Château Leoville-Las Cases - Saint Julien 'Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases' 2015 (Magnum)

One of the oldest Medoc estates, Domaine de Léoville belonged to some of the wealthiest and most influential noble French families before it was acquired by the Las Cases family. The estate was split up between 1826 and 1840 as a result of the French Revolution. (Expropriation of emigrants’ property and constitution of egalitarian redistribution). Château Léoville Las Cases was created, thanks to a kind of birthright, from 3/5 of the original estate and the heart of the domain.

In recent years, several vineyard plots on the Saint-Julien terroirs were uprooted and replanted, and these are now coming into production. To preserve the quality level of the Grand Vin, Château LÉOVILLE LAS CASES therefore decided it would create a second wine, from the 2007 vintage.

The Petit Lion shares the philosophy of its elder sibling; it is vinified and aged in order to preserve its fresh, ripe fruit flavors throughout its life. However, it is designed as a second wine, and is therefore made to be more accessible and for earlier drinking, with a significant proportion of Merlot used in the blend.

"The 2015 Le Petit Lion is a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 60% Merlot cropped at 39 hl/ha and matured in 30% new oak. It consists of younger vines from Leoville Las Cases, plus some of the old Merlot vines (which is why there is only 6% in the Grand Vin). It has quite a broody bouquet at first, though it opens up over the course of five to ten minutes, offering blackberry, bilberry, tar and graphite aromas, erring a little towards Pauillac in style. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannin in the mouth, a keen thread of acidity, noticeable graphite notes again towards the finish that reinforces that Pauillac-like semblance. This is a commendable deuxième vin, one bolstered by that old Merlot vine this year" - 88-90 Points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The 2015 Le Petit Lion comes from plenty of younger vines, yet also includes older vines of Merlot, the 2015 is a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and it spent 14 months in 25% new French oak. It’s a beautiful second wine offering medium-bodied notes of red currants, red plums, dried flowers and hints of spice. It’s finesse-driven, has sweet tannin, and a good finish. It’s not massive by any standard, yet should fill in with 2-3 years of cellaring and have 15-20 years of longevity." - 91 Points, James Suckling

Producer: Château Leoville-Las Cases

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot

Appellation: Saint-Julien

Vintage: 2015

Size: 1.5L