Château Léoville-Las Cases is a Second Growth in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Its 240 acres of vineyards in Saint-Julien are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), Merlot (19%), Cabernet Franc (13%), and Petit Verdot (3%).
In 1950, a new owner brought in as a consultant a profesor of enology at the University of Bordeaux. As a result, the winery replanted old vines that were long past their prime, used more new oak barrels, and increased the length of fermentation.
The chateau's 1971 vintage was selected for competition in the historic Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 against nine other wines. In the blind tasting, conducted by the creme de la creme of experts from the French wine establishment, Château Léoville-Las Cases was ranked number six. In first place was the new California winery, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars.
In the Wine Spectator Wine Tasting of 1986, blind tasters evaluated how the wines had aged ten years after the Paris event. Château Léoville-Las Cases won eighth place in the field of ten. The top five places were won by California wines, followed by two French wines and then Léoville-Las Cases.
The French Culinary Institute Wine Tasting of 1986 was also conducted on the tenth anniversary of the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976. Steven Spurrier, who had organized the latter event, assisted in the anniversary tasting. Eight judges blind tasted nine of the ten red wines earlier evaluated in Paris. Château Léoville-Las Cases won fourth place in the field of nine. First and second places were won by two california wines, followed by a French wine.
The château competed in the Halekulani Wine Tasting of 2000, in which 60 wine experts evaluated 17 wines double blind. The highest scoring wine was 1996 Kendall-Jackson "Cardinale" (California). In second place was 1995 Opus One (California), while third place was won by 1996 Château Lafite-Rothschild (Bordeaux). Among the winners, there was an inverse relationship between high rank and cost. The Kendall-Jackson retailed for just over $100, the Opus One was about $125, whereas the lowest ranking cost over $150.
In the Berlin Wine Tasting of 2004, Château Léoville-Las Cases lost to two Cabernet-based red wines from Chile.
Theses wine competitions are both unique and highly important because (1) all tasting was done blind and (2) the results were listed in rank order from highest to lowest. There were no multiple winners except in the case of multiple categories (for example one red wine winner and one white wine winner).
See also
Source
- Taber, George M. Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. NY: Scribner, 2005