. This is unquestionably the best bottle that I have encountered. It has a show-stopping, lively bouquet with black fruit, bay leaf and cedar, light mulch aromas developing with time. I actually thought it might have been Trotanoy before its identity was revealed. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshier opening than I recollect, quite atypically for Léoville Las-Cases, hints of orange rind and curry leaf enhancing the magnificently structure and vivacious finish. Outstanding. Tasted at the 1961 dinner Chairman Miaow’s in Hong Kong.Vinous Media | 97 VM