CLOS DU MARQUIS

2020 Saint Julien

EN PRIMEUR

Perfumed with currant, crushed stone, and minerals. Graphite, too. Medium-bodied, very fine and racy. Lead pencil. Very integrated. Needs time to open and show its true self. Sweet tobacco at the end. 61% cabernet sauvignon, 6% cabernet franc and 33% merlot. Better after 2028. Rating: 95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)

* 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 2020 Clos du Marquis is a rich, explosive wine. Super-ripe dark cherry, red plum, dark spice and pomegranate give the 2020 its effusive, open-knit personality. There's terrific energy and tons of class here. The purity of the fruit is very fine, yet the tannins are a bit imposing at this stage. Give this a few years to come together. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

The 2020 Clos du Marquis, matured in 40% new oak, has something almost genteel on the nose, very harmonious, almost "laid back" as lilting blackberry, cigar humidor, loamy aromas unfurl in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a pleasant salinity on the entry, moderate depth, well balanced with black pepper and sage towards the structured finish. There is a sense of confidence about this Clos du Marquis that should see it age well over 20 to 25 years. Excellent. Drinking range: 2027 - 2050 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

Clos du Marquis is surrounded by ‘3 Léovilles and a Pichon’ and so this is undoubtedly classy real estate. In 2020, this wine has recorded its highest ever IPT and while this ‘tannin index’ is not in any way a quality guide it certainly explains the depth of fruit and apparent power on display here. Exotic, lusty, roguish and rather wild, while this wine lacks the refinement of both the Las Cases itself and Le Petit Lion, it presents to us a member of this eminent family with a naughty glint in its eye and a more extrovert demeanour. This irreverence is balanced with neat freshness on the finish and so if you are interested in tasting a touch of flamboyance in 2020, the Marquis will be sure to entertain you Rating: 17.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Clos du Marquis is plush, sensual and inviting, with soft contours that make it a real pleasure to taste today. Inky red/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, rose petal, mint and cedar all take shape as this sexy Saint-Julien shows off its allure. All the elements are so nicely balanced. In 2020, only 25 of the 46 hectares of the property were used for the Grand Vin. Drinking range: 2026 - 2040 Rating: 91-93+ Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 Clos du Marquis was picked September 11–29 and matured in 40% new oak with 13.57° alcohol. This Saint-Julien displays copious blackberry and raspberry scents on the nose, intermingling with freshly rolled tobacco and subtle estuarine aromas. There is something almost... gentle about the aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with satisfying sappiness on the entry that gets the saliva flowing. Quite classic in style, in keeping with the leitmotif of the vintage, this fans out toward the finish while retaining ample structure and a sense of linearity. This excellent Clos du Marquis brims over with breeding and should drink well for 20–30 years. Drinking range: 2027 - 2050 Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)

Pure crème de cassis, tobacco, black cherries, lead pencil, and a wonderful sense of minerality emerge from the 2020 Clos Du Marquis, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a pure, elegant texture, plenty of ripe tannins, and the vibrant, focused, lengthy style of the vintage front and center. It's going to need 4-6 years of bottle age, possibly more, but the balance, purity, and precision are all brilliant. The blend is 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, raised in 40% new French oak. The technical information checks in with the alcohol at 13.57%, pH of 3.76, and an IPT of 84. This will be a long-lived Saint-Julien! Rating: 94-96 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2021)

The 2020 Clos du Marquis is composed of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, weighing in with an alcohol of 13.57%, a pH of 3.76 and an IPT (tannins index) of 84. The Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested from the 26th to 29th of September, the Merlot from the 11th to the 16th of September and the Cabernet Franc from the 18th to the 29th of September. Deep purple-black in color, it bursts from the glass with flamboyant notes of crushed blackberries, ripe, juicy plums and blackcurrant pastilles, with suggestions of licorice, red roses and espresso. The medium-bodied palate is completely coated with perfumed black fruits, framed by firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and fragrant. Simply gorgeous. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 93-95 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (May 2021)

This has the most gorgeous savoury fruit edge, a brilliant Marquis with a sappy chalky quality, concentrated and intense but still keeps the St-Julien balance. 40% new oak. Drinking range: 2024 - 2036 Rating: 92 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)

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 on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.

Ordering

Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.

Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.

Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.

Confirmation

All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.

Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.

Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.

Delivery

  • Shipment to our bond (at 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 £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
  • Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.

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). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.

Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.

Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.

One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-

  • +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
  • +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
  • +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
  • +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
  • +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
  • +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.

Storage Options:

Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.