Château Léoville-Las Cases 2023

Bright, gorgeous, expressive aromatics of dark purple and black fruit. A sense of opulence and clear Cabernet effects on the nose. Supple and agile, juicy and succulent, a rich almost thick cherry juiciness, fleshy, ripe and cool. Lovely minty, liquorice and graphite undertone that keep the freshness going to a long finish. It’s a bit bolder than I expected for LLC and also a bit bigger for the vintage. A characterful style, certainly not missing any body but retains pure charm – this is out to please, certainly not tough or too serious, this is more easy to approach. Lots of herbal elements, pencil lead, graphite and wet stone with cloves and cinnamon. It’s still compact no doubt, but despite the power there’s finesse and it ends clean and lifted. Up there with the best of the vintage. With 4% Merlot, it’s the lowest percentage ever in the blend – 2022 was 5%. 43hl/ha yield. Harvest September 9 to October 2. 6.6% press. 3.79pH. Ageing 18 months, 50% new. Drinking window: 2034-2055. (Georgina Hindle,decanter.com)