1945 Château Léoville Las Cases

Community Tasting Notes (18) Median Score: 95 points

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  7/23/2023 - englishman's claret wrote: flawed

  This example of the 1945 Leoville Las Cases doesn't linger, unfortunately, despite starting out with a dramatic, griottine, cedar, pencil-filled personality. Despite its dynamism, it's quickly overpowered by volatile acidity which ultimately is difficult to see past.

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  6/18/2023 - vagrantone Likes this wine: 96 Points

  Mid-shoulder fill level.
  Cork, remarkably, came out in one piece.
  Fantastic deep hue showing only moderate aging; more like a 30 year old Medoc wine.
  I found no VA on the nose; only tertiary notes and great class.
  Still a noticeable tannin structure holding everything together.
  More authoritarian than charming but still imposing; not likely to change much over the next 10+ years...
  Re-tasted several hours later. It has opened up a little more; showing more generosity with a recognizable St Julien character coming through with black fruit, cedar and spices.So impressive.

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  11/2/2019 - misterstarre Likes this wine: 94 Points

  This has an absolutely gorgeous nose with some unusual aromas. Off the bat, there was a distinct hit of banana bread. It was definitely bananas! Also, cinnamon-spice, dark fruit, molasses, and a touch of VA, which got a little more pronounced after about 25 minutes. My impression was that this would be sweet, and was it ever. To the eye, this doesn't look like a wine harvested about the same time as the Japanese surrender in WWII. Ever so slightly orange at the rim, it was rust-red and clear to the core, with hints of magenta and slight (slight!) browning. Tannins are much resolved, and the wine has a delicate feel in the mouth -- something that would escalate as the wine fell apart a little after a half an hour. Maybe 'falling apart' isn't fair, but it definitely lost power after a time. As for the taste, sweet menthol, subdued cassis, a raisiny, balsamic reduction note, plenty of cedar, a touch of forest floor, and something bright and red poking out that wasn't distinctly any one identifiable berry, and which brought a little bright acid to the party. This bottle was in great shape (see pic above with roses in the b/g), and this wine was thoroughly enjoyable, and although not particularly profound, still very elegant and complex. I'd say it's about 10 years past my spot and on won't hold onto it's fruit for much longer than 10-15 years more, when it may evolve into a more tea-like phase.

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  8/8/2019 - yuti1225 Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Wet wood, earthy, with high acidity at first. The smooth and silky sweetness balance out the acidity later on. The classic flavors of cabernet sauvignon remains. The sweetness vaguely remains in the finish but long.

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  6/16/2019 - Boone's Farm Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Stunningly fresh and vibrant for a 74 year old wine. Dark fruit, bramble, and wet earth with a hint of leather. A classic flavor profile for a Leoville las Cases. Long on the palate. Drank along with a 1945 Brane-Cantenac. Surprisingly, as good as the Leoville was the Brane-Cantenac was even better!

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View all 18 Community Tasting Notes

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