Винный справочник
Producers
Alter Ego de Palmer Carillon d’Angelus Carruades de Lafite Château Angélus Château Ausone Château Belgrave Château Calon-Ségur Château Cantemerle Château Cantenac Brown Château Climens Château Clinet Château Cos Labory Château Cos d’Estournel Château Coutet Château de Camensac Château de Ferrand Château de Fieuzal Château d’Yquem Château Ducru Beaucaillou Château-Figeac Château Fleur Cardinale Château Fombrauge Château Giscours Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Château Gruaud-Larose Château Haut Bages Libéral Château Haut Batailley Château Haut-Brion Château Haut-Marbuzet Château Kirwan Château La Fleur Petrus Château Lagrange Château La Gurgue Château La Mission Haut Brion Château Lafite Rothschild Château Lanessan Château Langoa Barton Château Larrivet Haut Brion Château Latour Château La Tour Carnet Château Latour Martillac Château Léoville Las Cases Château Léoville Barton Château Léoville-Poyferré Château L'Evangile Château Les Grands Chênes Château Lynch-Bages Château Malescasse Château Margaux Château Marquis d’Alesme Château Maucaillou Château Monbousquet Château Montrose Château Mouton Rothschild Château Palmer Château Pape Clément Château Pavie Château Pédesclaux Château Pétrus Château Phélan Ségur Château Pichon-Longueville Baron Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Château Pontet-Canet Château Pouget Château Poujeaux Château Rauzan-Ségla Château Rieussec Château Sigalas-Rabaud Château Taillefer Château Talbot Cheval Blanc Echo Lynch Bages Le Petit Mouton Marquis de Calon Pagodes de Cos Petit Haut Lafitte Vieux Château Certan
Producers
Château Léoville Las Cases
Behind every great first growth, there is an even greater second. With the market in Bordeaux wine on the up and up, investors need to look outside of the Big Five firsts, which is where Château Léoville Las Cases comes in. The largest and oldest of the magic three Leovilles, Leoville Las Cases is much closer to its lofty neighbour Château Latour and its Pauillac identity than its own St. Julien one.
The most picturesque vineyard in the entire Bordeaux wine region!
Two words sum up the characteristics of this superb estate: incomparable terroir. A superb 17-century château commands views of gently sloping hills (98 hectares in total), with vines that are completely enclosed. Aside from being instagrammable magic, the terroir is made up of gravelly sand and clay soils have a complicated mix of eight subsoils that offer superb drainage. The nearby Gironde River stops the soil from freezing in the winter months and dehydrating in the summer. This allows the grapes to ripen earlier than most, and produce wine that is uncompromising in both taste and quality. The 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 16% Cabernet Franc blend is a challenger for the title of first growth and should there be a reclassification for Bordeaux wines, it is likely that Leoville Las Cases would be promoted.
Erratic market presence
Despite this wine being a Bordeaux legend, a high entry price of €180 (2017) for futures has seen Leoville Las Cases perform slowly. Do not expect immediate returns on this one; growth was around 30% over five years for the (unremarkable) 1986 with the 1996 vintage losing two points over five years (and only gaining 7% at the critical two-year mark). Disparity in pricing causes problems too. When looking for sustained returns, two comparable vintages with comparable scores can be noticeably incomparable pricewise. Market growth is erratic, with some years performing wildly (such as the 2009) and selling close to €2,555 a case, and others ( 2013) selling as low as €1510.
Notable facts and vintages
  • Château Léoville Las Cases was the first winemaking estate to introduce a second wine - Clos de Marquis - in 1904. Clos de Marquis is no longer considered a second wine, so the Château has introduced Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases as their second.
  • Neal Martin awarded 2017 Château Léoville Las Cases 98/100 points, noting “Not dissimilar to their neighbour across the border at Château Latour. Yeah, it's good.”
  • 2015 James Suckling offered 98 points noting in the 2018 tasting “Excellent focus and beauty. Drink in 2022.”