2000 Chateau Leoville Las Cases St.-Julien 750 ml

Léoville Las Cases is a First Growth in everything but name. With vineyards that border Château Latour and one of the most quality-obsessed winemaking teams in the world, it’s at the pinnacle of Bordeaux. Even in modest years.

But in 2000, a year that Robert Parker once called “the greatest vintage Bordeaux has ever produced,” Léoville Las Cases made one of their all-time greats It scored a perfect 100 points in Wine Spectator—and just a couple of years ago, Jeb Dunnuck, attested that it’s got another thirty or forty years to go!

Many of the world’s great wine minds agree that the 1855 classification erred in not granting Léoville Las Cases First Growth status. “If a single wine estate in Bordeaux today were to be promoted to the rank of Premier Cru Classé, Léoville Las Cases would be the choice of most claret connoisseurs,” James Suckling once wrote in  Wine Spectator. 

Their vineyard—where the gravel beds are up to 10 meters deep—sits at the far northern end of St.-Julien, separated from Pauillac, and Château Latour, by a tiny stream. As a result, Léoville Las Cases combines the classic power of Pauillac with St.-Julien’s trademark poise and austerity. It’s as classic as they come on the Left Bank, and a favorite of collectors around the world.

The 2000 vintage was characterized by drought conditions for most of August and September. The resulting thick grape skins made this an unusually long-lived Léoville Las Cases—even by the château’s standards. No matter when you open it, this wine will be a highlight of your collection, so make sure you give it the star treatment it deserves.