Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1990

JAMES SUCKLING: 3

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "The 90 Leoville Las Cases is what great Bordeaux is all about. The wine is full-bodied, rich, deep and intense. Power with elegance, refined and fresh the tannins are perfectly ripe, backing up all the equally perfectly ripe, dark red currants, cigar box, tobacco leaf, cedar, forest leaf and spice. The wine fills your palate and sticks with you in the finish. It took 32 years to get here and will offer fabulous drinking for at least the next two decades with ease."

WEINWISSER: "Intakes Granat, wenig Reifetöne. Wunderschön süsses, fülliges Bouquet, Kandis, schwarze Kirschen, helle Edelhölzer, delikate Cabernet- Würze. Auch im Gaumen eine feine, elegante, tänzerische Delikatesse, saftig und mit einem noch parfümierten Fruchtfinale. Jetzt auf dem Höhepunkt."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "The nose of this wine had a very light whiff of TCA but not enough to distract from what is clearly a monumental wine, enlivened by the richness of the vintage. So spicy and positively throbbing with life and potential. So long!"

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "As one might expect, this is a brilliant wine, but it remains shockingly young, even for the fast evolving 1990s. Its deep ruby/purple color is accompanied by a classic, nearly restrained set of aromatics that includes notions of sweet black cherries, black currants, lead pencil, and wet stones. In the mouth, it is full-bodied, and while technically low in acidity, there is a freshness, delineation, and classicism in this full-throttle, rich, concentrated, impeccable 1990. While still youthful, it is easy to appreciate despite its substantial tannins. It is not quite as backward as the 1990 Lafite Rothschild or 1990 Latour."

FALSTAFF: "Kräftiges Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, breitere Randaufhellung. Rotes Waldbeerkonfit, ein Hauch von Zimt, Nuancen von Rosinen. Saftig, elegant, süße Textur, feine Dörrobstnoten im Nachhall. Saftig und anhaltend, zeigt eine gute Länge. Gutes weiteres Reifepotenzial."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Beautifully crafted red. Gorgeous plum, berry and smoky oak character. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, long, ripe fruit finish. A joy to taste.--1990 Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now."