2023 Le Petit Lion de Las Cases
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Deep purple-hued, the 2023 Le Petit Lion is a gorgeous second wine offering cassis and darker currant fruits intermixed with graphite, flowers, and spicy wood. Based on 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and 8% Cabernet Franc and aged 14 months in 30% new French oak, it's medium to full-bodied, with a pure, layered, seamless mouthfeel, ripe and incredibly polished tannins, and outstanding length. It has some early accessibility, yet this will have two decades or more of longevity as well. This is the first vintage produced in the new cellar. Drink 2028-2048.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Lawther MW, jancisrobinson.com
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
The 2023 Le Petit Lion is a classy, polished St. Julien. Sweet, perfumed aromatics, vibrant red/purplish fruit, mocha, new leather and blood orange soar from the glass. A wine of sensual beauty and pure charm, the Merlot-based Petit Lion is all charm. The purity of the fruit here is striking.
The 2023 Le Petit Lion has a more herbaceous bouquet than expected, though well-defined and "classic" in style, touches of incense emerging with time in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a fresh entry, slightly gritty tannins, overtly saline in the mouth, so that there is plenty of sapidity on the finish. Not a long-term prospect, that is not its intention, but it channels that "old school claret" personality with class.
61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample. Zesty and appetising but the acidity quite marked. Lithe rather than full, the tannins just a little chewy on the finish. Will hopefully fill out to cope with the acidity and tannins. (JL)
About the producer
One of the leading estates in Bordeaux, Ch. Léoville Las Cases is one of the largest and oldest Classed Growths in the Médoc. Along with Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou, it is widely considered one of the best estates in Saint-Julien.