CLOS DU MARQUIS
2022 Saint Julien
45.5% Merlot, 44.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc. 53% new oak. 14.25% alc. 3.7 pH 84 IPT. 7% press wine (which was 100% Cabernet) This magical Clos du Marquis features a fascinating blend of tenderness and steeliness. It feels like Cabernet Franc is the glorious glue fastening the equal parts of Cabernet and Merlot together. This is a naked, raw, challenging wine prepared for the long haul. The finish is as dramatic as I have seen on this wine, and given a decade, the fruit will billow and soften on cue. Rating: 18+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.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.
Impressive in terms of density and depth, yet very refined and with plenty of freshness due to the well preserved crispness of its fruit flavours. The overall harmony is just superb with very well integrated tannins. The epitome of elegance. Rating: 95-96 La Revue du Vin de France (May 2023)
This has a little more Merlot in the blend than is usual, at 45.5%, with 44.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc, the team having felt the quality of the Merlots were particularly impressive. The nose is dark and toasted, with perfumed oak and mineral veins. The palate is rich in dark, luscious and savoury fruits, with fine dark cherry, damson, toasted black olives and liquorice with sooty edges. Very impressive, with fabulous cohesion and ripe seduction. The finish is all toasted tannins, harmonious and long. A top example of Clos du Marquis, well set up for the cellar. Note there is no more second wine here from this estate – downgraded fruit now goes into the second wine of Léoville-Las-Cases. The alcohol here is 14.3%. Rating: 93-95 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (May 2023)
45.5% Merlot, 44.5% Cabernet Sauvignon,10% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample. Discreet aromatically but juicy and generous. Some firmness to the structure and plenty of freshness as well. An authentic expression of St-Julien. (JL) 14.3% Drinking range: 2028 - 2040 Rating: 16.5 James Lawther MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (May 2023)
Structured and fluffy with a blanket of fine tannins. Full-bodied yet agile and floating. Juicy at the end. Excellent finish. Lots of lead pencil and crushed stone at the end. 45.5% merlot, 44.5% cabernet sauvignon and 10% cabernet franc. Rating: 95-96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)
"We've never seen such refined Cabernet Sauvignon at this property," says Jean-Hubert Delon of the 2022 Clos du Marquis, and the resulting wine is certainly unusually suave and expressive, bursting with aromas of cassis, plums, orange zest, violets and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with excellent concentration, supple tannins and a long, mouthwatering finish, it will likely offer a rather broad drinking window. Rating: 93-95 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2023)
The 2022 Clos du Marquis is powerful and driving, with the tannins very much in evidence. It will be interesting to see the direction this takes. The fruit is quite sumptuous, but the tannins are also forbidding, at least today. Hints of tobacco, cedar, licorice and cloves linger on the virile, imposing finish. Today, the Clos du Marquis is pretty tight. Let's see what elevage brings. Drinking range: 2027 - 2037 Rating: 90-93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2023)
The 2022 Clos du Marquis was picked from 8-30 September and is matured in 53% new oak with 14.25% alcohol. It is very perfumed and high-toned on the nose. The 2022 is floral and powerful, with black cherries and blueberry fruit, perhaps not quite the delineation, almost pastille-like. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, fresh with pleasing mineralité. This remains linear and tensile toward the finish, with graphite lingering on the aftertaste. Excellent. Drinking range: 2028 - 2048 Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2023)
Cocoa bean, smoked coffee bean, intense tannins, powerful with depth and concentration, dense tannins, cassis and baked plum fruits, a ton of dark pepper spice, and baked earth, expands outwards through the palate, plenty of St Julien character. 34 hl/ha, 53% new barrels, 3.7ph. As of this vintage, the vines that were in le Petit Marquis have been included back into Clos du Marquis. Drinking range: 2026 - 2040 Rating: 92 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (Apr 2023)
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 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 2024 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. 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 2026. 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.