Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1990 vintage. Excellent fill and halfway saturated cork. Used a Durand but surmise a regular waiter's friend, wielded carefully, could have done the trick with the cork. Decanted and tasted after 30 mins, one hour and two hours. Some obvious sed but not troublesome or overtly noticeable. Original owner-château direct on original release. Super cold cellar because this was lagging noticeably behind other '90's and LB's. Bigger tannic structure (for a generally feminine-styled house) than anything save a Latour, Mouton, Ducru Left Bank property. Even more guts than Lynch-Bages or Pichon-Baron '90's currently stored above 55 or so degrees. Surprising but made sense. Light-medium body. Appropriate color. 3-4 years left in this stage unless larger format in play. Slight, fleeting burst of richness in the frontal palate and a tad brickish and then it just flowed on, without speed bumps. A little cocoa powder and cedar/tobacco. Suspect 750ml specimens not stored as cold/religiously will be showing more in the 9.0-9.1 range and farther down the backside of the bell curve. 10.26.24. — 3 months ago

Ellen Clifford

9.0

Goodness the value of a value Merlot based bottle of tastiness. Purpley it is. But it isn’t just purple drapes, there is a pot of hot spiced tea bubbling and someone is puffing a cigar just outside the window. Where are you looking to through this wine window? At your friends. Wearing purple masks but they are there for you. — 4 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1995 vintage. High fill and great cork. Used a Durand. Opened but not decanted. Throwing slightly less sediment than expected. Tasted one hour after opening. Medium body. Cassis, graphite, dark plum and spring mud in the nose. All this plus an appearance of cedar and relatively fresh tobacco notes in the tasting profile. Tapered and muscular with zero fat. No flighty components evident so nothing to wax/wane over the next decade. Fairly unified now and for the foreseeable future. 8.16.24. — 5 months ago

Al Doyle

9.1

Good clean fun 🤩 — 2 years ago

Matt Waring

9.1

Intense, but lithe and perfectly balanced blue and black fruit. A+ cru Beauj — 4 years ago

with Christine

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

Every major holiday demands a celebratory wine. This Saturday Labor Day weekend, it’s a 1986 Leoville Las Cases.

The other weekend, we had Ribcap’s with a good Bordeaux & Napa Cabernet but, it was not what I was looking for with an Allen Brothers Ribcap. Allen Brothers steaks are the top 1% of beef in the country.

This 86 Leoville Las Cases started slow but, in short order excelled. The cork (not from my storage) made me hesitate to an extended decant. Even with the Durand corkscrew, it was a little tricky to remove the cork. However, the wine was still sound.

My favorite pairing is a Ribcap & an old Bordeaux. For me, no meal is slower or better. I grew up the youngest in a family of seven...raised by a single mother. My father passed away while I was four months conceived. So, we ate fast and fought for every scrap.

The nose reveals classic Bordeaux notes & style. Ripe, funky barnyard fruits of; cooked; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, strawberries, black plum, dark cherries, slight dry cranberries, pomegranate, blueberries & rhubarb. Steeped tea, cola/red licorice, anise, golden brown to slightly burnt pie crust, dark, rich, turned earth, dry stones, limestone, cedar notes, old tobacco, underbrush, graphite, dry crushed rocks, dry top soil, bay leaf, hints of eucalyptus/mint, old, soft leather, touch of mushrooms, just a hint of band-aid/va, with bright, fresh & withering; dark, red, blue, purple flowers framed is soft violets.

The palate is; smooth, elegant, ripe and juicy. The 86 still shows some baby, slightly tarry & teethe tannins. The structure, tension, balance and length are incredible. This 86 has years of life ahead of it if you enjoy them at this age and older as I do. Ripe, funky barnyard fruits of; cooked; blackberries, dark cherries, black, strawberries, black plum, dark cherries, slight dry cranberries, pomegranate, blueberries, faint raspberries notes, & rhubarb. Steeped tea, cola/red licorice, anise, golden brown to slightly burnt pie crust, crispy toast, dark, rich, turned earth, dry river stones, charcoal w/ ash, limestone/sandstone, dry clay, cedar notes, old tobacco with ash, underbrush, graphite, dry crushed rocks, dry top soil, bay leaf, some vegetal characteristics, hints of eucalyptus/mint, old, soft leather, touch of mushrooms, used expresso grounds, dark chocolate, caramel, mocha powder, hints of band-aid/va, with bright, fresh & withering; dark, red, blue, purple flowers framed is soft violets. The acidity is a gentle rain shower and perfect. The long finish defines elegance, balance in fruit & earth, well knitted and goes on for several minutes in perfect harmony ending with dry earth & juiciness over the top.

What a treat it is to drink Bordeaux of this age & older. I love the style of 80’s Bordeaux and really appreciate the 12-13% ABV of that decade. Wish that never changed.

Not sure this makes it to 2060 but, there is still plenty of life in it. Don’t be afraid to decant it 1-2 hours without question on well stored bottles.

Photos of; Chateau Leoville Las Cases, old large wood vats, their archway you see as you enter the property from the D2 & staff working their Estate vines. — 4 years ago

Andrew Liguori

8.9

Unfurls on the second day. Rich and dense blackberry and mulberry. Inky iodine, ofal and slight gaminess. Long finish — 7 months ago

Andy Stabile

9.3

So nice. Soft. I hear not making any more. — 8 months ago

Joe DAscoli

9.3

Corked shredded and didn’t have my Durand. Mess. Wine decanted almost 2 hours and oxygenated. Dense and super full bodied. Really needed food and the Wagyu tomahawks were perfect. Very excited to be collecting these now — 4 years ago

Fabian Kühlhorn

8.9

Very volatile. Botrytis like with gray-ish orange appearence. Very good and chuggable — 4 years ago

with Nicolas and Fredric