Château Léoville Las Cases Saint-Julien 2022 - 2nd Grand Cru Classé

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

Certainly the closest second growth, and for many vintages, when the cork does not betray it, on a par with the best first growths. It owes its class and consistency to the selection of plots that allow it to be produced on the large enclosure adjacent to Château Latour, and to the exemplary perfectionism initiated by Michel Delon in the 1980s and fully continued by his son Jean-Hubert. The finesse and subtlety of its flavor are unmatched in the world, but the wine is now opening up more quickly than in the past. The young vines produce the Petit-Lion, which is lighter but no less elegant, and the rest of the estate produces the remarkable Clos-du-Marquis, which continues to offer astonishing value for money.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the estate:

Las Cases is not content with owning 98 hectares, three-fifths of the former Léoville estate, which was divided between 1826 and 1846 to create the three Léoville estates known today. The vineyard also owns the historic heart of the vineyard, the Grand Clos. Nearly 60 hectares are planted on beautiful gravel resting deep on clay-sand gravel, near Latour and the Gironde, complemented by the current Clos du Marquis. Added to this advantage is the fact that it has been managed since 1900 by the same family, the Delons (now Jean-Hubert), who have equipped it with state-of-the-art facilities, particularly since 2002.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About wine:

Léoville Las Cases 2022 is just as remarkable in the bottle as it was in the barrel. As it escapes from the glass, it exudes aromas of blackcurrant of exquisite purity, mingled with notes of violet, burning embers, and a subtle touch of cigar box. Its aging in new oak barrels is already almost entirely integrated. Full-bodied, dense and complex, it is deep and vibrant, with striking concentration, precision and harmony, and concludes with a long and persistent finish. This exceptional Saint-Julien is undoubtedly one of the flagship wines of the vintage, and the best young Léoville Las Cases I have ever tasted.

About the estate:

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About wine:

Las Cases 2022 ranks among the legendary vintages of the region. Its deep, luminous color, concentrated nose of black fruits and spices with floral notes, and above all its immense fullness on the palate make it a Médoc legend. Who will have the time and patience to wait for it?

About the estate:

The strength of this legendary vintage undoubtedly lies in its famous vineyard, with its complex terroir and diverse, complementary plots. The grand vin is produced exclusively from this terroir, which in many ways resembles that of Château Latour. Depending on the vintage, it can have a more straightforward, Pauillac-style profile or a softer expression, more reminiscent of a Saint-Julien. The wine regularly displays an impressive blue-black color, even in average years. At its peak (which can be over twenty years), it offers a bouquet that surpasses that of an average Saint-Julien in complexity and nobility of flavors, with the finest aromatic nuances of Cabernet Sauvignon from the great Médoc terroirs. Owned by Jean-Hubert Delon, one of Bordeaux's finest connoisseurs of great French wines, this cru has shown unfailing consistency since the 1970s.

Wine Spectator

Wine Enthusiast

Jancis Robinson

James Suckling

About wine:

Sophisticated and pure beauty on the nose, it reveals intense aromas of pencil lead, blackcurrant, ink, and blackberries, as well as notes of crushed stone. Captivating. Medium-bodied, it develops endlessly on the palate, with superb tannins that caress the palate like the finest silk. Uninterrupted persistence. Its character is immaculate. Ethereal. Power and elegance. 83.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.5% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Merlot. It gives the impression that it can be drunk now, but it needs 5 to 6 years of bottle aging. A neoclassical masterpiece. Best enjoyed after 2031, but if you want to taste it now, I understand.

Yves Beck

About wine:

There are wines that hardly need to speak to make their mark. They are there, scanning the horizon, creating silence, and calling for careful, almost religious tasting, not because it is a matter of prayer, but because it is essential to devote all the senses present to the energies that this wine displays. Notes of graphite, blueberries, pepper, and cedar set the tone. The olfactory promises are nothing like an election campaign, because they are assumed, assimilated, and realized by the palate. The wine is brilliantly powerful and more contemporary than usual, creating openness and accessibility for a few seconds before imposing an unlikely power that not only puts the church back in the middle of the village, but also in the middle of Bordeaux. While it may not be alone at the top of Mount Olympus, it is certainly above the fray. An exceptional, imperial, unsettling, fascinating wine that will struggle to find its equal, so brilliant is it! I cannot give this wine a score of 100/100 because it is better than all the 2022s that have been awarded this score. So I am awarding it 101/100 to mark the occasion. When you are better than the best (I am talking about wine, of course), you have to emphasize the difference. 2030-2080

Jean-Marc Quarin

About wine:

Dark, intense, beautiful, purple and deep color. Very aromatic, refined, pure, fruity and complex nose. It evolves subtly, nobly and intriguingly when swirled in the glass. Ultra-smooth on the palate, very aromatic in the middle, with indescribable class, the wine evolves slowly, deep, complex, both velvety and powerful, towards an immense finish. It is fabulous and unbeatable. This marks the grand return of Léoville Las Cases. It should be noted that this wine was vinified in the new, as yet uninaugurated cellar.

The Wine Cellar Insider - Jeff Leve

About wine:

In contention for the title of wine of the vintage, this is the finest Léoville Las Cases ever produced. Majestic on the palate, it offers a succession of layers of perfectly ripe black and red fruits of remarkable intensity. But what makes it so exceptional is that despite its power and density, it retains an airy lightness, making it very easy to drink. The fruit is unusually rich on the mid-palate, with a harmonious finish that easily lasts 60 seconds. Léoville Las Cases requires bottle aging. But with the 2022 vintage, part of the magic lies in the fact that it will be enjoyable to drink from its first decade, evolving and improving easily for 40 to 50 years. This wine is a blend of 83.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.5% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Merlot. This is only the second time in the estate's history that Cabernet Franc has been used in a higher proportion than Merlot in this blend. Drink between 2030 and 2065.