Expert Reviews - 2019 Vintage
James Suckling 95-96 Points | This is really beautiful with blackcurrants, spice, black olives and blueberries. Full-bodied with chewy tannins. It’s bright and focused. Excellent second wine from Las Cases. One of the best.
Wine Enthusiast 92-94 Points | Densely textured, this wine has lashings of black currant fruits to go with the open, spicy tannins. It has an almost jammy fruitiness, emphasizing the ripe Merlot in the blend. It's proper second wine, made to age over the medium term.
The Wine Advocate 92-94+ Points | The 2019 Le Petit Lion blend this year is 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc and 43% Merlot, harvested from the 20th of September to the 9th of October. The alcohol weighed in at 14.01% with a pH of 3.55 and an IPT of 75. It is aging in French oak barriques, 30% new. Managing director Pierre Graffeuille informed me that this wine is mainly a blend of the younger vines of Léoville Las Cases—three- to 20-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon vines—with some of the old Merlot (40-70 years) from the Las Cases enclosure. "It is a great combo to add old Merlot to young Cabernet Sauvignon!" he commented. Sporting a deep purple-black color, scents of Black Forest cake, blueberry preserves and ripe, black plums come bounding out of the glass, shadowed by hints of menthol, potpourri, spice cake and clove oil plus a waft of aniseed. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with energetic, juicy black fruits, framed by amazing freshness and ripe, grainy tannins, finishing with a lively, invigorating lift. This is very different from the grand vin and yet is a wonderful alternative expression of the vineyard. For true fans of Las Cases, I would really recommend buying both this and the grand vin, because together they create an even more interesting story of the vintage at this incredible property!
Decanter 93 Points | he grapes come from within the walled L'Enclos for this 2nd wine, and straight away you see a higher intensity and focus than with the more open Clos de Marquis. The majority Merlot gives a plump character to the ripe berry fruits but they are old vines with plenty of intensity. Great entry point to Las Cases, with lift and focus on the finish - you still get the austerity and tight tannic delivery that is part and parcel of the Las Cases experience, but there is juice and pleasure waiting here.
Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points | The second wine of the château, the 2019 Le Petit Lion is based on 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc that saw 30% new French oak. Beautiful cassis and black cherry fruits as well as cedar pencil, tobacco, and damp earth all emerge on the nose, and it's medium to full-bodied, has a balanced, seamless texture, wonderful depth of fruit, and a great finish. It's one heck of a second wine that will have two decades of prime drinking. Best After 2022.
Wine Spectator 90 Points | Sleek and tightly focused, with an iron spine taking up as much space as the cassis, cherry puree and violet notes that form the core. The racy finish has an alluring austerity. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023.
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