A vintage that tended to be underrated early on, due to its youthful austerity and the excitement generated by its two immediate predecessors, the 2011 Léoville Las Cases is emerging as a sleeper that will delight Médoc purists. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of cassis, dark berries, sweet spices, loamy soil, cigar wrapper and pencil shavings, it's medium to full-bodied, concentrated and structured, with chewy tannins, tangy acids and a long, penetrating finish. Built for the long haul, its austerity without asperity is immensely appealing in a world of ever sweeter, softer Bordeaux.

Possibly the best wine of the day to end on. With a sultry, animal, truffley nose this was immediately enticing and drove into a plush but structured palate which again, like its stable mate, was packed with real energy and tension. This was a Las Cases vintage for sure, with masses of sweet fruit and plenty of structure to aid with the ageing process. Genuinely a delight to drink.

Concentrated black fruits and sappy power. This is a delicious Las Cases if on the side of a hard taskmaster, this is for those who really love to be whipped by their wines before giving in. Those tannins are still very much present - binding in the exoticism, black pepper, charcoal and dried herbs. A yield of 26hl/ha, the second hottest vintage since 2000 and with very little rain overall (although it fell at difficult times). Drinking Window 2021 - 2044
Blind tasted by Jane Anson (at Bordeaux, 19 Feb 2021)
Part of Bordeaux 2011: The top-rated wines tasted 10 years on

This has very solid guts, with dark, almost brooding plum compote, currant paste and anise notes, followed by a hint of roasted juniper wood on the finish, which smolders nicely. An iron hint lurks throughout as well.-J.M.

The Grand Vin is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc cropped at just 27hl/ha and raised in 80% new oak. It has a comparatively opulent bouquet compared to its peers with sumptuous blackberry, wild strawberry, minerals and cedar, offering touches of Margaux-like floral notes with continued aeration. The palate is full-bodied with good grip and is certainly a Saint Julien with great substance considering the vintage although it does not quite fan out on the finish a la 2009 or 2010. But it is very composed and well balanced with some very pure blackberry, boysenberry and spicy notes lingering long in the mouth. Excellent. Tasted April 2012.

Intense aromas of currants and blackberries with minerals. Full body, with an serious density for the vintage, and racy tannin and acidity. It goes on very long. Reminds me a little of 1996. Very classic style.

One of the more formidably backward and potentially long-lived wines of the vintage, the medium to full-bodied 2011 Leoville Las Cases behaves like a first-growth, which in a sense it truly is. Revealing a dense inky/purple color, it is a structured, rich, impressively endowed effort that is meant for the long haul. Atypical for this vintage, it requires 5-7 years of bottle age and should drink well for two decades thereafter. The final blend was 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Yields were a low 27 hectoliters per hectare, and the natural alcohol achieved 13.4%.
-Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #212 Apr 2014

(93-95+)
One of the thrilling successes of the vintage is, not surprisingly, the 2011 Leoville Las Cases. Analytically, this ripe wine has statistical numbers that are almost identical to their 2010. The fruit was cropped at 27 hectoliters per hectare, the wine aged in 80% new French oak, and the final blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc came in at 13.4% natural alcohol. It boasts an opaque inky/purple color along with gloriously pure aromas of creme de cassis, black raspberries, vanillin and crushed rocks. Medium to full-bodied with abundant glycerin and ripe but noticeable tannin, this beauty is potentially one of the longest lived and finest wines of the vintage. It should be drinkable in 5-6 years and last for 2-3 decades.

(76% cabernet sauvignon and 12% each merlot and 12% cabernet franc; 26 hectoliters per hectare): Good deep red. Outstanding verve to the aromas of raspberry, white pepper, violet, rose petal and sweet spices; today the cabernet franc component is very apparent. At once velvety and racy on the palate, with great energy and class to the red fruit, floral and mineral flavors. An electric wine that jolts the palate, and yet the exceptionally silky finish features creamy-sweet mouth-saturating tannins. If the 2007 was more Saint-Julien in style and the 2008 more like Pauillac, the subtly complex 2011 is very much Léoville. I'm not sure Jean-Hubert Delon could make a bad Léoville-Las-Cases even if he tried to. This should turn out to be one of the top five wines of the vintage.

[76CS/12M/12CF] Rich fruit, oak vanilla and mineral tinged nose; concentrated St Julien with a crisp acidity and very fine textured, firm tannin; long, elegant and close grained to taste but tight, backward and restrained all the way through; a marked minerality with real scope, tenacity of flavour and length. Complete in its slender, sinewy way, absolutely without coarseness, but certainly long term. 2024-38 [M.Schuster, Bordeaux Mar/Apr 2012]

Quality 861 | Brand 994 | Economics 837 | buzz brand, investment staple
Quality: Predicted life of 12 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group for the 2011 vintage, which averages 9 years 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 £34 for the 2011 vintage Production: Lower production than its peer group average of 186,000 bottles

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017

Drink 2021-2040 Very low yields this year. Some fruit burnt in the heat spike of June. Across the whole estate the yields were 26 hl/ha. 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc. Rich inky crimson with deep purple crimson rim. Not as open on the nose as the Clos du Marquis. 'Very Leoville Las Cases.' Deep and dark and closed on the nose though you know it is intense. Great power and structure in the mouth but the structure is less obdurate than in many years. Dense but not heavy. Very firm. (JH) 13.4%

Inky crimson. Lively dark fruit. Sweet and meaty. Lithe tannins but there is a bit of a hole in the middle so it finishes dry but elegant. (Going back to this at the end of the flight, I think I underrated it.) (JH)