Château Léoville Las Cases - Saint-Julien 2010

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

95 / 100

par Stephen Tanzer le 31/08/2013

Bright ruby-red.  Vibrant nose combines black and blue fruits, lead pencil and crushed-stone minerality, with a note of kirsch emerging with air.  Utterly silky in texture yet extremely backward, with a medicinal quality keeping the penetrating dark berry flavors under wraps today.  But with a powerful impression of tangy energy, a superb spine of saline minerality, and an extremely long, lively, firmly tannic finish, this classic Las Cases should be a knockout with 12 or 15 years in the bottle. 95 (+?) points

Wine Spectator

99 / 100

par James Molesworth le 31/03/2013

Stunning and pure from the get-go, with intense cassis and blackberry fruit. Ultimately takes a slightly austere approach, with a wrought-iron structure driving along while pastis, black tea, licorice snap and asphalt notes course underneath. Long and loaded with grip, this remains remarkably fine-grained. A very chiseled Cabernet that is wonderfully precise and incredibly long. Best from 2020 through 2040. –JM

Wine Advocate

96 / 100

par Robert Parker le 01/03/2013

The 2010 is a quintessentially elegant, classic wine of Bordeaux – firm, rigid, perhaps slightly lighter than most of the other St.-Juliens, but stylish, potentially complex, and reminiscent of the style of the 1986, but more concentrated and powerful. It is a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc with a normal pH of 3.56. It was raised in 75% new oak and the alcohol came to 13.7%. This wine displays loads of black currants, cedar wood and vanillin, but needs a good 7-8 years of cellaring, if not much longer. It should last for 30+ years.

What I like about tasting at Las Cases is that Jean-Hubert Delon opens one bottle in my presence, and has another already decanted four hours in advance to compare. It is nearly unanimous on each visit that the decanted wine shows better, which probably gives you some insight into the aging potential of Las Cases. It is certainly one of Bordeaux’s longest-lived wines, and seems to have more and more of a character resembling Lafite Rothschild more than its nearby neighbor, Chateau Latour.

96+

Wine Advocate

98 / 100

par Neal Martin le 12/02/2013

Tasted at the chateau. The aromatics on the Leoville Las-Cases 2010 stop you in your tracks: blackberry married with dark plum, Mirabelle, crushed stone and a scent of Christmas cake in the background. It is incredibly well defined and develops subtle floral notes with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied – an immediately elegant, classic Las Cases. It is certainly not the powerhouse that is the 2009, but focused, linear...perhaps athletic and honed. It has outstanding minerality and finesse on the finish to die for. This is an exceptional wine from Jean-Hubert Delon. Tasted November 2012.

Jamessuckling.com

99 / 100

par James Suckling le 03/02/2013

The aromas to this wine have a beautiful purity of raspberries, blueberries, currants, and flowers that follow to a a full body, with super integrated tannins that are like the finest silk in texture. It shows elegant and pretty fruit character and a reserve and finesse of such great years as 1989 and 1995. The bright strong acidity gives a crunchy and creamy texture. This has a tiny bit more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend than 2009. Give it at least six to eight years of bottle age.

Wine Spectator

99 / 100

par James Molesworth le 31/03/2012

Stunning and pure from the get-go, with intense cassis and blackberry fruit. Ultimately takes a slightly austere approach, with a wrought-iron structure driving along while pastis, black tea, licorice snap and asphalt notes course underneath. Long and loaded with grip, this remains remarkably fine-grained. A very chiseled Cabernet that is wonderfully precise and incredibly long. Best from 2020 through 2040.J.M.

 

Wine Advocate

95-98 / 100

par Robert Parker le 31/05/2011

2010 Leoville Las Cases: As one would expect, this is a powerful, concentrated wine with 13.7% natural alcohol (compared to 2005's 13.2%). The pH is quite normal at 3.56, and its relatively high total acidity gives it a classic, fresh, yet backward style. Given how long vintages such as 1982, 1986, and I suspect, 2000 are taking to reach maturity, prospective purchasers of this wine should easily invest in a decade of cellaring, although I suspect it will be closer to 15 or more years before it reveals secondary nuances. A good 40- to 50-year wine, it is a dense purple, full-bodied style of Las Cases, with classic sweet kirsch, graphite and black currant fruit as well as hints of new saddle leather and subtle oak. Backward, layered and multi-dimensional, the wine is stunningly rich, but brooding. Forget it at least until 2020 or later.

Asian Palate

92-93 / 100

par Jeannie Cho Lee MW le 24/05/2011

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.

Le Point

18 / 20

par Jacques Dupont le 12/05/2011

Fruits noirs, épices douces, prune, bouche tannique, longue, serrée, tanins qui se prolongent en bouche. Serré, très pur, vin classique bordelais, avec de la retenue. Long et plein, c'est un saint-julien tendance pauillac. O=2020 G=20 ans

Jamessuckling.com

95-96 / 100

par James Suckling le 30/04/2011

This is very silky, with a racy and fresh character of violets, currants and raspberries. Full with a super texture. Racy structure. Reminds me of the 1996.

Wine Spectator

95-98 / 100

par James Molesworth le 30/04/2011

This has almost searing acidity running through it, but it's ripe and mouthwatering, harnessing a massive core of black currant and red licorice notes. Supertight but very fine-grained, this gets tighter, but also longer, as it moves along. This could age in reverse for a while, before it starts to unwind. A brick house. Tasted non-blind. —J.M.

TAST

18-19 / 20

par Bettane & Desseauve le 30/04/2011

Pas encore complètement formé, corps impressionnant, tannin d’une extraction aussi parfaite que de coutume, race évidente, mais il semble avoir un à deux mois de retard sur le plan aromatique que quelques uns de ses pairs. (18-19+ points)

Decanter Magazine

19,5 / 20

par Steven Spurrier le 30/04/2011

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. (19.5 points)

The Wine Cellar Insider

95-96 / 100

par Jeff Leve le 25/04/2011

Leoville Las Cases A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc represents 36.7% of the harvest. The wine reached 13.7% alcohol, which is l0wer than the 13.8% level recorded in 2009. Opaque purple in color, this big, concentrated, thick wine is stuffed with ripe cassis and fresh blackberries. Powerful, tannic, ripe, fresh and dense, this masculine wine requires serious cellar time to become civilized. 95-96 Pts

Jancis Robinson

17,5 / 20

par Jancis Robinson le 19/04/2011

Excellent deep crimson. Very introvert and very dry. Super-sweet start and initially seems much rounder and less obdurate than usual. Though those dry tannins certainly creep up on you at the end! Some silkiness and glorying in the special ripeness of the Cabernet in this wine. Very dry end. Not that long funnily enough. A certain transparency that is not usually there. Drink 2020-2040

Wine Enthusiast

96-98 / 100

par Roger Voss le 08/04/2011

This hugely dense wine has a great smoky character, showing power as well as great finesse. It has rich berry fruit, weaving through the dusty tannic structure, very powerful and concentrated. The finish is severe, but shows the year's hallmark juiciness.-R.V.