Château Léoville-Las Cases, 1996

"The Drinks Business If you've ever wanted to know what Las Cases' Cabernet would taste like without (most of) the Merlot, here's your chance (and you can play the same game with most of the first growths too). The answer, in a word, is wonderful (and please don't take that as a criticism of Las Cases' Merlot in any other vintage). This is serene and profoundly beautiful on the nose. Cool, precise, elegant, suave and sophisticated, with an intense and gracious dark purple and black fruit. It is the very epitome of cool-summer Cabernet (Sauvignon and Franc) – and that, in a sense is the point. We have, too, the florality of the vintage – here violets and a more discrete sensation of spring flowers. With air on the nose – and, again, on the palate (especially when one draws in a little air) – there is an utterly divine intense presence of cedar that both envelops and somehow cosets the dark fruit. As beautiful a Las Cases as I have had the pleasure to taste en primeur and, for me, the wine of the appellation in the vintage. Like Margaux and, in a slightly different way, Lafite, it embraces and works with rather than struggles against the characteristics of the vintage. Tranquillity, cool perfection and supreme elegance. I find this quite an emotional La Cases. Stylistically, my favourite ever!"

"One of the wines of the vintage, the 2021 Léoville Las Cases is reminiscent of a hypothetical blend of the 1999 and 1996—only better. Offering up incipiently complex aromas of cassis, plums and dark berries mingled with loamy soil, cigar wrapper and exotic spices, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with superb amplitude and concentration, velvety tannins, lively acids and a long, penetrating finish. Uniting classicism and charm, it exemplifies how a great terroir, exigent agronomy and meticulous winemaking can deliver greatness even in a less propitious vintage. It's a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc and a mere 5% Merlot this year, checking in at 13.2% alcohol. One of the oldest Medoc estates, Domaine de Léoville belonged to some of the wealthiest and most influential noble French families before it was acquired by the Las Cases family. The estate was split up between 1826 and 1840 as a result of the French Revolution. Château Léoville Las Cases was created, thanks to a kind of birthright, from 3/5 of the original estate and the heart of the domain."