2018 Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases

Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases is the second wine of Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases, a second-growth Bordeaux located in St.-Julien-Beychevelle next door to Chateau Latour. Le Petit Lion was started in 2007, and it is made from newer vineyards than Léoville-Las-Cases. The estate was part of a much larger property that was broken up after the French revolution. It remains large by Bordeaux standards however, and today is comprised of 240 acres of vineyards. For decades the estate was expertly run by Michel Delon, whose wines were always considered some of the best of the Medoc. His son Jean-Hubert is now in charge, and the quality and reputation of the estate’s Bordeaux remain outstanding. Many collectors consider Léoville-Las-Cases in its best vintages to equal the First Growth wines of the region. Petit Lion is typically nearly 60% Merlot, with the remainder of the blend mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and a very small amount of Cabernet Franc.

Saint-Julien is the smallest of the four main Médoc appellations with 2,175 acres of vineyards. It is just south of Pauillac on the left bank of the Gironde, and although it has no First Growth châteaux, its 11 Classified Growth estates are widely admired. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that winemaking in Saint-Julien from all classifications “is consistently both distinctive and brilliant.” He adds it is Médoc’s “most underrated commune.” The best-known estates are Léoville Las Cases, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Léoville Poyferré, Léoville Barton and Gruaud Larose, and most of those have riverside estates. The soil in this appellation is gravelly with clay. Cabernet Sauvignon is the main grape grown, and it is blended with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and sometimes small amounts of Petit Verdot.

This is a second label of Château Léoville-Las-Cases