Chateau Leoville Las Cases 2eme Cru Classe, Saint-Julien 2009

Amazing aromas of cep mushrooms, dark fruits and fresh flowers, follow through to a full body and super velvety tannins with a long long finish. Gorgeous structure to this. Sexy and almost decadent. Just like when I tasted it in Hong Kong. Try in 2019.

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2009 Léoville Las Cases rocks up with a drop-dead gorgeous nose of baked blackberries, warm plums and crème de cassis with suggestions of violets, rose hip tea, dark chocolate, menthol and sandalwood. Full-bodied, rich, concentrated and decadent in the mouth, it has super ripe, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and exotic.

The 2009 Leoville Las Cases may be the most open-knit and forward Las Cases I have tasted to date. Analytically, it is high in tannin and the alcohol is 13.8%, nearly a record at this estate. This blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc was showing brilliantly at the 2009 tasting I did in Hong Kong and at a later tasting. It boasts an inky/purple color, monumental concentration and lots of sweet, jammy black currant, black cherry and kirsch fruit intermixed with crushed rock and mineral notes. As always, proprietor Jean-Hubert Delon has built a massive wine with exceptional precision, unbelievable purity and aging potential of 40-50 years. I was surprised by the lusciousness of this cuvee on several occasions, and how much more forward it is given the fact that Las Cases can often be forebodingly backward and in need of 10-15 years of cellaring at age 30, the 1982 is still a baby in terms of development!). The super-concentrated 2009 needs another 5-7 years before additional nuances emerge. This is a brilliant, full-throttle St.-Julien.

The 2009 Léoville Las-Cases simply delivers on the nose with intense blackberry, wild hedgerow, graphite and crushed stone aromas on the nose. You would put this down as a Pauillac if served blind, unsurprising given that it borders that appellation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, silky smooth in texture with immense depth. It is blessed with quite brilliant delineation and the precision on the finish is magnificent. Chapeau Mon. Delon. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits Ten Year On tasting.

Brilliant medium ruby. Brooding, medicinal aromas of cassis, blueberry, exotic spices and sexy oak. Large-scaled, dense and deep, with superconcentrated dark fruit and spice flavors given definition by strong acidity. Hugely rich but impeccably balanced Saint-Julien wine with a great, slowly building finish featuring a boatload of harmonious, noble, fully ripe tannins. This endless, subtle wine is at first growth level in 2009.

(76% cabernet sauvignon, 15% merlot, and 9% cabernet franc; ph 3.65; IPT 70; 13.4% alcohol; 65% new oak) Purple ruby. Initially closed nose opens slowly with air to reveal blackcurrant, blueberry, tobacco and minerals. Then remarkably supple and pliant in the mouth, with extremely sweet red and black fruit flavors complicated by graphite, tobacco and minerals. The youthful, building tannins start silky-smooth, then become a bit aggressive on the long, complex finish. Compared to Latour, whose vineyards lie practically next door, this has a much softer texture and is very much Saint-Julien, though over time it may toughen up and shut down. This wine reminded me of the excellent '66, but despite such high praise, I'm not sure it's that much better than the excellent '08 made here. Las Cases's reputation is built on some of Bordeaux's finest cabernet sauvignon of all, but Delon told me that he felt it needed a touch more merlot than usual in the final blend this year. While normally it can do with very little merlot, not this year, said Delon. The merlot adds a touch of charm that is lovely.