Chateau Leoville Las-Cases

The Leoville estate was one of the oldest in Medoc, centred around a mound of gravel, beginning in 1638. It was the Moytie family that first planted vines here, and through marriage the estate then passed into the hands of Blaise Antoine Alexandre de Gascq, who was influential and wealthy. When he died without heir, the estate was inherited by four family members, the Marquis de Las-Cases-Beauvoir, his brother and sisters.

During the French Revolution the Marquis fled France, and the property was sequestered, resulting in the division of the estate. Initially only one quarter was sold off, becoming the origin of Leoville-Barton, while the remaining was still under the family.In 1815 the Marquis was succeeded by his son Pierre-Jean, inheriting the majority, with only a smaller stake going to his sister, which was formalized in 1840 to become Leoville-Poyferre.

Pierre-Jean’s holdings which cover half of the original estate, became the current Leoville-Las-Cases. During the 1855 classification all three of the Leoville estates were classed deuxiemes crus. Leoville-Las-Cases remained in the Las-Cases family thereafter, passing first to Pierre-Jean’s son Adolphe, then to the next generation, who decided to form a holding company because of different interests and risk of splitting.

Clothilde became the biggest shareholder, having eight of the twenty shares, with the rest bought up by wealthy members of local wine trade, including Theophile Skawinski, who was the general manager then. Theophile poured his heart and soul to the property, before passing to his son-in-law Andre Delon.

With time the Delon family acquired more shares of Las-Cases, until they became the majority shareholders, taking control of the estate. Andre is succeeded by his grandson Michel, and then to the current incumbent Jean-Hubert.

The vineyards lie in the northernmost tip of St-Julien appellation, abutting the Gironde, separated from Chateau Latour only by the Juillac, the stream draining into the Gironde. Unlike the other Leoville, Las-Cases is largely concentrated in a single block, the Grand Clos, a walled vineyard, with a stone archway surmounted by the lion of Las-Cases.

The estate covers 100 hectares, of which half is in the Grand Clos, with another significant portion on the other side of D2, mingling with the Barton and Poyferre vineyards. There is a 5 hectare vineyard named Petit Clos to the south, and another 7 hectares cleared of woodland and planted by Michel Delon, purchased from Ronald Barton.

The vineyards are planted with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, with average vine age of 30 years. The fruit is harvested by hand, before transported to the chai where the berries are destemmed before a gentle pressing, and then fermented under temperature control conditions in a mix of wooden, cement and stainless steel vats.

The vessels vary in size, allowing for small-plot fermentation, and pumping over is done to submerge the cap, with a maceration between 2-3 weeks. The wine is then pumped to the chai to oak barrels of which 50-100% are new depending on vintage, to vinify the grand vin Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases, with about 25% would go to the second wine Clos du Marquis.

The wine will be aged up to 20 months and are fined using egg white before filtered and bottled. The glass at the base of the bottle is laser-etched with data specific to the wine to fight against fraud. The second Clos du Marquis is in fact not just sourced from young vines or rejected fruit, but from a dedicated section of vineyard quite separate from the Grand Clos to the west.

Many regarded Las-Cases as the most impressive of the three estates, the pre-eminent estate in all St-Julien, and the first and most tangible challenger to the first growths.

I have recently tasted the 2004 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, it has deep ruby color, with paler rims and legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as cassis, plum and blackberry, kernel notes of chocolate, maturity notes of savory and tobacco, pungent spice of licorice, sweet spice of cloves, oak notes of cedar. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin which is ripe and velvety. Medium in alcohol, it has medium (+) body and medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as cassis, blackberry and plum, pungent spice of licorice, kernel notes of chocolate, oak notes of vanilla and cedar. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality Bordeaux left bank, showing good intensity on the nose with complex characters, the palate is elegant and structured, with good balance of fruit and tannin, demonstrating how well the terroir and the style of the St-Julien commune to the full extent. With good concentration and a fairly long length, it is ready to drink now though can further develop for another 3-5 years.