Léoville Las Cases - Saint-Julien 2020

Wine Spectator

96 / 100

byJames Molesworththe3/31/2023

Sleek and slightly austere in feel, with a cold cast iron note framing a core of tightly compressed cassis, plum and blackberry fruit flavors. Shows subtle flashes of tobacco and smoldering charcoal, as the finish lingers with verve. A stoic red. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Best from 2030 through 2045.

Vinous

98,5 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe2/24/2023

The 2020 Léoville Las Cases has developed into a powerhouse. Then again, that is Las Cases. En primeur, I thought the 2020 was a bit shy, but its true personality has to emerge. Blackberry jam, gravel, spice, menthol, licorice, espresso and plum all saturate the palate. Vivid and explosive, the 2020 is dizzyingly rich, with plenty of Las Cases tannins that will require patience. I am not sure when the 2020 will be ready to drink, but it won't be anytime soon. Las Cases is one of the wines of the vintage in 2020, that much is pretty clear.

Vinous

97 / 100

byNeal Martinthe2/15/2023

The 2020 Léoville Las-Cases, matured in 80% new oak and bottled in July, has retained that alluring Pauillac-like bouquet with disarming purity and intensity. There is a little more blue fruit joining the chorus line compared to its showing in barrel. Wonderful delineation. The palate is beautifully balanced with pliant, fine-boned tannins that frame the silky-smooth black fruit. Strawberry, cassis and spicy notes percolate through with aeration and flourish on the finish. This fulfills all its potential from barrel - a quite stunning Saint-Julien and a great Las-Cases.

Wine Spectator

96 / 100

byJames Molesworththe11/30/2022

Sleek and slightly austere in feel, with a cold cast iron note framing a core of tightly compressed cassis, plum and blackberry fruit flavors. Shows subtle flashes of tobacco and smoldering charcoal as well, as the finish lingers with verve. A stoic wine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Best from 2030 through 2045.

La Revue du Vin de France

98-100 / 100

the6/7/2021

Une essence de grand vin, brillant et racé. Tendu, modéré en alcool (13,6°), juteux et moelleux, il impose une finale d’une fraîcheur incroyable et s’étire de longues secondes. Une déflagration de fruits en milieu de bouche puis de la menthe et du poivre blanc pour clore le bal des saveurs.

Le Figaro

95-96 / 100

the6/2/2021

Un bouquet qui donne la sensation de marcher dans une forêt sombre, par une nuit de pleine lune, avec des notes de broussailles, de cassis et de framboises, et des effluves de sous-bois derrière lesquelles on entendrait presque les aiguilles de pin craquer sous la chaussure. Une bouche ample et pleine de confiance, de fruits rouges flanqués d'une belle acidité, avec des tannins denses et veloutés.

Vinous

95-98 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe6/1/2021

The 2020 Léoville Las Cases comes across as a super-classic Saint-Julien that combines mid-weight structure of previous decades, with the greater textural finesse that has become the norm here in recent years. A shy introvert, the 2020 Las Cases won’t impress with size or brawn as is often the case, but with a total sense of finesse. Readers with classically leaning palates will flip out over the 2020. I can't wait to watch it evolve, hopefully for many decades to come. It is certainly one of the standouts of the year at this point.

Jeb DUNNUCK

95-97 / 100

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/28/2021

The flagship 2020 Château Léoville Las Cases checks in as 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 8% Merlot, raised in 80% new French oak. Hitting 13.68% in alcohol with a Ph of 3.8 and an IPT of 79, it shows the dense, concentrated, focused style of the vintage and it's going to be one of the longer-lived wines of the vintage. Deep purple-hued, with an incredible sense of minerality in its blackcurrant and black cherry fruits, it's full-bodied, has a rich, layered mid-palate, lots of tannins, and a great finish. It's a beautiful wine and holds onto the more inward, concentrated style of the vintage while still showing serious depth of fruit. It's going to take a decade (or more) of bottle age to get anywhere close to the early stages of maturity but will keep for 30-40 years.

Vinous

96-98 / 100

byNeal Martinthe5/27/2021

The 2020 Léoville–Las Cases was picked September 12–29 and matured in 80% new oak with 13.68° alcohol. The Cabernet Sauvignon is in the driving seat on the nose, offering almost saturnine black fruit, pencil shavings and cedar, perhaps one of the most Pauillac-like bouquets that I have noticed on this wine out of barrel, which is no surprise considering its vines adjoin that appellation. The palate is medium-bodied, strict and linear at first, that Pauillac tincture the continuing theme thanks to conspicuous graphite/pencil lead notes interwoven into the black fruit. There is plenty of freshness here and impressive weight, yet no sense of heaviness toward the finish.

Decanter.com

96 / 100

byJane Ansonthe5/25/2021

A subtle intensity where the power steals up on you through the palate - this is an excellent example of what Las Cases can deliver. Intellectual, concentrated and reined in for the foreseeable future. You get the full array of serious St-Julien character - pencil lead, cigar box, cassis bud, bilberry, earth and granite-edged tannins, this needs time. Very little press wine was used because this has such a plainly evident natural intensity. Needs time, but knowing how this estate is a slow burner even in generous vintages, you are going to need a lot of patience for this vintage to reach its drinking window. Impressive, not yet showing its heart. May be upscored once in bottle. This is 1% less than 2018 and 0.5% less than in 2019 in terms of alcohol. 3.65pH. A yield of 34hl/ha.

The Wine Cellar Insider

96-98 / 100

byJeff Levethe5/21/2021

Dark garnet in color, the wine pops with aromas of tobacco leaf, cigar box, cedar, herbs, black currants, coffee and spice. Refined, fresh, polished and firm, the fruit is vibrant, long and intense. The tannins are ripe almost creamy in texture. The finish is long, regal and compelling, leaving you with layer, of black currants and cassis. Give this at least 12-15 years before popping a cork and enjoy it for the next 3 decades after that. The wine is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc, 13.68% ABV, 3.80 pH. The harvest took place from September 12 - September 27, making this the earliest vintage since 1989. 96-98

Wine Advocate

96-98 / 100

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe5/20/2021

The 2020 Léoville Las Cases is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc and 8% Merlot, aging in 80% new French oak barriques, weighing in with an alcohol of 13.68%, a pH of 3.8 and an IPT (tannins index) of 79. The Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested from the 21st to the 27th of September, the Merlot from the 12th to the 15th of September and the Cabernet Franc on the 18th and 19th of September. With an opaque purple-black color, it slowly unfurls to reveal beguiling notes of fresh blackcurrants, Morello cherries, candied violets and dark chocolate, giving way to an undercurrent of crushed rocks, unsmoked cigars, clove oil and fragrant earth. The medium-bodied palate is a powerhouse of energy, delivering tightly wound red and black fruits, mineral and floral layers, supported by fantastic tension and incredibly ripe, silt-like tannins. The finish has jaw-dropping fragrance and depth.

Anthocyanes

98-100 / 100

byYohan Castaingthe5/11/2021

Cassis, mure, un peu fermé mais tellement complexe. Bouquet à la fois pur et frais malgré un côté un peu terrien. Pureté de fruits incroyable. Toucher de bouche plein, ferme sans être dur, sur des rails pour une allonge superbe. Des tanins d'une très grande précision, cristallins et précis, comme des lasers. Superbe fraicheur. Un Las Cases qui fera date tant sa construction sur l'allonge et la salinité lui apporteront un potentiel de garde exceptionnel. La définition de ce cru ne cesse d'augmenter au fil des ans pour atteindre, dans ces derniers millésimes, un niveau exceptionnel. Une bouteille que tout amateur se doit de posséder.

Bernard Burtschy

97-98 / 100

byBernard Burtschythe5/10/2021

Falstaff

94-96 / 100

the5/10/2021

Im altersgerecht stillen, aber klaren Duft Cassis, Waldheidelbeere, Sauerkirsche. Auch deutliche florale Töne. Im Mund unmittelbar salzig, dazu dicht mit fleis- chig-körnigem Tannin besetzt, eine etwas mildere Stoffigkeit, als man es früher kannte. Festes Säuregerüst, aber da liegt auch eine überraschende Geschmeidigkeit unter der phenolischen Kraft. Im Nachhall zeigen sich reife, mazerationsfruchtige und würzige Cabernet-Noten.

My Bettane + Desseauve

96-97 / 100

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/7/2021