CHÂTEAU LÉOVILLE LAS CASES
2015 2ème Cru Classé Saint Julien
Other people have praised this wine extravagantly, but our group was a little disappointed in the context of Las Cases and the vintage elsewhere. It was at nine in the morning that we visited, and the manager of Calon had remarked to us that their samples were often not great first thing... 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot. Creamy texture, but quite flat and monotonal, the quite slight volume fading away gracefully, ending on a point of acidity. Unfortunately only tasted the once. One of the group went back and reported that it is "pretty much was the same wine as when we tasted it together: Elegant nose of dark berries, liquorice and a floral touch. Tannins are a little austere however good tension and length, maybe lacks a little fruit concentration." Rating: 92-93? L&S (Apr 2016)
* 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.
Blackcurrant, blueberry and currant aromas with hints of black licorice and hot stones. Full-bodied with dense and integrated tannins and a long, long finish. It is all there and all about proportional harmony. Excellent focus and beauty. Drinking range: 2022 - Rating: 98 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2018)
Two records set here: the highest ever percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon and the highest alcohol level at 13.8! This is a ripe style, but has the classic Las-Cases backbone, with cassis and fruitcake notes, fine tannins and excellent oak integration. Drink: 2023-32 Drinking range: 2023 - 2032 Rating: 94 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (May 2016)
The assemblage is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc. This is fresh and very pure, with scents of blackcurrants and black damsons, perfumed, with a dark character. A very convincing start to the palate, poised and correct, with beautiful harmony of texture, polished black cherry and blackcurrant fruit, pure, elegant, correct, with a fine seam of silky tannins behind it. This is really impressive, the finish showing really ripe, pure tannins, with a lingering confidence. A very complete wine, and a serious contender for left bank wine of the vintage. Truly impressive, especially in the context of appellation and vintage. Rating: 17.5-18.5/20 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2016)
At 94% (85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Cabernet Franc) this is the highest-ever Cab content in this grand vin. Very dense at first but full of power and elegance, with lots of energy. Beautifully made, and seems more Pauillac than St-Julien. This will be a very great wine. Drinking range: 2025 - 2050 Rating: 96 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2016)
85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot 9% Cabernet Franc - highest proportion of Cab ever. 85% new barrels. More voluptuous nose than some earlier vintages. Bone-dry finish. Pretty concentrated and with some richness. Solid and mineral but not (quite) as obdurate as it used to be. Fruit and ink combo. Minerals like Pauillac on the end. Grabs the attention. Drinking range: 2027 - 2040 Rating: 17.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2016)
The 2015 Leoville Las-Cases has the highest Cabernet contents in recent years, 85% and 9% of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc respectively, partly because some of the old Merlot vines were blended into the deuxième vin. Picked between 22 September and 9 October, a total of 15 days picking, it will be matured in 85% new oak. The alcohol level is 13.8%, higher than 2010 for example. Jean-Hubert Delon has crafted an extremely pure and tensile bouquet, almost pixelated with blackberry, briary, slate and oyster shell aromas that blossom in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, svelte and sensual on the entry, the tannins a little edgy with a gentle crescendo: black fruit, tons of minerals, real focus and precision towards the finish. This is a superlative Léoville Las-Cases with the substance to suggest long-term aging will be repaid. Drinking range: 2028 - 2066 Rating: 95-97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
A vivid, mesmerizing wine, the 2015 Léoville Las Cases is stunning in its beauty. Unusually rich and sumptuous for Las Cases, the 2015 possesses magnificent intensity and power from start to finish. Blackberry jam, charcoal, smoke, licorice and asphalt are some of the many notes that take shape in the glass, but the 2015 truly stands out for its vertical structure and overall intensity. At the same time, the 2015 is an unusually ripe, exotic Las Cases with much more flesh and voluptuousness in its curves than is the norm. In that sense, the 2015, is not at all typical for Las Cases. And yet it is striking. The 14.5% alcohol is the highest recorded here. Rating: 95-98 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
This is an ethereal young wine with blackberry and violet aromas and flavors. Full body, very firm and silky tannins and a superb finish. Lovely length and purity to this. 85% cabernet sauvignon, 6% merlot and 9% cabernet franc. Rating: 96-97 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2016)
Very tightly focused, with both charcoal and iron harnessing the core of dark currant and blackberry fruit flavors. Sleek in feel, but not for lack of depth, as this is brimming with dark fruit and terroir, just in a more austere fashion Rating: 94—97 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2016)
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.