| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
With the alcohol hitting 13.6% in a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc, this wine displays plenty of sweet kirsch, licorice and black currant fruit in a classy, seductive style, with medium to full body, soft but abundant tannins and a long finish. It does indeed possess the elegance and finesse of its bigger sibling, Leoville Las Cases. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.
Clos de Marquis is no longer a second wine, but rather one from a separate vineyard in the holdings of Leoville Las Cases. It should be thought of as a different entity, although the same winemaking team and philosophy are at play.
The 2010 Clos du Marquis offers blackberry, melted tar and tobacco scents on the nose, this comes across a tad more introspective than its peers. After a few minutes it reveals fine delineation and focus, more precise than initially thought. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins, well judged acidity, slightly peppery with a harmonious and persistent finish that is very satisfying. Excellent. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal. 2022 - 2045
This shows beautiful aromas of flowers, raspberries and blackberries that follow through to a full body with ultra silky tannins and a long, long finish. It lasts for minutes. Best in 2018 or later.
Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Clos du Marquis opens with medicinal, cherry cough syrup scents followed by a core of plum preserves and crème de cassis plus a touch of wild sage. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is coated with maturing black fruits and dried mint flavors, framed by chewy tannins and finishing with a refreshing lift. 2020 - 2035.
Slightly weak crimson. Rather light, slightly gravelly nose. That slightly austere trademark of a Delon wine and a little demanding. You wouldn’t necessarily think this was made in a hot vintage. Dry end. A bit hard. 13.5%
Drink 2020 – 2030
Like next-door neighbour Latour, Léoville Lascases produces a wine that people think of as a second wine, but it isn't. Clos du Marquis is a wine of classed growth quality in its own right, produced from vines on the other side of the "enclos" near Leoville Poyferré. Indeed, this is the equal of most 3rd, 4th and 5th Growths and has been an outstanding performer for many years. Lascases is now producing a new second wine called Le Petit Lion from their young vines, which will re-enforce the image of Clos du Marquis as a stand-alone property. Lead pencil on the nose. Good intensity of sweet cherry fruit. Less backward than normal, quite generous and open-knit. Integrated, subtle tannins.
There are a lot of powerful flavours on the nose all very black fruited. The richness of the fruit packs out the mid palate the cassis power balanced by bilberry freshness. The finish is slightly tight.
Fine cassis/violets nose, a perfect Saint-Julien with the precision and elegance of a Cru Classé. Drink 2017-30.
The Clos du Marquis demands some coaxing from the glass but it is worth persevering: blackberry, oyster shell, a hint of seaweed - a complex bouquet that entices you in. The palate is medium-bodied with fresh black fruit on the entry. It feels supple in the mouth, beautifully balanced towards the finish with dark cherries and plum lingering on the aftertaste. Excellent. Tasted November 2012.
Now essentially treated as a separate estate by Jean-Hubert Delon, and not as a second wine of Leoville Las Cases (whose second wine is now the newly introduced Le Petit Lion), Clos du Marquis has been a shrewd consumer's purchase for almost two decades. Interestingly, the first vintage of Clos du Marquis was introduced in 1902! The 2010, which is an exceptional wine, was produced from the same parcel that always goes into this wine. A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc, it is a relatively big wine at 13.6% natural alcohol, with loads of black cherries, black currants and crushed rocks in a medium to full-bodied format. Layered, intense, high-class and complex, this wine should drink nicely for 15 or more years.
Cropped at just 36.7hl/ha, the Clos du Marquis is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc raised in 37% new oak, offering 13.6% alcohol with a pH of 3.63. The nose is driven by the cedar-infused Cabernet, one of the most closed noses that I have encountered during primeur. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine, saturated tannins, a little fleshier that I was expecting given the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, but very harmonious on the finish that belies the structure underneath. Drink 2016- Tasted March 2011.
Rich, round and polished. Easy and fun and really attractive, even if not for the long term. Very fine tannins - the most glamorous wine from this stable.
