2010 Leoville Las Cases
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Tasting Notes
Very classic and beautifully assembled. Plum, damson. Medium weight with very polished tannin. Losts of space in the fruit suggests that in 10 years this will be an absolute beauty of near-First Growth level. Very aristocratic but will ultimately be a supremly useful claret...which isn't something you can say about every 2010.
Critic Scores
Average Score
FINE+RARE
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Cropped at 36.7hl/ha, the Leoville Las-Cases is a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc, offering 13.7% alcohol and a pH of 3.56. It will be raised in 75% new oak. The nose is very intense with notes of blackberry, cassis, tobacco and a touch of black truffle, all very well defined and perhaps less generous, but more cerebral than the 2009. The palate is full-bodied with exceptionally silky smooth tannins, wonderful harmony and sense of beguiling composure and completeness. The finish is tannic, driven by the ripe Cabernet Sauvignon. I expect this Las-Cases to close down for a few years...it will need time to mellow and reach its drinking plateau. Drink 2025- Tasted March 2011. Neal Martin, erobertparker.com
Stunning concentration of fruit, precision and purity, a great vineyard expression and a totally great wine in the most simple sense of the term. Drink 2025-50. Steven Spurrier, decanter.com
The deep ruby purple 2010 Leoville Las Cases offers notes of blackberries, blueberries, cedar, plums and violets, supported by layers of flavours that are so rich and dense right now that they have little definition. This is a classic but massive Leoville Las Cases with such a thick layer of tannins that it won't be drinkable for at least a decade. The evident substance behind the tannins suggests that while it is not approachable at the time of tasting (en primeur), it may follow other classic and glacially-evolving Las Cases vintages like 1986 and 1990 by eventually surprising us all. This is a wine with alcohol of 14% - the norm is 13-13.5% - and a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. Jeannie Cho Lee MW asianpalate.com
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About the producer
One of the leading estates in Bordeaux, Ch. Léoville Las Cases is one of the largest and oldest Classed Growths in the Médoc. Along with Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou, it is widely considered one of the best estates in Saint-Julien.