CHATEAU LEOVILLE-LAS-CASES 'Grand Vin de Leoville' 2eme Grand Cru Classe, Saint-Julien 1986 Bottle

Description

The 1986 Léoville Las-Cases is an exceptional Bordeaux that has garnered widespread acclaim, receiving a perfect 100 points from Decanter. Jane Anson praised its remarkable freshness and concentration even at 33 years old, noting the generous sweetness of the berry fruit supported by characteristic Las Cases tannins. The Wine Advocate awarded it 98 points for its youthful appearance and stunning bouquet of black fruit, cedar, and graphite, describing the wine as structured, intense, and aristocratic with a perfect balance of freshness. Vinous echoed this with 98 points, highlighting its stunning delineation and mineral-driven profile, with softening tannins and layers of black fruit and tobacco, resulting in a heavenly, silky finish. This extraordinary vintage promises a long lifespan, solidifying its status as a classic.

*****

DECANTER 100 points !!!
Tasted by: Jane Anson
(at 1986 & 1988 St-Julien comparison tasting, 67 Pall Mall, London, 02 May 2019)
Part of Bordeaux 1980s: Vintage guides plus the wines to seek out
Drinking Window: 2019 - 2035
Michel Delon, then owner, believed this to be the greatest wine he ever made. It's not often the case that wines with this much expectation riding on them live up to the hype, but this one did. A stunning wine that, at 33 years old, still feels fresh, concentrated and with a long way left to go. The tannins have the characteristic Las Cases weight and definition to them, giving form and shape to the sweet berry fruit, but the overall impression is of welcoming, juicy pleasure. Harvested from 1 to 17 October. 4% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

THE WINE ADVOCATE 98 points
'...so youthful in appearance after 30 years, with only a thin bricking on the rim giving away its age. The bouquet is magnificent: extraordinarily pure and delineated, bewitching black fruit laced with cedar and graphite, the latter lending an almost Pauillac-like personality. The palate is exactly as I have found the previous dozen or so bottles I have tasted: structured, delineated, intense, aristocratic and imperious. It is less formidable than say, ten years ago, so it has probably just stepped onto its drinking plateau. The acidity is perfectly judged lending freshness and tension, crucial to counterbalance those layers of spicy black fruit that fans out with cedar and graphite (again) towards the finish. You come away with the feeling of having consumed a wine with immense energy, yet with so much more to give over the next three decades, and knowing this property, perhaps even the three decades after that! I would agree with the late Michel Delon: the 1986 Léoville Las-Cases is the summit of the 1980s.' Tasted September 2016.
Drink: 2016-2060

VINOUS 98 points
Having tasted the 1986 Léoville Las-Cases countless times, I wondered whether it would ever come round. The news is, it has, and it is beautiful. Stunning delineation on the nose, this has lazer-like focus and breathtaking tension, very mineral-driven with touches of blood orange emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with those once rigid tannins finally softening, layers of black fruit laced with cedar and tobacco with a silky-smooth finish. Heavenly! Tasted at the "Judgement of Clapham Junction" dinner in London. - Neal Martin