97
Jeb Dunnuck Tasting Note
A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and 8% Cabernet Franc raised in 75% new oak, the 2010 Château Leoville Las Cases is still tight and inward, with a medium to full-bodied, focused, concentrated, regal style. Classic deep currants, green tobacco, graphite, and freshly sharpened pencil notes all define the bouquet, and it's beautifully balanced, has a ripe yet elegant mouthfeel, plenty of tannins, and outstanding length. I don't see this matching the 2000 or 2005, but it's still an absolutely brilliant, quintessential Las Cases that needs another decade of bottle age to hit the early stages of its prime drinking window and will see its 75th birthday in fine form. Drink 2036-2085.
99
Wine Spectator Tasting Note
Stunning and pure from the get-go, with intense cassis and blackberry fruit. Ultimately takes a slightly austere approach, with a wrought-iron structure driving along while pastis, black tea, licorice snap and asphalt notes course underneath. Long and loaded with grip, this remains remarkably fine-grained. A very chiseled Cabernet that is wonderfully precise and incredibly long. Best from 2020 through 2040. 12,000 cases made.
96
Vinous Tasting Note
(a blend of 82% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot and 8% cabernet franc; 74 IPT; 3.56 pH; 75% new oak; 13.7% alcohol) Deep ruby with purple highlights. Sexy, classic, captivating cabernet sauvignon aromas of blackcurrant, graphite and cedar complicated by minerals. Silky-sweet, fine-grained and almost gentle on entry, with well-integrated acidity contributing to an impression of finesse. Then dense and firm in the mid-palate, with rich, brooding cassis, gunflint and mineral flavors. This is considerably less showy today than the 2009 was at a similar stage of development, conveying a more austere aspect to its dark fruit flavors. Finishes pure, seamless and very long, with incredibly silky tannins. How Jean-Hubert Delon manages to get tannins this sweet and smooth every vintage is beyond me.
99
James Suckling Tasting Note
The aromas to this wine have a beautiful purity of raspberries, blueberries, currants, and flowers that follow to a a full body, with super integrated tannins that are like the finest silk in texture. It shows elegant and pretty fruit character and a reserve and finesse of such great years as 1989 and 1995. The bright strong acidity gives a crunchy and creamy texture. This has a tiny bit more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend than 2009. Give it at least six to eight years of bottle age.
98
Wine Advocate Tasting Note
The most powerful wine in this vertical is the 2010 Léoville Las Cases, a full-bodied, deep and multidimensional behemoth redolent of rich berries, cassis, burning embers, pencil shavings and loamy soil. Broad-shouldered, layered and muscular, with huge reserves of concentration and sweet, powdery tannin, it concludes with a broad, resonant finish. This is a prodigious, somewhat imposing Las Cases that is still an infant a decade after bottling.
