Château Léoville Las Cases 2016

Characteristics and Tasting Tips of Château Léoville Las Cases 2016

Tasting

On the palate, this vintage reveals itself as magnificently complete. Cabernet Sauvignon brings power and elegance, Cabernet Franc is refined and complex, and Merlot is opulent and fleshy. The wine offers well-present, silky tannins that blend harmoniously with a splendidly long finish. 

A Saint-Julien red wine with an imposing tannic structure

The estate

With wines that achieve the feat, vintage after vintage, of reaching peaks of excellence and elegance, Château Léoville Las Cases ranks today among the most emblematic estates of the prestigious Saint-Julien appellation located on the Left Bank of the Bordeaux region.

The vineyard

Château Léoville Las Cases is a Saint-Julien wine from a vineyard located within the famous Clos de Léoville, whose complexity forms a true mosaic of terroirs. Situated close to the Gironde, the vineyard benefits from the river’s role as a thermal regulator, ensuring mild temperatures and providing a barrier against frost. Combined with Günz-era gravel soils resting on gravelly-sandy subsoils with clays of varying depths, the terroir of Château Léoville Las Cases brings together all the conditions needed to produce wines of legendary stature. Averaging 40 years of age, the vines are planted on a terroir mainly composed of Quaternary gravel soils over gravelly-sandy and clay-gravel subsoils.

The vintage

This vintage had to contend with remarkable weather conditions. First, heavy rainfall from January to March replenished the soil’s water reserves. Next, mild March weather led to an early budbreak. April delayed vine development due to cold and rain. The weather shifted markedly from mid-June, with hot and extremely dry conditions arriving. The first half of August saw a rapid and uniform veraison. Berry growth, initially slowed by lack of water, was rekindled thanks to mid-September rains. The grapes’ excellent ripeness and very favorable weather allowed for a calm harvest from September 30 to October 19.

Grape varieties

75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and 11% Cabernet Franc.