CHÂTEAU LÉOVILLE LAS CASES

"This is so good to drink right now, but no rush." The 1988 Léoville Las Cases is composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Pale to medium garnet-brick in color, it wafts slowly, gracefully out of the glass with perfumed notions of dried cherries, rose oil, sandalwood and cigar box over a core of preserved plums, figs and fruitcake with a touch of dusty soil. The medium-bodied palate has a soft, satiny texture and tons of freshness supporting the fragrant earth and floral notes, leading to a long mineral and exotic spices-laced finish. This is so good to drink right now, but no rush. It has the structure and stuffing to exist at this plateau for at least good 10-15 years further, before it slowly begins to fade. Drinking range: 2021 - 2036 Rating: 94 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Nov 2021)

The 1988 Léoville Las-Cases is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot (this bottled had been re-corked at the property in 2014). This was a late harvest that began on 4 October and lasted for 12 days. This seems to have matured on the nose since I last tasted it in 2011, more secondary aromas - undergrowth, mushroom and hickory infusing the black fruit. It feels a little rustic now. The palate is medium-bodied with soft tannin, a little dry in the mouth, the fruit having ebbed away in the last few years. I have fonder memories of this in the 1990s and 2000s. There is still a presence here but it feels as if it is drying out on the finish. I felt that this Second Growth was a little inconsistent around this era, especially compared to nowadays. Tasted at the château. Drinking range: 2018 - 2026 Rating: 89 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)