Château Léoville Las Cases Winery
"Structure, reliability and longevity."
The Delon family
Buy wines from Château Léoville Las Cases
Château Léoville Las Cases was classified as 2ème Grand Cru Classé de Saint-Julien in 1855. The vineyard is located in the immediate vicinity of Pauillac and belongs to the small group of vineyards that deserve to be upgraded to Premiers Crus.
The Domaine de Léoville, which used to include the current Grand Cru estates of Las Cases, Barton and Poyferré, as well as the current Château Beychevelle and Château Latour, is one of the oldest estates in the Médoc. It belonged to the de Moytié and later de Gasq families, two of the richest and most influential French aristocratic families, both of whom had a seat in the Bordeaux parliament. De Gasq died childless in 1769, and so the Léoville estate passed to a community of four nephews under the chairmanship of the Marquis de Las Cases Beauvoir. The estate was divided up between 1826 and 1840. It has belonged to the Delon family since 1900. With 96 hectares, it is a large vineyard, of which 55 hectares, used for the Grand Cru Classé, are completely surrounded by a wall, the gate of which can be found on the labelling of the wine bottles.
The cru of Château Léoville Las Cases is a true vin de garde. If you are looking for a classic Médoc with a character that oscillates between Saint-Julien and Pauillac, a wine that is intended to represent the excellence of the region in a timeless way and without any fashion, you have come to the right place. 67 % of the estate is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, 23 % with Merlot and 10 % with Cabernet Franc. The proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the first growth is always between 75 and 85 %. In the second wine from younger vines, "Le Petit Lion", the proportion of Merlot is higher. The same applies to the independent growth called "Clos de Marquis". Together with their consultant Eric Boissenot, the Delons have identified 16 different terroir types, whose grapes they vinify separately. The estate is cultivated almost entirely organically. Herbicides and pesticides have not been used for a long time. The "Grand Vin" is fermented in a mix of cement, wood and stainless steel. It is matured in the new cellar, which opened in 2021, in new wood for a maturation period of around 20 months. In addition to Léoville Las Cases, the Delon family also owns the Potensac winery in the Médoc and Nenin Pomerol.
© Photos: Château Léoville Las Cases