Chateau Leoville Las Cases 2003

WEINWISSER: "Sattes Purpur mit dunklen, fast schwarzen Reflexen. Süsses Bouquet, feine Butternoten, Karamell, Dörrfrüchte, Sandelholz (Tempranillo-Süsse), Kokos-Touch. Samtiger, geschmeidiger Gaumen mit einer unheimlichen Souplesse, Gerbstoffe von viel schmelzigem Fett umgeben, druckvolles Finale. Ein Wein von atemberaubender Schönheit."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "An incredibly fresh, lively 2003 (the pH is only 3.6 and the alcohol is 13.1%), this wine offers a dense ruby/purple color along with full body and a remarkable nose of black currants, kirsch, lead pencil shavings and vanilla. Opulent, full-bodied and close to full maturity, it is a seamless classic that will age for 15-20 more years. Kudos to the Delon family for such a brilliant achievement in a tricky vintage."

WINE SPECTATOR: "There's a lovely backdrop of charcoal and paving stone notes here, offset by juicy black currant, fig, melted licorice and ganache flavors. Sweet tobacco hints course through the finish, where the cold charcoal steadily turns to lit embers. Impressively maintains some austerity in this vintage.—Blind '01/'03/'05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040. 10,833 cases made."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "This is massive, hugely concentrated, topped with wood and intense tannins. Flavors of bitter chocolate are dominant, heavy fruits, blackberries and texture that fills the mouth with dark, dense flavors. Big in all senses."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "This is really quite nice, even charming. With 30 minutes of air, blackberry, cassis, smoke, flowers and thyme were easy to find. The wine has softened, taking on a refined quality, with an easy to like, medium/full-bodied, dark red berry and earthy finish. There is no touch of heat or jam here. The effect here is the early maturing quality and soft tannins. This is one of the best values for LLC in the marketplace today."