2017 Leoville Las Cases

From its vineyards on the banks of the Gironde and bordering Latour, Leoville Las Cases is arguably the greatest of the 'Super Seconds'. A wine that sings of the vineyard. The oyster shell, saline, and gravel characters are so pure and expressive, carrying the sweet, albeit relatively austere, red and black fruits. Following the 2016 was always going to be an impossible task… but this is as good an effort as you could imagine for the vintage. - April 2018

The 2017 Léoville Las Cases, a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon with 11% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot from 50- to 90-year-old vines, is deep garnet-purple in color and simply sings of crushed blackcurrants, wild blueberries and plum preserves with notions of wood smoke, cigar boxes, crushed rocks and beef drippings. Medium-bodied with wonderful intensity and vivacity, it gives a firm, fine-grained frame and a densely packed mid-palate, finishing long and earthy. This should age incredibly! - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, erobertparker.com, April 2018

The 2017 Léoville Las-Cases, which was bottled in July 2019, has a fragrant bouquet with rose petal and briary aromas married with cranberry, pomegranate and raspberry. A touch of tobacco emerges with time. It is certainly a more understated bouquet for this property. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and a fine bead of acidity. This feels very pure and harmonious, quite complex, more so than in barrel, with darker, more savory and ferrous fruit towards the finish. This is an excellent Léoville Las-Cases with plenty of character. www.vinous,com

This has the vintage’s fresh acidity, which does a wonderful job of driving the core of blueberry, black currant and blackberry fruit along. Light anise and graphite accents lend typicity, with a sleek mineral edge on the finish. Rock solid. - James Molesworth, winespectator.com, April 2018

The purity here is really something. Blackberries and blackcurrants with sandalwood, mint and other classic herbs. Full-bodied and dense with ultra-fine tannins. Silky in all ways. Goes on for a long, long time. A blend of 79% cabernet sauvignon, 11% cabernet franc and 10% merlot. Joyous and serious wine for the vintage. And comparable to 2014 and 2015.

Very dark with black core. This invites you in but doesn't say much in terms of aroma. It is dark, intense and sober at heart but with flashes of colour to suggest a future revelation. Super-fine texture, so much finer than I remember earlier vintages, especially at this young age. Seems almost delicate already but has amazing and effortless concentration. Already elegant. And unexpectedly juicy on the finish. Very very long. Fruit purity persists to the end. - Julia Harding, jancisrobinson.com, April 2018

The 2017 Léoville Las Cases is remarkably elegant and polished for this typically brutish Saint-Julien. Persistence more than power is the key element that distinguishes the 2017 from most other vintages and most other Saint-Juliens as well. The classic Las Cases flavor profile is very much in evidence, but in a wine that is silky, nuanced and exceptionally polished. In 2017, Las Cases is truly magical, and one of the most complete wines of the Left Bank. In a word: sublime. Don't miss it. Tasted two times.
Vinous.com, May 2018

The grand vin 2017 Chateau Leoville Las Cases checks in as 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Merlot, harvested between the 15th of September and the 4th of October. Brought up in 90% new French oak, it has an incredibly classic style that carries loads of creme de cassis, crushed rock, graphite, and smoked tobacco-like aromatics. These carry to a full-bodied, concentrated, elegant Las Cases that has fine tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. It shows the refined, regal style of this estate, has beautiful richness and depth, and is going to drink nicely with just 5-7 years of bottle age.