2006 Château Léoville Las Cases, St Julien, Bordeaux

Dark purple. Very dark and youthful-looking. Racy, punchy nose with pretty youthful fruit at the moment. Then neat weight with quite a bit of acidity but solid – very dense and not too mean. Well melded but youthful. Racy and not very concentrated but a nice texture. This will always lack richness but it is competent and well balanced in leaner St-Julien style. Manages to rise above 2006's shortcomings. Very solid – for the long term.Drink 2015 - 2030julia_harding MW, JancisRobinson.com (January 2010)

Aromas of blackberries, black olives, raspberries, iodine and asphalt follow through to a medium to full body with a tight, layered palate and a juicy finish. Hints of iodine at the end. Some liquorice, too. Drink now.Drink nowjames_suckling, jamessuckling_com (July 2021)

Tension and muscular energy on display, with sweet plums and cassis, which are polished to perfection. Strands of silky, weighty, well-worked tannins are exceptional for the vintage. Still young, with a full life ahead, but I’d be happy to plough through its youthful stage by decanting for a few hours and sinking into this beautifully balanced, monumental wine.Drink 2018 - 2040jane_anson_mw, Decanter.com (November 2018)

Tasted at Bordeaux Index's annual 10-Year On tasting in London and then blind at Farr Vintners horizontal, the 2006 Chteau Loville Las-Cases has a very complex bouquet with heady scents of blackcurrant, kirsch, crushed violets, rock salt and just a hint of cassis. It is backward and can barely contain its energy. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, very symmetrical and poised, a fine line of acidity interwoven through the black fruit, touches of citrus fruit developing towards the poised and tensile finish. This is a beautiful wine from Jean-Hubert Delon, but it needs several years in bottle. Tasted April 2016.Neil Martin - 30/05/2016

The 2006 Léoville Las Cases is muscular and uncompromising, unwinding to reveal aromas of dark berries, cassis, burning embers, espresso roast, exotic spices, loamy soil and toasty oak. Full-bodied, rich and extracted, it's a deep, brooding wine with considerable depth and concentration, framed by an abundance of sweet, powdery tannin. It possesses considerable potential, but it continues to require patience.Drink 2026 - 2066William Kelley, Wine Advocate (August 2022)

Not surprisingly, Leoville Las Cases has produced another classic, potentially long-lived wine in 2006. Among the St.-Juliens, it, Ducru Beaucaillou, and Leoville Barton possess the potential for the greatest longevity. The opaque purple-hued 2006- only 40% of the crop made it into the final blend- exhibits a personality that mimics the superb 1996. Classic aromas of sweet black raspberries, kirsch, cassis, and subtle toasty oak are followed by a full-bodied, concentrated wine displaying moderately high tannin. This cuvee can often resemble a Pauillac wrapped in the St.-Julien appellation, and the 2006 is no exception. A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, it will require significant cellaring before consumption. robert_parker - Wine Advocate - Feb 09