Saturated dark ruby. Cassis, shoe polish, camphor and rose petal on the nose; this reminded me of a great vintage of Latour. Dense and extremely concentrated; explosive yet totally backward. There nothing playful about this infant claret. Finishes with extraordinary, slow-building persistence. Very serious juice; one of the great Bordeaux of the 1980s. Drink 2010 through 2035.

This has always been one of my favourite wines from the estate, Michel Delon’s favourite – but it continues to be a beast of a wine. Deep, almost opaque in colour, it has a powerful bouquet of blackberry, graphite, sous-bois and cigar box that takes its time to open. The palate has solid, rigid tannins that support its saturnine black fruit. There is incredible volume and dimension to this wine although compared to recent bottles it appears to be softening just a little on the finish. Yet it will never lose its masculine nature and is not a Bordeaux for those seeking lush, comforting fruit. Tasted November 2012.

– eRobertParker.com, Wine Journal May 2013

For the last two decades I have been perplexed by this wine. In that time it has not moved an inch. It is a wine that, on occasion, can show it’s promise but generally mains strictly behind closed doors. The colour is the first indicator, it looks like a five-year-old wine. The nose is phenomenally concentrated but gives off very little other than ultra primary black fruit and a touch of cedar. The palate is wonderfully smooth and phenomenally dense. This is an absolute tour de force of a wine that doesn't yet deliver the hedonistic pleasure that I hope one day it might. There is little doubt that all the elements are there for a legendary wine… I just hope I'm still around to see it if and when it finally opens up.

The late Michel Delon always thought that this was the greatest vintage he had produced. We often tasted it side by side with the 1982, because I always preferred the latter vintage. Of course, the two vintages are quite different in style, with the 1986 a monument to classicism, with great tannin, extraordinary delineation, and a huge, full-bodied nose of sweet, ripe cassis fruit intermixed with vanilla, melon, fruitcake, and a multitude of spices. The wine has always been phenomenally concentrated, yet wonderfully fresh and vigorous. The wine still seems young, yet it is hard to believe it is not close to full maturity. It is a great example of Leoville Las Cases, and another compelling reason to take a serious look at the top Cabernet Sauvignon-based Medocs of 1986. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2035. Last tasted, 9/02.

Robert Parker (Bordeaux Book, 4th Edition Jan 2003)