Red-ruby. Aromas of mulberry, redcurrant, mocha, sassafras and spicy oak, with an attractive floral topnote. Juicy, suave and fine-grained, with a repeating floral quality giving the wine lovely inner-mouth perfume. Very sexy oak here. Finishes with firm but suave tannins and excellent dusty persistence.

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One of the finest over-achieving efforts in this vintage as well as a 'best buyâ?� for a top-flight St.-Julien, this 2008 is an irresistible success. It reveals an opaque ruby/purple color, lots of unctuosity and a boatload of sweet cassis and black cherry fruit intertwined with notions of licorice, smoke and oak. Full-bodied, remarkably concentrated and stunningly pure and textured, this sensational wine is already drinking well, and will be even better with 2-3 years of cellaring. It should last for 20-25 years. Bravo!

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Very direct, with black currant and fig paste jumping out and driving all the way through the lightly muscular finish, where extra iron, espresso and charcoal notes fill in. An iron edge lingers. This needs a little time.

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Very closed wine, difficult to judge but not to my taste (as so many wines in this vinatge; see my entrey on Leoville Las cases for details)