2010 Chateau Léoville-Las Cases

As you would expect, this is a powerful, concentrated wine with 13.7% natural alcohol (compared to 2005: 13.2%). The pH is fairly normal at 3.56, and its relatively high total acidity gives it a classic, fresh yet backward style. Considering how long vintages like 1982, 1986 and, I suspect, 2000 take to reach maturity, potential buyers of this wine should easily invest in a decade of cellaring, although I suspect it will take closer to 15 or more years for it to reveal secondary nuances. A good 40- to 50-year-old wine is a dense, purple, full-bodied Las Cases, with classic sweet cherry, graphite and black currant fruit, as well as hints of new saddle leather and subtle oak. This backward, multi-layered and multi-dimensional wine is breathtakingly rich but brooding. Our recommendation: perfectly drinkable from 2021.

Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon 66% Merlot 24% Cabernet Franc 9% Petit Verdot 1%

Wine Advocate (Robert Parker): 95-98/100

Taste: dry

Alcohol content: 13.5% vol.
Allergen information: Contains sulphites

Bottler, importer: Leoville Las Cases, , 33250 Saint Julien-Beychevelle, FRANCE