Léoville las Cases is één van dé wijnen van het jaar en Clos du Marquis (dit is geen tweede wijn, maar een selectie afkomstig van dezelfde wijngaard) is dat eigenlijk ook. Neal Martin (“majestic”), Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator (“a beauty”), Jancis Robinson (“I would never have beleived I could encounter such richness at this address”) en James Suckling (“Full and racy. Long and wonderfully polished”) geven Clos du Marquis 2016 een 95-punten potentieel; het is dan ook een bijzonder indrukwekkende wijn: perfect geciseleerd, gepolijst, fijn, levendig en oh zo verfijnd! Dit is één van de meest overtuigende Clos du Marquis ooit. Sta ons toe te herhalen: deze grandioze Saint Julien mag niet ontbreken in uw selectie!
IN DE PERS
94 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Januari 2019)
The 2016 Clos du Marquis was picked from September 30 to October 19. It has a generous, intense bouquet of blackberries, raspberry confit, cedar and light tobacco scents, representing a serious step up from the La Petite Marquise (as it should). The palate is rounded and quite sumptuous on the entry, and beautifully balanced, with a fine bead of acidity. This is a very fresh, tensile Clos du Marquis displaying superb precision on the finish and great persistence. Give it three to five years in bottle and then enjoy over the next 20 years, possibly more. Drink 2022-2045.
93-95 Neal Martin – The Wine Advocate Issue #230 - robertparker.com (April 2017)
The 2016 Clos du Marquis was picked from 30 September to 19 October and consists of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc, matured in 55% new oak. Yields came in at 40 hectoliters per hectare and the alcohol at 13.55%. The bouquet is very intense at the moment with small black cherries, incense, iris and a touch of shucked oyster shells. The palate is beautiful, perhaps one of the most powerful that I came across in Saint Julien, certainly no shy retiring flower, yet it effortlessly manages to retain the precision and tension one expects from this cru. There is a firm back bone here, but the tannins are so precise that you barely notice, while the aftertaste has superb salinity. This is a majestic Clos du Marquis, but it will require several years in the cellar. Drink: 2025-2055.
94 Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (Januari 2019)
The 2016 Clos du Marquis is just as compelling from bottle as it was from barrel. Inky, deep and explosive, with superb depth and impeccable balance, the 2016 is fabulously delicious. One of the things I admire most about the 2016 is an uncanny ability to deliver serious flavor intensity without excess heaviness. This is a stellar effort from Jean-Hubert Delon and his team. Drink 2022-2036. Sleeper of the Vintage.
91-94 Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (April 2017)
The 2016 Clos du Marquis is a striking Saint-Julien. Vibrant, nuanced and finely sculpted, it captures the essence of the appellation in its dark fruit and inviting personality. Freshly cut flowers, mint, berries and sweet herbal notes are all laced together in the glass. Medium in body and very classic in feel, the 2016 is showing very well today. The blend is 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc, with the Cabernet Sauvignon very much at center stage.
94 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - robertparker.com (December 2018)
Blended of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Clos du Marquis has a very deep garnet-purple color and is a little broody to begin, giving way to notes of crushed blackcurrants and black cherries with touches of warm plums, pencil shavings, earth and new leather with a waft of yeast extract. Medium-bodied with a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins, it has bold fruit matched by freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. Drink 2021-2038.
94-95 James Suckling – jamessuckling.com (Maart 2017)
The clarity and beauty of this young red are brilliant with blackberry, blueberry and mineral undertones. Full and racy. Long and wonderfully polished. Racy. Better than the 2015.
92 Jane Anson – decanter.com (April 2017)
Once again, proof of the hard to fault success in St-Julien in 2016. I really recommend Clos du Marquis for its St-Julien spirit - elegant, endless and classical, with menthol, cedar and black fruit, and tannins that softly float alongside. Drink: 2027-2050
17/20 Jancis Robinson – jancisrobinson.com (April 2017)
73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. 55% new oak. Exotically rich on the nose! I would never have believed I could encounter such richness at this address. Some real life here. Racy and rich and lots of black fruit. Richness but some structure too. Racy. Drink: 2023-2040.
93-96 James Molesworth - Wine Spectator – winespectator.com (April 2017)
This is stacked, with dark plum, cassis and blueberry reduction notes forming the core. The serious spine of graphite and tar is thoroughly embedded, so the finish is long and polished. A beauty.
94 Tim Atkin – timatkin.com (April 2017)
Clos du Marquis is not the easiest wine to taste young, as it’s pretty uncompromising stuff that needs time in barrel (and bottle) to soften. There’s a touch of the hair shirt here, with bloody, ferrous grip, savoury tannins, plenty of oak and hunkered down fruit. 2025-38.
93-95 Roger Voss – wineenthusiast.com (April 2017)
From a vineyard that is now separate from but owned by Léoville las-Cases, this wine is dense, intense and with the finest tannins. Great acidity and black fruits are supported by a serious, complex structure. A wine for long-term aging.
95-96 Bettane & Desseauve (April 2017)
17-18/20 Revue des Vins de France (April 2017)
93 Jean-Marc Quarin – quarin.com (April 2017)
17-18/20 Gault & Millau (April 2017)
Léoville las CasesWas er Premier in Saint Julien, dan was dit ongetwijfeld Léoville las Cases geweest. Zijn bravoure en chutzpah maakt zijn stijl imposanter dan deze van zijn rivalen in Saint Julien. Léoville las Cases is een dure maar emblematische Médoc met een vlekkeloos parcours sinds 1975.
De ommuurde wijngaard van 97 hectare is gescheiden van Château Latour door een beekje genaamd de Juillac. Hij werd beplant met 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc en 3% Petit Verdot. Regelmatig wordt hoogstens de helft van de oogst weerhouden voor de Grand Vin. Clos du Marquis wordt gemaakt op een apart perceel, terwijl Le Petit Lion de eigenlijke tweede wijn is. Een afbeelding van de stenen leeuw die de centrale “Grand Enclos” van 50 hectare bewaakt, prijkt op het etiket. DelonJean-Hubert Delon beheert Léoville las Cases met ijzeren hand. Hij is eigenaar samen met zijn zus, Geneviève d’Alton. Maniacaal zoekt hij de perfectie expressie van Médoc. Je ziet snel waar hij het accent legt: de wijngaard is piekfijn onderhouden en een marmeren vloer ligt in de cuverie. Zijn medewerkers waren lange tijd Michel Rolland (een naamgenoot van de befaamde oenoloog uit Libourne) en Jacques Depoisier. Hij is ook eigenaar van Potensac in Médoc en van Nenin, één van de grotere oppervlaktes in Pomerol. Jean Guillaume Prats komt hem sinds 2022 versterken.
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