Château Leoville Las-Cases 2emé Cru Classé, Saint-Julien, 2015, 75cl

Composed of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 6% Merlot, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Léoville Las Cases has a slightly closed nose, revealing notes of crème de cassis, baked blueberries and black forest cake with touches of licorice, violets and Indian spices plus a waft of dusty soil. The palate is medium to full-bodied, concentrated and built like a brick house, with firm, ripe, velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and spicy.- Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate

Blackcurrant, blueberry and currant aromas with hints of black licorice and hot stones. Full-bodied with dense and integrated tannins and a long, long finish. It is all there and all about proportional harmony. Excellent focus and beauty. Drink in 2022.

This wine that comes mainly from a magnificent walled vineyard within sight of the Gironde estuary is structured and dense. Its tannins and firm character show its enormous aging potential. Powerful black fruits come from the 85% Cabernet Sauvignon in this rich, juicy wine. Drink from 2027.

We are here in signature Las Cases territory – a slow burn, a seemingly delicate lace-like tannic structure that is so St Julien, and then builds up to a powerful Pauillac-like squeeze of tannins halfway through the palate. This is an impressively constructed wine, with liquorice, cassis, bilberry and rose bud. Not the most muscular Las Cases (and certainly a long way from the brilliance of the 2016) but joyful, and standing on the edge of its drinking window, which is rare in the world of this powerful 2nd Growth, and makes it one to look out for. 50% new oak for ageing.