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Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases

The history of Léoville-Las-Cases begins as marshland, this being the Médoc after all, and of course to fully appreciate its history we must look back beyond the creation of Las-Cases itself to the time of the great Léoville estate, beginning in 1638. At this point the estate, clearly one of the oldest in the Médoc, was centred around a mound of gravel about which was only marshland, which flooded at high tide. This was the Mont-Moytié estate, the mont being the gravel mound, Moytié a wealthy local who owned the property. It was the Moytié family that were the first to plant vines here, during the twilight of the 17th Century, and it is through the marriage of one of the Moytié women that the estate then passed into the hands of her husband, Blaise Antoine Alexandre de Gascq. De Gascq was the seigneur of Léoville and a president of the Bordeaux parliament, locally an extremely influential and also wealthy figure, who did much to bolster the reputation of the estate. Even at this early point in the history of the Médoc, Léoville was recognised as being second only to the four accepted first growths, Latour, Lafite, Margaux and Pontac (Haut-Brion).

When Blaise de Gascq died without having sired an heir in 1769, the estate was inherited by four family members, these being the Marquis de Las-Cases-Beauvoir, his brother and two sisters. But these were dangerous times for such nobility, and during the Revolution the Marquis, fearing for his life, was forced to flee France. As a consequence, although the intention was to sequester the whole estate, it was first broken up and initially one quarter was sold off, this being the origin of Léoville-Barton. The remaining three quarters remained in the family, and this was the state of affairs when Marquis was succeeded in 1815 by his son, Pierre-Jean, the Maréchal de Camps under Napoleon. Pierre-Jean inherited most of what that remained of the estate from his elders, with a smaller stake coming to his sister, Jeanne. This was effectively the second division of the estate, which was formalised in 1840. Jeanne's daughter married Baron Jean-Marie de Poyferré, her vineyards thus destined to be the Léoville-Poyferré of today; Pierre-Jean's holding, half of the original Léoville estate, was the start of Léoville-Las-Cases.

Leoville-Las-Cases It was not long afterwards that the 1855 classification was drawn up as ordered by Napoleon III, prior to the Exposition Universelle de Paris that year. All of the Léoville estates were classed as deuxièmes crus, all in my opinion merited judged on the tasting of the wines of today. Léoville-Las-Cases remained in the Las-Cases family thereafter, passing to Pierre-Jean's son Adolphe, and then to the three members of the next generation, Gaston, Gabriel and Clothilde. Although the children had equal shares, they did not all have an equal level of interest in the estate; Gabriel wished to sell his share, probably to pay off his debts, and in the process a holding company was formed for Las-Cases. Clothilde came out the biggest stakeholder, having eight of the twenty shares, the remainder largely bought up by the wealthier members of the local wine trade, including a gentleman by the name of Théophile Skawinski, who was not only the general manager but also, I suspect, a very shrewd businessman. Skawinski poured his heart and soul into the estate, before it passed to his son-in-law André Delon. With time the Delon family acquired a greater and greater proportion of the shares in Las-Cases, until the family eventually became the majority shareholder. The Delon family remain at the head of Las-Cases today, André having been succeeded by his grandson Michel, and then the current incumbent Jean-Hubert, Théophile Skawinski's great-great-grandson, and the fifth generation of the family to run the estate.

The vineyards of Léoville-Las-Cases lie in the northernmost corner of the St Julien appellation, abutting the Gironde, and only separated by those of Chateau Latour to the north by the Juillac, which drains into the Gironde. Whereas the other Léoville vineyards, those of Barton and Poyferré, consist of a patchwork of numerous plots, those of Las-Cases are largely concentrated in this single block. This is the Grand Clos, a walled vineyard, the stone wall contiguous with that running around Latour, the highlight of which is the stone archway (above) surmounted by the lion of Las-Cases, which also graces the label. In total the estate borders on 100 hectares, of which half is in the Grand Clos, whilst a significant portion, about 20 hectares, lies inland on the other side of the D2, mingling with the other Léoville vineyards. There is a 5 hectare vineyard in the appropriately named Petit Clos, to the south, and another 7 hectares cleared of woodland and planted by Michel Delon, having originally been purchased from Ronald Barton. The vineyards are planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, with an average age of about 30 years. The fruit is harvested by hand before transport to the chai, where the berries are destemmed before fermentation under temperature controlled conditions, in a fascinating mix of wooden vats which lie in the main cellar, renovated in 1977, cement which lie in a smaller adjoining room, and the more recent addition of stainless steel vats. The fermenting must is pumped over to submerge the cap and there is a maceration of between two and three weeks. When finished the wine goes into oak, between 50% and 100% new for the grand vin, Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases, depending on the vintage, something in the order of 25% for the second wine Clos de Marquis, and heads off to the barrel cellars which are to the south of the main chai where it rests for up to 20 months. Those barrels that have seen out their time at Léoville-Las-Cases may then find a new home at Delon's other property, Potensac. The wines are fined before bottling.

Leoville-Las-Cases In the Léoville order, Las-Cases is the most impressive of the three estates, the pre-eminent estate in all St Julien, the first and most tangible challenger to the first growths, the prime example of a 'super-second', those chateaux that would pretend to the crown of premier cru. Essentially it is what remains of the original Léoville estate, it being the larger part, portions having been carved off in the creation of the Barton and Poyferré vineyards. And whereas the latter two estates have been owned by a number of different families, Las-Cases remained, for a long time, in the ownership of the descendents of the Marquis de Las-Cases, and throughout the 20th Century they retained a minority share, long after control was ceded to the Delon family. If history and nobility isn't quite sufficient, one has simply to look at the wines. Encountering a Barton or a Poyferré in a blind tasting is a fine experience; these are, after all, great wines, and in recent vintages they seem to have only improved, especially the latter. But Las-Cases, in my experience, is more likely to stop a taster in his or her tracks, forcing them to return to their tasting sheet to double-check the tasting line-up, because you were sure there weren't any first growths on the list when you first checked. Other chateau may touch these dizzy heights from time to time; I can think of one or two vintages of Léoville-Barton and also Gruaud-Larose that pretend to first growth status, but Las-Cases has the character with considerably more regularity. And in lesser vintages, the wines can still be sublime, or at least the best of the bunch. I confess I thought little of the 1975 tasted at 27 years of age, but it was still one of the more enjoyable wines in a line up of dully tannic wines from that vintage.

Whilst I am debating the wines, I should draw more attention to Clos de Marquis; I have made only fleeting mention of this wine so far, which is inappropriate. This is not a wine to be disregarded because of its 'second-class' status. It is perhaps the finest of all second wines, and the quality is superior, to my palate, to many wines from lesser classed growth properties. It is one of the few second wines I would buy to drink, alongside bottles from illustrious chateaux, such as Les Forts de Latour and Les Carruades de Lafite. These two wines grace my cellar, but I must confess I have more vintages of Clos de Marquis than the two of them combined. Clos de Marquis, introduced with the 1902 vintage, thereby pre-empting the appearance of the plethora of second wines by many decades, is sourced from the Petit Clos. As the vines have matured, so has the quality of the wine, and hence to consider it a second wine (as in second class) is a falsehood; rather this is a different cuvée, from a different vineyard, hence its ability to challenge many other chateaux of the Médoc. (6/2/07)

Contact details:
Address: Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases, 33250 Saint-Julien-Beychevelle
Telephone: +33 (0) 5 56 73 25 26
Fax: +33 (0) 5 56 59 18 33

Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases - Tasting Notes

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2007

Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases (St Julien) 2007: Cabernet dominates, with 58% Sauvignon and 5% Franc, then 35% merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. Dark and attractive fruit here, rather floral aromas, with impressive dark fruit sweetness. Appealing, without showing overt or overpowering oak at this stage. Impressive palate, some flesh and sweet fruit, a good balance, and a nice texture over the tannins. Ripe, pervasive, but nicely poised. Good harmony. This has very good potential indeed. From my 2007 Bordeaux en primeur assessment. 16.5-17.5+/20 (April 2008)

Clos de Marquis 2007: The second wine of Léoville-Las-Cases. Firm black fruits, quite aromatic but with very firm and reserved fruit rather than anything pretty or floral. A firm palate, good weight through the midpalate, classically composed wine. Nice balanced of tannins and flesh. Pretty good. From my 2007 Bordeaux en primeur assessment. 14.5-15.5+/20 (April 2008)

2006

Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases (St Julien) 2006: Interestingly, this sample was bottled under a synthetic cork, although the wine when bottled for sale will have a traditional cork. This young wine has an almost exotic perfume on the nose, which overall is very expressive and rich in sweet fruit. This has more punch than the 2007 for sure. There is a lot of structure here, an appealing texture, good substance, and plenty of vigour and acidity. This has ripe tannic bones, and there is lovely potential here. A vin de garde and an admirable addition to any cellar. From a Bordeaux 2006 assessment. 17.5-18+/20 (April 2008)

1985

Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases (St Julien) 1985: Like a few other wines tonight this demonstrates its potential even with its colour, which is red cut through with a purple streak of youth. Stylish, classically styled St Julien fruit with a hard, tarry character. There is a sense of a full, sweet richness to it. On the palate it is clear that this firm, tannic, backward wine is still in the ascendant. Firm fruit and balanced acidity provide the potential for future development. From a 1985 Bordeaux tasting. 18.5+/20 (September 2002)

1983

Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases (St Julien) 1983: Good depth of colour here. Good intensity up to the rim, paling just a fraction. Mineral, elegant, stylish nose; little notes of coffee-toffee, overlaid with a somewhat organic note. Intriguing. Firm palate, with ripe tannins showing quite strongly. Great flavour and good fruit still. And superb depth. This is exuding quality in the glass and is clearly a first-growth pretender. Excellent wine, still on the way up. Drink now or watch it improve for another five years at least. From a 1983 Bordeaux tasting. 17+/20 (February 2005)

1981

Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases (St Julien) 1981: Deep and densely coloured wine, red-purple with a hint of mahogany. Wonderful blackcurrant and currant flavours, quite rich and yet a touch austere. A velvety texture, with a big structure, and a strong acidic backbone. An incredible but slightly austere length. From a 1981 Bordeaux tasting. 17.5+/20 (September 2001)

1975

Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases (St Julien) 1975: A good colour. Another wine with a fairly classic nose. A tarry edge and some suggestion of fruit. Good texture and weight on the finish, although somewhat short on flavour. There are nuances of floral, gravelly fruit, although this fades through the endpalate. Another wine beginning to dry out. From a 1975 Bordeaux tasting. 15/20 (August 2002)

1961

Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases (St Julien) 1961: A reasonably deep colour here, a mature rim, with a sweet, raspberry-tinged nose. A smoky-sweetness. A roasted, sweet, complete, textured wine, nicely balanced, but showing an attractive bit of grip at the finish. Not the richest of palates, but it has a lovely presence, with a tannic backbone. This full, structured wine still has some hidden potential it seems. Very good indeed. From a 1961 Bordeaux tasting. 17.5/20 (June 2007)