2022, Château Léoville Lascases, SAINT-JULIEN 2ème Grand Cru Classé

Bordeaux Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot

One of the leading "Super-Second" growths of the Médoc. The 55 hectares of vines are situated alongside those of Château Latour, just over the St Julien border. The young Cabernet vines and much of the Merlot is used for the "Petit Lion" second label. The most Pauillac-like of all the Saint Juliens with a strong Cabernet Sauvignon character. The 2022 blend is 83.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.5% Cabernet Franc and 6% Merlot.

One of the wines of the vintage this year is the 2022 Léoville Las Cases, a monument in the making that combines unerring classicism with unusual sensuality and charm by the standards of this estate's sometimes youthfully forbidding wines. Exhibiting deep aromas of dark berries, violets, pencil lead, rose petals and tobacco leaf, it's full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, with terrific concentration, beautiful purity of fruit, abundant but refined tannins and a long, vibrant finish. On the several occasions that I tasted it, the 2022 was surprisingly open for a young Las Cases, but it wouldn't surprise me if it were to shut down after a few years in bottle. 98-100 William Kelley, Wine Advocate.

The 2022 Léoville Las-Cases was picked 8-30 September with more infusion than extraction, matured in 84% new oak. Precocious, almost decadent blackberry and blueberry fruit on the nose, there is something lavish and audacious about this Saint-Julien. There is an underlying estuarine element, a whiff off the banks of the Gironde. The palate is medium-bodied with polished tannins, very detailed, extremely pure, what you might call a "vertical" Las-Cases with fabulous precision on the finish. This surpasses the 2018-2020 trio and to use that clichéd expression, is a "tour de force". 98-100 Neal Martin, Vinous.

The 2022 Leoville Las Cases strides confidently out of the glass with classic scents of warm cassis, juicy black plums, and pencil shavings, giving way to wafts of evocative scents of iron ore, crushed rocks, wood smoke, and violets, with a hint of star anise. The medium to full-bodied palate is the Taj Mahal of Cabernets, built with an amazing structure and so many intricate layers, it makes the mind spin. Youthful, crunchy black fruits and mineral sparks give way to a core of savoury notes and plum preserves, intertwined with a firm backbone of exquisitely ripe tannins, and a very long, seamlessly lively finish. Wow! 98-100 Lisa Perrotti-Brown.

This shows no gravity. The tannins are totally melted in the wine and give it fantastic structure, but the texture is so fresh and vivid. Crushed stone. Cloves. Chinese spices. Great finish. Opening and flying away. Orange peel. Very special. Thought-provoking. Endless. 99-100 James Suckling.

Heading to Léoville Las Cases in a super ripe year is always a good idea, as the musuclar tannins are balanced by a riper mouthfeel. As quietly confident as you would expect, this is packed with depth and intensity, taking the 2022 vintage and reshaping it in the character of this St Julien powerhouse. Graphite, crushed rocks, liquorice root, cassis, bluberry, slate, smoked earth, all held in by tannins with grip and length. 3.8ph, and high alcohols for this estate, giving a seductive mouthfeel that is unusual in young Las Cases. 97 Jane Anson.

Drinking Window: 2032 - 2080