| 2008-09-21 11:35 |
WA: This wine has put on weight and, as impressive as it was from cask, it is even more brilliant from bottle. Only 35% of the crop made it into the 2000 Leoville Las Cases, a blend of 76.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.4% Merlot, and 8.8% Cabernet Franc. The wine is truly profound, with an opaque purple color and a tight but promising nose of vanilla, sweet cherry liqueur, black currants, and licorice in a dense, full-bodied, almost painfully rich, intense style with no hard edges. This seamless classic builds in the mouth, with a finish that lasts over 60 seconds. Still primary, yet extraordinarily pure, this compelling wine, which continues to build flavor intensity and exhibit additional layers of texture, is a tour de force in winemaking and certainly one of the great Leoville Las Cases. In another sense, it symbolizes / pays homage to proprietor Michel Delon, who passed away in 2000. Michel has been succeeded by his son, Jean-Hubert, another perfectionist. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2040. |
| 2008-09-21 11:36 |
WS: Absolutely fantastic. This is one of the most exciting young reds I have tasted in a long, long time. It shows intense aromas of berries, currants and minerals, with hints of mint. Full-bodied and packed with fruit and tannins, its long finish is refined and silky. A benchmark for the vintage. Las Cases has always wanted to make first-growth quality in a top-notch vintage, and it certainly did in 2000. Best after 2012. 15,000 cases made. –JS |
| 2008-09-21 11:36 |
IWC: By Stephen Tanzer
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, May/June 2003, Issue #108
(Chateau Leoville Las Cases Saint Julien) Full, bright ruby. Superripe aromas of roasted currant, violet and black licorice. Powerful and highly aromatic in the mouth, with brooding black fruit, violet and chocolate flavors. A step up in acidity from the Clos du Marquis, giving the wine great vinosity and cut. Extremely long and aromatic on the finish, with big, chewy, thoroughly ripe tannins. 95(+?) points |