Château Léoville Las Cases is Saint-Julien’s famously rigorous “super second,” a Deuxième Grand Cru Classé in the 1855 ranking. The 2003 is the Grand Vin from the estate’s prime, walled Clos Léoville Las Cases near the Gironde, a site that typically delivers Cabernet-led structure and long aging.
2003 was extreme heat, and several reviewers underline the estate’s success in keeping definition. Decanter notes a “record temperature of 48 degrees… during the baking summer of 2003,” adding that “there isn’t a trace of the heat you feel in many 2003 wines from Bordeaux,” calling it “an excellent wine… head and shoulders above most 2003s” (Decanter, 96). Jane Anson also cites the “record temperature of 48C… with over 50 days when it never dropped below 30C,” and still finds “grip and freshness, still full of life” (Jane Anson, 96).
Aromatically, the professional notes converge on classic Las Cases signatures—cassis, pencil lead, and tobacco—plus a riper, darker 2003 register. William Kelley writes that it’s “one of the successes of the vintage,” with “cassis, pencil shavings… and vanilla pod,” framed by “ripe, velvety tannins” (Wine Advocate, 95). Jeb Dunnuck reports “ripe blackcurrants, freshly sharpened pencils, chocolate, violets,” and a “round, expansive mouthfeel,” giving key technical details: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 13.5% alcohol, pH 3.62 (Jeb Dunnuck, 96).
The top-end reviews are excellent, led by two 97s: Wine Spectator praises an “incredible nose… Pure crème de cassis… big velvety tannins and a long long finish” (Wine Spectator, 97), while James Suckling calls it “more exotic and monstrous,” “like a muscle builder,” and still youthful at the time of his tasting (James Suckling, 97).
With two decades in bottle, Neal Martin finds it “quite strict for a 2003” with “firm tannins” and says decanting “really benefits this wine,” projecting “another 20 years of drinking pleasure” (Vinous, 92). Jeff Leve similarly emphasizes freshness and readiness, with “no signs of jam,” suggesting a 2023–2037 window (The Wine Cellar Insider, 95).
