2009 Château Léoville Las Cases
Community Tasting Note
englishman's claret wrote:
Sunday, April 16, 2023 - The 2009 Léoville las Cases isn’t holding back its charms; yes, it’s a little young still and the oak isn’t quite integrated, but as soon as the cork is pulled you’re greeted with a big, gregarious nose. It’s obvious that this is a warm vintage las Cases, but the fruit seems to stay just on the right side of the line, avoiding marked heat or overripeness. The nose straight out of the decanter shows volumes of slightly jellied raspberry and cassis, which simply explode on the palate where the wine’s worth is really shown. There’s a lot of typical las Cases character here in the mineral, pencil, and cedar notes, but there’s also an interesting terra cotta like earthiness. If the fruit character suggests the character of the vintage, it’s the structural components which confirm it - this is a full, lush rendition of las Cases (perhaps uniquely so, at least in terms of vintages that preceded it) with tannins that are already quite manageable and enough acid to keep the wine fresh in the mouth. The only sensation of warmth is on the finish (which shows a creditable length) and perhaps I simply notice it because I’m looking.
If you’re drinking for pleasure rather than academic interest, it would perhaps be better to wait on these another 5 years, yet if you’re stuck with a young wine list at a restaurant, there are a thousand worse choices. However, I wrote the above note over the first 30 minutes after opening - then the wine shut down pretty firmly, not to start re-opening until 5 hours later. Had I tasted this during its closed phase, I would have been unimpressed. Revisited at lunch the next day, about 18 hours after opening (kept in the a clean bottle at 55F overnight), this has unfurled in all its glory - like that brief burst after opening, except with more of everything and the telltale las Cases lavender potpourri note that usually develops with age. I upgraded this at that time from 96-98 points to 97-100. We will see how this magnificent wine develops.
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