The estate
With wines that achieve, vintage after vintage, greater heights of excellence and elegance, Château Léoville Las Cases is today one of the most iconic properties of the prestigious Saint-Julien appellation, located on the left bank of the Bordeaux region.
The vineyard
A benchmark among Saint-Julien wines, Château Léoville Las Cases watches over a 55-hectare vineyard which is planted within the famous Clos de Léoville, the complexity of which constitutes a veritable mosaic of terroirs. Located near the Gironde estuary, the vineyard benefits from the river's role as a thermal regulator, guaranteeing mild temperatures and providing a barrier against frost. Combined with the presence of gravelly soils from the Günz, resting on subsoils of a gravelly-sandy nature with more or less deep clays, the terroir of Château Léoville Las Cases brings together all the conditions necessary to produce legendary and alluring wines.
The vintage
The rainy and mild winter favoured an early budding of the vineyard. With high temperatures and little rainfall, May and June preceded a particularly wet start to July. Hot, dry conditions then set in for the long term up until the harvesting of very high-quality grapes.
The blend
Château Léoville Las Cases 2001 comprises a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (69%), Merlot (19%) and Cabernet Franc (12%).
The tasting
Powerful and intense in its youth, this wine has great ageing potential and reveals a beautiful freshness and great elegance as it evolves.
Service
It is recommended to decant the wine 1 hour before tasting.
Jean-Hubert Delon thinks the 2001 Leoville Las Cases could turn out to be as good as his 2000. I'm not sure I agree, but it may come close. A blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19.5% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, the 2001 (which represents only 40% of the production) reveals notes of sweet vanillin intermixed with pure cassis, black cherries, and lead pencil shavings. Elegant and medium-bodied, it possesses a saturated purple color, high tannin, and a structured, backward feel in the mouth. This quintessentially elegant Las Cases needs another 5-7 years to hit its plateau of maturity. It will be one of the Medoc's longest lived wines of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2030.