Château Léoville Las Cases - St.-Julien 1982 (6L)
Price: $7500.00
| Producer | Château Léoville Las Cases |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Subregion | St. Julien |
| Varietal | Bordeaux Blend |
| Vintage | 1982 |
| Sku | 3346 |
| Size | 6L |
Jeb Dunnuck: 99 Points
Tasted at the domaine the 1982 Leoville Las Cases is just about pure perfection and while certainly mature it has plenty of life ahead of it. Thrilling notes of blackcurrants kirsch tobacco leaf cedar box menthol and exotic spices all emerge from this seamless powerful yet magically elegant Leoville Las Cases. Opening up in the glass with a smoky singular character it's an incredible wine from this terroir that has an almost Latour-like regal quality. It should continue drinking well for another 10-15 years and I'm sure will keep even longer. (Drink between 2019-2034)
Decanter: 98 Points
Beautifully fragrant nose, dried flowers and cedar, iron and salted-caramelised cherries: graceful and understated. Refined palate, sleek yet dense with generous and imposing tannins, yet remaining round and approachable. This has real charm with underlying drive but presented in such a complete and harmonious way; polished and precise with tons of energy. A stunning wine and so easy to drink, full of cherries and red berries with savoury touches of cigar smoke and leather that give a hint of maturity but in no way shout that it's more than 40 years old. Just wonderful. Winemaker was Bruno Rolland, who took over from his father, his grandfather and grand uncle. (Drink between 2023-2041)
Jane Anson: 96 Points
Gentle bricking around the edges of the glass rose petals and campfire smoke on the first nose. Elegance personified the tannins are so fine and the overall body so fresh that it explains right there in the glass why St Julien is loved world over. Las Cases can almost be Pauillac-like when young but as it ages it reconnects with its St Julien character and here it shows freshly tilled earth loam truffles. Very much on its drinking plateau but the kind of wine that will quietly unobtrusively deliver for the next two decades or more. gold no question. Slight deposit thrown so suggest carafing but for the first few hours after opening I would simply let stand. 50% new oak. Michel Delon owner.
dVinous: 95 Points
Full medium ruby. Aromas of currant black cherry licorice minerals and flowers. Thick sweet and deep; still young but in a gentler lower-acid style than either the '86 or '96. Still this boasts sneaky intensity and wonderful persistence. Tannins are substantial but thoroughly ripe. Drink 2004 through 2025.
Wine Spectator: 95 Points
A racy classy silky wine. Inky-ruby color. Black cherry mineral and wet earth aromas. Medium-bodied with very silky tannins and a long superfine finish. Has always been excellent.--1982 Bordeaux horizontal.
Wine Advocate: 95+ Points
I have had perfect bottles of this cuvee but perplexingly the bottles from my cellar tend to be broodingly backward and require plenty of coaxing. This huge wine is in many ways just as massive as Leoville Barton but it possesses a greater degree of elegance as well as unreal concentration. Classic lead pencil cassis kirsch cedar and spice characteristics are abundant in both the nose and full-bodied flavors. The tannins are still there and at least from my cellar this 1982 does not appear to have changed much in the last 10-12 years. One wonders how much patience admirers of this brilliant St.-Julien will continue to exhibit. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050. Release price: ($160.00/case)
