Château Léoville Las Cases
Les Domaines Delon
Rue de l’Ecole
33250 Saint-Julien-Beychevelle
Tél.+ 33 (0)5 56 73 25 26
contact@leoville-las-cases.com
In the heart of the Saint-Julien appellation, the emblematic Léoville Las Cases is one of three châteaux bearing the Léoville name in the appellation. The largest of the three Léoville estates, the château is also one of the oldest in the Médoc, with vines cultivated here as far back as the 17th century. Its vineyard, adjacent to Châteaux Latour and Pichon Comtesse, produces some of the most internationally sought-after wines in the Médoc's “super seconds” family. Léoville Las Cases has belonged to the same family since the late 19th century, now represented by Jean-Hubert Delon and his children.
On the D2 departmental road, the famous route des châteaux des crus classés de 1855, Léoville Las Cases can be recognized by its stone gateway surmounted by a lion, the animal figure emblematic of the estate, even on the labels. This roadside gate “hides” a 55-hectare vineyard surrounded by a stone wall that marks the limits of its terroir, stretching from the village of Saint-Julien to its famous neighbor, Château Latour.
Léoville Las Cases is one of the oldest estates in the Médoc. The reputation of the former “Mont Moytié” and its wines dates back to the 17th century, when Blaise Alexandre de Gasq made the estate the largest in the Médoc, with 300 hectares of vines. At the time, the reputation of “Domaine de Léoville” wines lay in the diversity of the vineyard's soils, with successive layers of clay and limestone. Domaine de Léoville wines were among the most expensive on the Left Bank, as their prices rubbed shoulders with those of neighboring châteaux such as Latour and Lafite. After 1789, the estate was divided into three after the French Revolution, between 1826 and 1840. The Las Cazes heirs took over the bulk of the vineyard with 97 hectares of vines, which they named after themselves. The other two “Léoville” heirs, Poyferré and Barton, did the same with the neighboring plots. Half a century later, these three estates were all included in the 1855 imperial classification as Second Classified Growth.
Originally, the three estates (Léoville Las Cases, Léoville Barton and Léoville Poyferré) belonged to the same owner, the Moytie family. Shortly before the French Revolution, Moytie's daughter married Blaise Alexandre de Gascq, a parliamentarian from Bordeaux who also owned the Léoville seigneury in the Charente region. In 1826, the estate was divided: a quarter was bought by Hugh Barton, already owner of Château Langoa, and the rest went to Jean de Las Cases. A few years later, the latter's daughter married Baron de Poyferré and brought him part of the estate as a dowry. But the Léoville Las Cases estate was quite distinct from the other two, and it was at this point that it began its media ascension.
In 1900, the Marquis de Las Cases sold his property to a civil company, which entrusted its management to Théophile Skawinski, a renowned winegrower of the time. His descendants were to oversee the estate's destiny for many years, constantly maintaining its reputation for excellence.
Since the end of the 19ᵉ century, Léoville Las Cases has belonged to the Delon family, and is managed by the same family currently represented by Jean-Hubert Delon and his sister Geneviève d'Aton. The estate is thus handed down from generation to generation to ensure the continuity of the château's policy of excellence, which, vintage after vintage, produces wines of remarkable elegance and finesse.
Domaines Delon (which manages Léoville Las Cases) also owns two other fine estates whose wines are highly appreciated by the Bordeaux wine trade and on international markets. The first is Château Potensac, a 61-hectare cru bourgeois in the Médoc appellation near the Gironde estuary. In the Delon family, inherited from Jean-Hubert Delon's paternal grandmother, this estate produces wines of great consistency. The second, purchased in 1997 by Jean-Hubert Delon from his cousins, the Despujol family, is the 8-hectare Château Nenin in Pomerol.
Stretching from the village of Saint-Julien-Beychevelle to Pauillac, Château Léoville Las Cases plots cover 55 hectares. The complexity of the Léoville Las Cases vineyard - and what gives its famous wines their inimitable style - lies in its diversity: deep Quaternary gravel with gravelly-sandy and gravelly-clay subsoils in the Saint-Julien sector. Due to its proximity to the Gironde estuary (which provides a micro-climate that protects the plots from spring frost and favors the perfect ripening of the grapes facilitated by these warm soils), other more compact clays are present, completing an already significant diversity of soils. This 50-year-old vineyard is planted mainly with Cabernet Sauvignon (61%), followed by Merlot (21%) and Cabernet Franc (16%).
One plot of outstanding beauty catches the eye. The “Grand Clos” parcel is dedicated exclusively to the production of the Grand Vin. This parcel is protected by long walls adjoining Château Latour, and clearly marked by a portal decorated with the lion, the estate's emblem. The estate's other plots are used to make Clos du Marquis, the famous other wine of Léoville Las Cases in Saint-Julien, which was long considered (rightly or wrongly) to be the second wine of Léoville Las Cases. Clos du Marquis has the particularity of having unclassified plots. But never mind! This wine has the character of the very best. The second wine is actually Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases.
The wines of Léoville Las Cases live up to their reputation, built over three centuries ago. Jean-Hubert Delon has never ceased to lavish on his plots all the attention and analysis required to vinify and mature wines of exemplary consistency that tell a true story: that of the place where these wines are born. The estate's wines are of a very high standard, so much so that the château is rightly described by the profession and the specialist press as a “super second”, having long since joined that family of wines whose terroir, although classified as a Second Cru Classé de 1855, are in many respects as worthy of quality and merit as those classified as Premiers Crus Classés de 1855. So Léoville Las Cases joins Châteaux Montrose, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Pichon Baron and Pichon Comtesse in the very select circle of Médoc wines with “terroir assimilated to that of the Premiers”.
In this constant quest for uncompromising quality, Léoville Las Cases graces us with wines of strong personality, aptly depicting the complexity of its terroir. Château Léoville Las Cases (Saint-Julien's second cru classé) and Clos du Marquis, the other full-fledged wine from a small “clos”, separate from the “grand clos”, delight the most refined tasters. These two wines always shine with their fresh aromatic complexity and finely structured mouthfeel without lacking in wine weight, often reminiscent of Pauillac's finest crus (usually more sappy, muscular and powerful).
The Grand Vin du Château Léoville Las Cases is racy, fabulous, long, deep, intense, and of breathtaking length in the great Cabernet years, while never falling short, quite the contrary, in more classic or even more difficult vintages. The great terroir combined with the experience and know-how of teams well-versed in the difficulties always compensate for the pitfalls imposed by nature. As with all crus of this quality, no vintage is ever a failure. Léoville Las Cases never disappoints. The Grand Vin, one of the finest examples of its kind in the “super seconds” category, is sublime, transcends Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and can sometimes approach the greatest Pauillacs in style. But the Grand Vin remains a Saint-Julien, in other words, a perfect ambassador for the elegance and refinement that the best parcels of this appellation are capable of guaranteeing.
Clos du Marquis, produced in its own specific production area - and whose plots, it should be noted once again, are not classified - has all the character of the best Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated Saint-Julien. This wine is almost legendary in its qualities. It was created in 1902 (the first vintage) and its vines are adjacent to Château de Léoville Las Cases. From the outset, its vocation was to offer the quintessence of terroirs different from the Grand Vin. Mission accomplished!
As this is a wine in its own right and does not have the status of a second wine, it was agreed to use the youngest vines from these plots to give Clos du Marquis a second wine: La Petite Marquise. Striving for harmony, delicacy and elegance, La Petite Marquise, dominated by Merlot, is a wine to be enjoyed younger than Clos du Marquis. This wine is also said to be a tribute to all the women who have contributed to the history of the estate over the centuries.
Finally, Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases, the estate's official second wine, echoes the spirit of the Grand Vin. More fruit-driven, with a high proportion of Merlot in the blend, and made from younger vines (as is the principle of second wines), this wine plays on the register of gourmandise, harmony and delicacy, while at the same time being a gateway and an invitation to take the next step into the world of Grand Vin. It was in 2007 that Jean-Hubert Delon decided to create Le Petit Lion to exploit the plots of land that had been renewed after some had been grubbed up in the early 2000s.
The grapes were harvested on these 60 hectares of Grand Clos between September 18 and October 10, 2018. With a very high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon (80%), 11% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc, Léoville Las Cases 2018 offers a wine with very ripe grapes that have benefited from exceptional conditions, as will be the case in 2019 and 2020. The wine is fleshy, opulent without lacking freshness, powerful and long in the mouth on a tannic frame of the noblest and most sensual fine grain. Dense, aromatic nose of blueberry and blackberry. A wine of great freshness (the Cabernets are superb and have played their part in balancing the wine), great finesse and great ageing potential. A wine with lots of energy. Great class!
The grapes were picked between September 6 and October 5, 2020. The blend is 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc. The color is deep, almost inky-blue. The nose is highly concentrated, with notes of Havana, blackberry and blackcurrant, all with a sensation of great freshness and aromatic purity. The wine doesn't reveal everything, however, and we'll have to be patient to discover it in all its aromatic glory, to appreciate the complexity already sensed. The palate is elegantly layered with well-sheathed, subdued tannins. The wine is distinguished, long on the finish, sapid and greedy with a minty, spicy character. A great Saint-Julien wine to be forgotten for a while in the cellar.
25 hectares are used to produce the second wine, Le Petit Lion. In this blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc, Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases is a fruity, gourmet wine with black fruit and black olive tapenade. A lot of freshness and friendliness delight us in this wine, which is softer than its elder brother and more accessible too. But the wine has all the typicity of the great Saint-Julien wines. Starting with the 2022 vintage, Le Petit Lion will incorporate the best parcels used to make Clos du Marquis.
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