Château Léoville Las Cases 1999

Characteristics and tasting tips for Château Léoville Las Cases 1999

Tasting

Colour
The wine displays a deep, dark red hue, evolving towards a garnet ruby with subtle violet highlights, while a slightly lighter rim bears witness to its graceful evolution.

Nose
Intense and complex, the bouquet opens with aromas of black fruits such as blackcurrant and blackberry. It then gains depth with floral notes of violet, sweet spices such as clove, and delicate mineral, animal and woody touches.

Palate
From the very first sip, the wine is mellow and graceful, revealing superb fruity flesh. Its structure rests on firm yet remarkably savoury, well-integrated tannins. The whole shines with balance and freshness, stretching into a finish of remarkable length.

Food and wine pairing

This red wine will pair beautifully with roast or grilled red meats, such as a herb-crusted rack of lamb or a dry-aged rib of beef. It will also enhance game dishes in sauce, such as jugged hare or venison fillet, as well as aged hard cheeses such as mature Comté or Parmesan.

Serving and cellaring

Château Léoville Las Cases 1999 already offers immense drinking pleasure thanks to its lovely maturity, while retaining a freshness and energy that promise many more fine years of ageing ahead.

The elegance and power of a great Saint-Julien terroir

The estate

Founded in 1840 following the division of a vast historic estate, Château Léoville Las Cases has established itself as an essential benchmark in Bordeaux. Classified as a Second Growth in 1855, it is often regarded as the equal of the First Growths. The estate covers 98 hectares and has belonged to the Delon family since the late 19th century. Today, Jean-Hubert Delon is at the helm, upholding a philosophy centred on excellence, balance and the creation of wines crafted for fine dining and long ageing.

The vineyard

Located in the heart of the Saint-Julien appellation, the estate's exceptional terroir centres on the Grand Clos, a historic walled plot adjoining the vines of Château Latour. This vineyard of around fifty hectares benefits from the temperature-regulating influence of the Gironde estuary, which protects the vines from frost and promotes optimal ripeness. The vines, around forty years old on average, thrive on complex soils of deep Quaternary gravel over clay and sand subsoils. The estate practises sustainable viticulture, without chemical herbicides, encouraging biodiversity.

Vinification and ageing

Following hand harvesting and rigorous sorting, the vinification of Château Léoville Las Cases 1999 aims to preserve the purity of the fruit and extract ripe tannins. The wine is then aged in French oak barrels, a high proportion of them new, for a period of 16 to 20 months. To ensure perfect consistency, the wines are carefully blended before being transferred to barrel, then blended again at the end of ageing.

Grape varieties

This wine is made from a blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, complemented by Cabernet Franc.