Chateau Leoville Las Cases 2024

WEINWISSER: "84 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 11 % Cabernet Franc, 5 % Merlot, pH 3.60, Alkohol 13.1 vol %, 31 hl/ha. Dicht verwobenes, hochkonzentriertes Bouquet, verführerisches Veilchenparfüm und ein Hauch Schokopastillen. Im zweiten Ansatz edle Cassiswürze, Gewürznelke und heller Tabak. Am komplexen Gaumen mit guter Fülle, gepaart mit Finesse, dabei mit ungeheurem Zug, engmaschigem Tanningerüst, feinkörnigem, reifem Extrakt und durchtrainiertem Körper. Im konzentrierten, nicht enden wollenden Finale Wildkirsche, Grafit und erhabene Adstringenz."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Complex, refined and truly mineral, this has natural vibrancy and freshness as well as excellent depth. Light midpalate concentration but also no sweetness at all. Medium- to full-bodied with chalky, stony tannins and a long, very tense finish. A vintage of delicacy and finesse. If you seek less alcohol and less power, this will be a great year to buy. 84% cabernet sauvignon, 11% cabernet franc and 5% merlot."

VINUM: "Rubinrot mit Purpurreflexen; ein komplexer, feiner Duft, subtil, distinguiert, nobel, Waldfrüchte, Veilchen, Tee, Kräuter, mit mehr Luft deutlich Cassis; am Gaumen hochelegant, Massen an Gerbstoff stützen die Frucht, der Wein baut eine grosse Spannung auf, vertikal, straff, präzis und von erhabener Länge. Unverkennbar Las Cases, in einer dem Jahrgang entsprechend eher leichtfüssigen Ausführung."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Juicy black currants, blackberries, Cuban cigar, cedar, and notes of crème de cassis fill the perfume. On the palate, the wine is long, vibrant, clean, and pure. There is a stately elegance to the currant-filled profile, with layers of blackberries and black cherries adding to its character. Firm, reserved, and refined, the fruits are fresh, boasting a classic profile, but classic in the best way. As always, Léoville Las Cases requires bottle aging. However, for Las Cases, this will be easy to taste with just about 5 years of age and should positively evolve for decades. This is in clear contention for wine of the vintage. Produced from a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Merlot, 13.1% ABV. Harvesting took place September 30 - October 9. Only 55% of the harvest was placed into the Grand Vin. Drink from 2030-2060."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2024 Château Léoville Las Cases is another incredibly classy wine from this team. It's a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Merlot, coming in at 13.1% natural alcohol and aging in 75% new barrels. Cassis, spicy oak, graphite, and tobacco all emerge on the nose, and it's medium-bodied on the palate, with a focused, elegant mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and the notable yet integrated acidity that marks the vintage. Complete and layered, this elegant Las Cases brings to mind the great vintages of the 1980s and 1990s. It will benefit from just a few years in bottle, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it evolve for decades."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "Deep garnet-purple colored. Sashays out of the glass with gregarious notes of red currant jelly and fresh black cherries, plus nuances of iris, camphor, fragrant soil, and graphite with a touch of underbrush. The medium-bodied palate is refreshing and elegantly knit with very fine-grained tannins and bold red berry flavors, finishing long and minerally."

ANSON: "Medium to full intensity, vivid plum with vibrant violet around the rim, ink, black tea, chamomile flowers, slate, graphite, redcurrant, rose petals, cassis, bilberry, raspberry leaf, delivers the texture, tension and complexity that you expect from this level of estate in any vintage, and it is a success, reserved, slim and savoury with ageing potential. Arnaud Delon now at the estate, working alongside his father Jean-Hubert Delon. 31hl/ha yield. New cellars now in operation for the winemaking, 75% new oak. 3.60 pH. 31 hl/ha. 6.3% press wine. Harvest 30 September to 9 October."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "One of the wines of the vintage, and certainly one that's likely to number among the longest-lived, is the 2024 Léoville Las Cases, a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot that attained 13.1% alcohol. Unwinding in the glass with a pure, intense bouquet of cassis, violets and pencil shavings, it's medium to full-bodied, with terrific mid-palate density and concentration but also a seamless integration of tannin and acidity that's especially rare this year, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. Jean-Hubert Delon observes that the 2024 shares "the aromas and flavors of the 1986," defined by Cabernet Sauvignon ripened at the end of the growing season, though of course the 2024, lacking the huge power and structure of that vintage, is much more amiable than the 1986."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Zartes Nougat, reife Zwetschken, schwarze Kirschen, ein Hauch von Brombeerkonfit ist unterlegt, facettenreiches Bukett. Komplex, schwarzbeerig, frisch, lebendiger Stil, reife Kirschen im Abgang, wird von Flaschenreife profitieren, insgesamt sehr rassiger Stil."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Deep crimson. Fragrant nose and palate with dark-fruit, graphite and floral notes. Fairly solid structure, the tannins long and finely edged. Acidity as well so ‘classic’ and digeste. Powerful within the context of the vintage."