Layered, textured, deep, cigar box, cassis and earth, managing to simultaneously stretch out, and burrow down. The edges open slowly but surely and seductively. Still inky in colour, this has all the powerful texture and tannic architecture that you expect from Leoville, and unlike the 2009 at its ten year point it is still keeping plenty of secrets close to its chest. But you are going to want to be around when it fully opens.

A hugely powerful wine, full of dark, brooding tannins. It's a wine for seriously long-term aging, a sculptural vision of classic Bordeaux structure with with classy, ripe blackberry fruits. It has fresh acidity and an immense full-bodied character, cut through with mineral acidity. A great wine, with great potential.

The aromas to this wine have a beautiful purity of raspberries, blueberries, currants, and flowers that follow to a a full body, with super integrated tannins that are like the finest silk in texture. It shows elegant and pretty fruit character and a reserve and finesse of such great years as 1989 and 1995. The bright strong acidity gives a crunchy and creamy texture. This has a tiny bit more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend than 2009. Give it at least six to eight years of bottle age.

Stunning and pure from the get-go, with intense cassis and blackberry fruit. Ultimately takes a slightly austere approach, with a wrought-iron structure driving along while pastis, black tea, licorice snap and asphalt notes course underneath. Long and loaded with grip, this remains remarkably fine-grained. A very chiseled Cabernet that is wonderfully precise and incredibly long. Best from 2020 through 2040. – JM

Closing down, this is going to need extensive cellaring to display its ample character. This wine is concentrated and filled with layers of perfectly ripe, berries. The tannins are polished, the acidity keeps it fresh, the texture is refined, the fruit is regal.

The most powerful wine in this vertical is the 2010 Léoville Las Cases, a full-bodied, deep and multidimensional behemoth redolent of rich berries, cassis, burning embers, pencil shavings and loamy soil. Broad-shouldered, layered and muscular, with huge reserves of concentration and sweet, powdery tannin, it concludes with a broad, resonant finish. This is a prodigious, somewhat imposing Las Cases that is still an infant a decade after bottling. - William Kelley

Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. The Leoville Las-Cases 2010 has a very elegant bouquet with earthy, tobacco infused black fruit, fine delineation and well-integrated oak. It is tight at first, but opens nicely in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip on the entry. Very fine tannins, very elegant and harmonious with beautifully judged acidity leading to a classic finish that is totally seductive. Glorious. Tasted January 2014.

82% cabernet sauvignon 10% merlot 8% cabernet franc. Yields were only 36.7 hl/ha. 13.7% alcohol. Aged in 75% new oak barrels. Dark cherry blueberry and cassis reveal themselves on a sweet candied nose and notes of toasty brioche offer lift and complexity. With massive tannins on the palate the fruit seems somewhat muted at the moment. Time should help bring this into balance. There is good length but without a more elegant expression of fruit this will turn out to be a drop-off from their blockbuster 2009.