2011 CLOS DU MARQUIS Saint Julien, Lea & Sandeman

CLOS DU MARQUIS

2011 Saint Julien

IN STOCK
Colour Red
Origin France, Bordeaux
Sub-district Haut Médoc
Village Saint Julien
ABV 14%

65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc. 13.6%. Quiet nose. Quite tight and herbal. Palate is ample, cool Cabernet, round and with finesse and purity. Very classically structured. Very dense and bruising tannins on the finish. Long. Very powerful and authoritative. I can see what they mean likening it to 2006. My mark reflects slight caveat over the tannin level, but I think this will turn out very well. Rating: 92 L&S (Apr 2012)

*Case price discount: Mix any 12 bottles of wine (or 9 litre equivalent) or 6 bottles of Champagne, Spirits, Sweet Wine or Fortified (4.5 litres) to get the discounted 'case price' for each bottle.

The 2011 Clos du Marquis has a pretty nose with vivacious red fruit, rose petal and light tertiary scents. Nicely defined. The palate is medium-bodied with dry tannins, fine acidity, a little pinched and lacking length, but at least there is decent freshness. Not bad, but I have had better bottles than this example. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting. Drinking range: 2022 - 2030 Rating: 89 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2022)

Bright ruby. Perfumed, expressive aromas of ripe blackberry and candied cherry are joined by suggestions of potpourri and an intense note of violet. Broad and sweet on entry, with weighty dark berry and ripe dark cherry flavors showing a floral quality, but turns austere, even a little bitter, on the back end. The fruit expands and deepens on the finish, which features mounting tannins and an almost thick texture for this wine. I think this needs time: try a bottle in about five or six years. Rating: 88(+?) Ian d'Agata - Stephen Tanzer website (Jul 2014)

Bright ruby. Perfumed, expressive aromas of ripe blackberry and candied cherry are joined by suggestions of potpourri and an intense note of violet. Broad and sweet on entry, with weighty dark berry and ripe dark cherry flavors showing a floral quality, but turns austere, even a little bitter, on the back end. The fruit expands and deepens on the finish, which features mounting tannins and an almost thick texture for this wine. I think this needs time: try a bottle in about five or six years. Rating: 88 Ian d'Agata, www.vinousmedia.com (Jul 2014)

Château Léoville Las Cases

St Julien Deuxième cru 1855 One of the leading "super-seconds" - a second growth chateau who's wines rival, in terms of quality and often price, the fabled First Growths of the Haut-Médoc. Before the Revolution, the Leoville estate was one of the largest and grandest in the region. At the time, it was in the aristrocratic ownership of the family of the Marquis de Las-Cases-Beauvoir. Unsurprisingly, the Marquis had to flee. To avoid Leoville being seized, the family decided to sell up but the complicated ownership of the estate, which was split between siblings, prevented the sale of Leoville as a whole and, in the end, only a small portion was sold off, to Hugh Barton, and this became Château Leoville Barton. The remainder of the estate came back to the Marquis' family when his son, Pierre-Jean, inherited most of Leoville, the only exception being a small portion inherited by his sister Jeanne. Jeanne's daughter married Baron Jean-Marie de Poyferré and, in 1840, this portion of the estate sheered off to become Château Leoville Poyferré. To stop further divisions among inheriting children, a holding company was founded to own Château Las Cases. Théophile Skawinski, who managed the estate, bought some shares which later passed to his son-in-law André Delon. The Delon family continued to buy share as they became available until, eventually, they became the owners of Château Leoville Las Cases. The bulk of Las Cases's vineyards - the Grand Clos - sit at the very northern end of St Julien, facing Château Latour across the Ruisseau de Juillac. The vines are planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. The hand-picked grapes are fermented in an unusual array of wooden, stainless-steel and cement tanks. Wines spend 20 months in oak, with the proportion of new wood for the grand vin varying from 50% to 100% depending on the vintage. Château Leoville Las Cases have one of the most highly regarded "second wines" in Bordeaux - Clos du Marquis. The first vintage was in 1902, long predating most of its competitors. Its status as a true "second wine" is sometimes disputed, as there is a distinct Clos du Marquis vineyard, a little way to the west of the Grand Clos, although the cuvée does include some declassifications from the grand vin and fruit of younger vines. Its status as a "second wine" also belies the quality which exceeds many of the region's "first" wines.

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