Tasting Notes and Scores
One vintage that was missing from my extensive vertical earlier this year was the 2001 Léoville Las Cases, and when curiosity got the better of me, I opened a bottle from my own cellar. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of cassis, cigar wrapper, pencil shavings and classy new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a layered core of vibrant fruit, ripe structuring tannins and a long, penetrating finish. Youthful and a little aloof, it's a classic Las Cases that is just at the very beginning of a long drinking window. It would be fascinating to compare the 2001 directly with the much-lauded 2000, as the two are very close in quality to my palate. 96pts WK Dec 2023
Jean-Hubert Delon thinks the 2001 Leoville Las Cases could turn out to be as good as his 2000. I’m not sure I agree, but it may come close. A blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19.5% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, the 2001 (which represents only 40% of the production) reveals notes of sweet vanillin intermixed with pure cassis, black cherries, and lead pencil shavings. Elegant and medium-bodied, it possesses a saturated purple color, high tannin, and a structured, backward feel in the mouth. This quintessentially elegant Las Cases needs another 5-7 years to hit its plateau of maturity. It will be one of the Medoc’s longest lived wines of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2030.
93pts Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #153, Jun 2004)
Wine Advocate
The 2001 Léoville Las Cases is simply stunning. I was fully prepared to decant it given that Las Cases is almost always a brute in its youth. And make no mistake about it, a twenty year-old Las Cases is still a youngster. Quite frankly, I am not at all prepared for the sheer intensity and richness that emanates from the glass. No decanting needed. The 2001 is simply magnificent upon opening. A rush of generous inky blackberry jam, spice, graphite and leather conveys superb textural intensity. Time in the glass helps the aromatics come alive. Shockingly rich and voluptuous, the 2001 is also wonderfully open today. Uncharacteristically so for Las Cases, in fact. But who’s complaining? Certainly not me.
Even so, the 2001 is ultimately a mid-weight Las Cases, with plenty of opulent fruit, but not quite the tannic heft that is such a signature of this reference-point St. Julien. Readers lucky enough to own the 2001 are in for a real treat. This is an especially fine bottle, perhaps the finest I have come across. Aside from all the technical analyses and descriptors, what really matters most is that the 2001 is a wine that delivers immense drinking pleasure. I absolutely loved it. August 2021
Antonio Galloni
Pencil lead, leather, smoked cedar and reserved but carefully sculpted cassis and bilberry fruit - this is Léoville-Las Cases showing its classicism in a vintage that is the home of balanced, nuanced and elegant wines. It continues to open and gather depth over 15 minutes in the glass, suggesting there is plenty of potential ahead, but the tannins have now softened and integrated into the overall structure. Grip and freshness runs right through the palate, and a Cabernet-dominated savouriness makes you salivate through the finish. Plenty of power at 21 years old. Beautiful dark fruits, a successful reflection of a vintage that still has plenty to offer. Drinking Window 2021 - 2044
Tasted by Jane Anson (at Bordeaux, 26 Feb 2021)
Part of Anson: March releases through the Place de Bordeaux
Decanter
A very typical Las Cases with a Pauillac note, even though it’s St.-Julien. Lead pencil, dried herb, currant and black olive. Medium-to full-bodied, firm and creamy with a long finish. It’s very persistent. Pretty austerity. Be sure to decant this a couple of hours in advance. Drink or hold.
James Suckling
Quality 904 | Brand 994 | Economics 956 |
buzz brand
Quality: The highest Quality score in its peer group for the 2001 vintage, at 904 compared to a peer group average of 724
Brand: Strong restaurant presence, featuring on 42 of the world's top wine lists, including Tim Raue
Economics: Above its peer group average price of £47 for the 2001 vintage
Production: Lower production than its peer group average of 186,000 bottles
- www.wine-lister.com June 2017
Wine Lister
I really like this style as it off great LLC character in a forward style. Tobacco, mocha, blackberries, cassis, cigar wrapper and wet forest aromas open the nos. Medium/full-bodied, regal, yet elegant, soft, and structured, the wine is juicy, fresh, vibrant and leaves you with a refined version of classic Bordeaux. This is drinking just great today. There is a beautiful sweetness and lift in the finish. This is a better version of the 1985. The wine blends 69% Cabernet Sauvignon 19% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc. Tasted April 2021
Jeff Leve
Coming from an underrated vintage in Bordeaux, the 2001 Château Léoville Las Cases is 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, and 12% Cabernet Franc that hit 13% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.7 and an IPT of 70. This was a milder, cooler year, and the 2001 offers a more complex, mature bouquet of cedary herbs, menthol, tobacco, lead pencils, and dried flowers, with a wonderful core of sweet red and black fruits. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has a wonderful mid-palate, sweet tannins, and a great finish. It's drinking at point today yet certainly has another 10-15 years of prime drinking.
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2001 Léoville Las Cases is a vintage I’ve encountered many times. Now at two decades old, it has a generous nose with those black plums still in situ, along with graphite and cedar; this bottle is a little more backward, probably due to the provenance. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, white pepper and sage and fine grip. Though it’s not as precise or chiseled as recent vintages, there is admirable complexity on the lightly peppered, tobacco- and rooibos-tinged finish. Excellent. Spt 2021
Neal Martin
A long, refined beam of gently mulled black currant and plum fruit is inlaid liberally with a smoldering charcoal note, while tobacco, ganache and warm paving stone accents form the background. A touch reticent through the finish, with the charcoal edge winning out. Shows lovely cut and length.—Blind '01/'03/'05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Best from 2020 through 2035. 11,667 cases made. — JM
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