CLOS DU MARQUIS
2014 Saint Julien
There is a restrained and sophisticated start to this, very appetising on the nose, then the mid-palate fleshes out convincingly. Lots of lovely, warm cherry and plump plum juice gives a lovely ample feel - but not at all baggy thanks to a line of clean minerality and some 'just' chewy tannin. This is already attractive, sleek and long but with some firm lines too. Impressive. Historically thought of as the Las Cases second wine - this in fact is great wine in its own right - and quite distinct from the estate's top release. It is really the 'Petit Lion' that is a true second wine this year (and very good it is too!). Clos de Marquis is 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc from a specific plot on the west side of the road as you drive along the D2. The 'Clos' vineyard where confusingly the Léoville Las Cases comes from is on the east - and has quite distinct soil. Rating: 93 L&S (Apr 2015)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2014 Clos du Marquis has an attractive, perfumed bouquet with ample red berry fruit intermixed with wild heather, cedar and light brine aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very well judged acidity, very cohesive and demonstrating real structure and sophistication towards the finish. This is a sublime Clos du Marquis that should give 20 years of drinking pleasure. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2021 - 2035 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2018)
Muted, inky nose. Then some weight of fruit in the middle before a pretty austere and green finish. More ripeness please! Drinking range: 2022 - 2030 Rating: 15.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Feb 2018)
The 2014 Clos du Marquis is a rich, powerful wine. Sweet tobacco, herb, anise and leather notes give the wine its distinctive savory/earthy profile. The 2014 is plump, juicy and quite dense for the year. The tannins are a bit rustic, but the 2014 is very nicely rendered. Today, the 2014 is a bit less gracious than it was from barrel. It will be interesting to see if the wine is going through a phase of awkwardness or if it is destined to remain somewhat rough around the edges. The blend is 74 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 22 % Merlot and 4 % Cabernet Franc. Drinking range: 2019 - 2029 Rating: 91 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2017)
The Clos du Marquis 2014 is a blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc cropped at 33 hectoliter per hectare and matured in 50% new wood. Picked between 30 September and 13 October, it has a ripe, quite opulent bouquet with layers of blackberry, dark plum and incense, a touch of pencil lead with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, a little pinched at the moment but it will “relax”. The alcohol level is one of the highest ever at 13.85% and yet it it counterbalanced by its freshness. In fact, the finish is quite classic in style and provides a pleasant juxtaposition with the more generous aromatics – it will be interesting to see how they develop during their élevage. Drinking range: 2018 - 2035 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2015)
Very good density of fruit: lots of lift and great purity and class. Pure St-Julien. (Highly Recommended St-Julien, Decanter.) Drinking range: 2019 - 2030 Rating: 90+ Steven Spurrier (Apr 2015)
The 2014 Clos du Marquis is quite pretty and expressive. Blue and purplish-hued fruit, sweet spices and mint all open up nicely in the glass. The 2014 is not a huge wine, rather it is distinguished by its energy, precision and overall nuance. Scents of violet, lavender, mint and sweet spices add complexity on the gracious, inviting finish. This is a lovely effort and a fabulous example of the vintage. The more feminine side of St. Julien comes through in spades. The blend is 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Rating: 90-92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2015)
Discreet nose. A bit austere, as though the less ripe fruit went into here. Very sinewy and lacks flesh. Drinking range: 2022 - 2035 Rating: 16.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2015)
Fresh on the nose and quite light on the start of the palate it does fill out in the middle richer and sweeter but the freshness is there at the back the finish quite light. Drinking range: 2025 - 2036 Rating: 87-91 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (Apr 2015)
Sourced from a slightly cooler site than its stablemate, Léoville-Las-Cases, this is just below it in quality in 2014. Muscular and sinewy, with sweet, smoky oak, a mineral core, plenty of fruit and the concentration to age. Essence of Saint Julien in a very good year for the commune. Drinking range: 2022 - 2032 Rating: 95 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2015)
The purity of fruit to this young wine is impressive with currants, raspberries and black cherries. Full body, firm and chewy tannins and a long, long finish. Very serious. Structured. Fine. Rating: 92-93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2015)
Château Léoville Las Cases
St Julien Deuxième cru 1855 One of the leading "super-seconds" - a second growth chateau who's wines rival, in terms of quality and often price, the fabled First Growths of the Haut-Médoc. Before the Revolution, the Leoville estate was one of the largest and grandest in the region. At the time, it was in the aristrocratic ownership of the family of the Marquis de Las-Cases-Beauvoir. Unsurprisingly, the Marquis had to flee. To avoid Leoville being seized, the family decided to sell up but the complicated ownership of the estate, which was split between siblings, prevented the sale of Leoville as a whole and, in the end, only a small portion was sold off, to Hugh Barton, and this became Château Leoville Barton. The remainder of the estate came back to the Marquis' family when his son, Pierre-Jean, inherited most of Leoville, the only exception being a small portion inherited by his sister Jeanne. Jeanne's daughter married Baron Jean-Marie de Poyferré and, in 1840, this portion of the estate sheered off to become Château Leoville Poyferré. To stop further divisions among inheriting children, a holding company was founded to own Château Las Cases. Théophile Skawinski, who managed the estate, bought some shares which later passed to his son-in-law André Delon. The Delon family continued to buy share as they became available until, eventually, they became the owners of Château Leoville Las Cases. The bulk of Las Cases's vineyards - the Grand Clos - sit at the very northern end of St Julien, facing Château Latour across the Ruisseau de Juillac. The vines are planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. The hand-picked grapes are fermented in an unusual array of wooden, stainless-steel and cement tanks. Wines spend 20 months in oak, with the proportion of new wood for the grand vin varying from 50% to 100% depending on the vintage. Château Leoville Las Cases have one of the most highly regarded "second wines" in Bordeaux - Clos du Marquis. The first vintage was in 1902, long predating most of its competitors. Its status as a true "second wine" is sometimes disputed, as there is a distinct Clos du Marquis vineyard, a little way to the west of the Grand Clos, although the cuvée does include some declassifications from the grand vin and fruit of younger vines. Its status as a "second wine" also belies the quality which exceeds many of the region's "first" wines.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.