Chateau Leoville Las Cases 2016

One estate, split three ways

The story of Leoville Las Cases begins long before the name. In 1638 Jean de Moytie, a member of the Bordeaux Parliament, owned a vineyard in St-Julien he called Mont-Moytie, one of the first estates in the Medoc to make wine. It stayed in his family for close to a century before passing by marriage to the de Gascq family, and Alexandre de Gascq renamed it Leoville. By his death it was one of the largest vineyards in Bordeaux, at more than 300 hectares, and it had pioneered ideas that are now routine: smaller-berried grape varieties, rows trellised on pinewood, and aging in oak barrels kept clean with a sulfur solution.

The French Revolution broke the estate apart. Part of it was sold off and became Leoville Barton. In 1840 what remained was divided again, and the share that went to the eldest son, Pierre Jean de Las Cases, became Chateau Leoville Las Cases; the other share became Leoville Poyferre. The vineyards and businesses were separated, but the buildings of Las Cases and Poyferre are still joined, and the two chateaux share a parking lot.

In the 1855 classification of the Medoc, Leoville Las Cases was ranked among the 15 second growths. It has spent much of the time since being described as a second growth that makes wine at the level of the five first growths above it.

The Delon family

At the end of the 19th century Theophile Skawinski, who was then managing the estate, bought into it and passed his shares to Andre Delon, which began the Delon family's long run in Bordeaux. Around the same time the estate created Clos du Marquis, first made in 1902 and often cited as one of the first second wines in Bordeaux. Sources differ on when the Delons took full control: one says the family has owned the property since the mid-20th century.

Michel Delon ran the estate from 1976 until his death in 2000, and is credited with bringing its wines back up to the level its history promised. His son Jean-Hubert Delon took over in 2000, and he and his sister Genevieve d'Alton still own and run Leoville Las Cases. The family also owns Chateau Nenin in Pomerol and Chateau Potensac in the northern Medoc.

The Delons are known for rigor and for doing things their own way. The estate began using a reverse osmosis machine to remove excess water from grape must in 1987, a technique some find controversial. It treats Clos du Marquis as a separate wine from its own parcels, not as a second wine, and in 2007 it added a true second wine from the young vines of the main vineyard, Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases.

The Grand Clos

The estate covers about 97 to 98 hectares, depending on the source, which makes it the largest of the three Leoville properties. Its heart is the Grand Clos, a walled parcel of close to 50 hectares at the northern edge of St-Julien. Only a small stream, the Juillac, separates it from Chateau Latour in Pauillac. The parcel sits on two low hills near the Gironde, reaching about 15 meters at their peak, with deep gravel over clay and sand facing southeast.

Cabernet Sauvignon grows on the hilltops and Merlot at the bottom of the slopes. The whole estate divides into seven main blocks and 125 parcels, planted at about 8,600 vines per hectare, with some Cabernet Franc vines close to 90 years old. Published plantings differ: one source gives 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot; another gives 67%, 23% and 10% for the first three.

The grand vin is fermented in eight oak vats, some nearly 50 years old, that are reserved for it alone; the estate's other wines are made in concrete. Production of the grand vin varies widely with the vintage, from about 9,000 to 15,000 cases by one count, or 180,000 to 200,000 bottles by another.

2016: drought, then rain at the right moment

The 2016 season started with record rain over the first six months of the year, after an unusually mild winter. Then the weather flipped. From July into early September most properties saw barely 25 mm of rain over three months. One report called it the driest summer since 1900, with rainfall from July to October a third of the 30-year norm and temperatures 2.5 degrees C above average. Cool nights kept acidity in the grapes. A short, heavy rain around September 13 relieved the vines, and another brief rain arrived on September 30.

Leoville Las Cases waited for its Cabernet. It picked from September 30 to October 19, 16 days of harvest in all, at a fairly generous 40 hectoliters per hectare. The final blend leaned heavily on Cabernet Sauvignon, 75%, with 14% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc, at 13.6% alcohol. The wine spent 22 months in barrel, 90% of them new.

Critics placed it at the top of the vintage. Jeb Dunnuck scored it 100 in March 2019, writing that its balance and purity were off the charts. Jane Anson gave it 100 for Decanter in October 2018, calling it the clear wine of the vintage, and 100 again on her own site in January 2023. William Kelley of the Wine Advocate gave it 100 in August 2022, and Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW gave it 100 in December 2022, describing a powerhouse of black fruit and mineral layers. Jancis Robinson scored it 19 out of 20 from barrel in April 2017 and 18 in February 2020.

One longtime Bordeaux writer who scored it 100 after tasting it in September 2019 wrote that it had expanded greatly since barrel, with blackberry, cassis and tobacco, and fruit so concentrated 'you can almost eat it with a spoon.' From barrel, he had compared it to what the 1986 vintage was supposed to be, and guessed it would need at least 20 years in the cellar.

The world in 2016

The vintage grew through a hard year for France and its neighbors. In March bombings at the Brussels airport and metro killed 35 people. On June 23, just as Bordeaux's long drought began to take hold, British voters chose to leave the European Union. On July 14, Bastille Day, a truck attack in Nice killed 86 people.

Elsewhere, Leicester City won the Premier League at odds of 5,000 to 1, Rio de Janeiro hosted the first Olympics in South America, and in November the Chicago Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years, days before Donald Trump was elected president.

The bottle today

Leoville Las Cases releases enough wine each year to trade regularly, so the 2016 is found on retail lists rather than only at auction. In October 2026 a California merchant listed a 750 ml bottle at $345. That is an asking price, not a sale.

The grand vin is sold as the Grand Vin de Leoville. Since the 2015 vintage the label of the estate's second wine has shown a lion looking through the chateau gates. Buyers should not confuse the grand vin with Clos du Marquis or Le Petit Lion, which come from the same team and are far less expensive.

The numbers

Vineyard

About 97 to 98 ha; Grand Clos close to 50 ha

Vine density

About 8,600 vines per ha

Grand vin production

About 9,000 to 15,000 cases a year by one count; 180,000 to 200,000 bottles by another

2016 blend

75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc

2016 harvest

September 30 to October 19, 40 hl/ha

2016 alcohol / pH

13.6% / 3.66

Jeb Dunnuck

100 (March 2019)

Wine Advocate (William Kelley)

100 (August 2022)

Jane Anson

100 (Decanter, October 2018; again January 2023)

Jancis Robinson

19/20 from barrel (2017); 18/20 (2020)

Timeline

1. 1638

   Jean de Moytie, a Bordeaux parliamentarian, owns the St-Julien vineyard he calls Mont-Moytie.

2. 1840

   The Leoville estate is divided; the eldest son's share becomes Leoville Las Cases.

3. 1855

   Leoville Las Cases is ranked a second growth in the Medoc classification.

4. 1902

   The estate makes its first Clos du Marquis.

5. 1976

   Michel Delon takes over management of the estate.

6. 1976

   The 1971 Leoville Las Cases places sixth among ten red wines at the Paris tasting of French and California wines.

7. 1987

   The estate begins using reverse osmosis to concentrate grape must.

8. 2000

   Michel Delon dies; his son Jean-Hubert Delon takes over.

9. 2007

   Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases is introduced as a second wine.

10. Sep 30, 2016

    Picking of the 2016 begins, the same day a brief, welcome rain falls on Bordeaux.

11. Oct 19, 2016

    The 2016 harvest ends after 16 days of picking.

12. Apr 2017

    Critics taste the 2016 from barrel; one gives it 19 out of 20.

13. Oct 2018

    Jane Anson scores the 2016 100 points, calling it the clear wine of the vintage.

14. Mar 2019

    Jeb Dunnuck scores the 2016 100 points.

15. Aug 2022

    The Wine Advocate scores the 2016 100 points.

16. Oct 2026

    A California merchant lists a bottle of the 2016 at $345.

The world in 2016

• Mar 22, 2016

  Bombings at Brussels airport and a metro station kill 35 people.

• May 2, 2016

  Leicester City wins the Premier League title against 5,000-to-1 odds.

• Jun 23, 2016

  British voters approve leaving the European Union.

• Jul 14, 2016

  A truck attack during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice kills 86 people.

• Aug 5, 2016

  The Summer Olympics open in Rio de Janeiro, the first held in South America.

• Nov 2, 2016

  The Chicago Cubs win the World Series, their first title in 108 years.

• Nov 8, 2016

  Donald Trump is elected the 45th president of the United States.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Chateau Leoville Las Cases 2016 is number 81 of 100 in the wine entries of the FLOAT 100. 12 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (62 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Only a small stream, the Juillac, separates the Grand Clos of Leoville Las Cases from Chateau Latour.
• Leoville Las Cases and Leoville Poyferre were split in 1840, but their buildings are still joined and they share a parking lot.
• Clos du Marquis, first made in 1902, is often cited as one of Bordeaux's first second wines, though the estate insists it is a separate wine from its own parcels.
• The 1971 Leoville Las Cases was one of the French wines at the 1976 Paris tasting, where it placed sixth of ten reds.
• Picking of the 2016 began on September 30, the same day a brief, mostly welcome rain fell across Bordeaux.
• In 2025 the estate made its first white wine, Las Cases Blanc, from 2.5 hectares near Chateau Potensac.