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The late Michael Delon always thought that this was the greatest vintage he had produced. We often tasted it side by side with the 1982, because I always preferred the latter vintage. Of course, the two vintages are quite different in style: the 1986 is a monument to classicism with great tannin, extraordinary delineation and a huge full-bodied nose of sweet, ripe cassis fruit intermixed with vanilla, melon, fruitcake and a multitude of spices. The wine has always been phenomenally concentrated yet wonderfully fresh and vigorous. The wine still seems young yet it is hard to believe it is not close to full maturity. It is a great example of Leoville Lascases and another compelling reason to take a serious look at the top Cabernet Sauvignon-based Médocs of 1986. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2035 Score: 100/100 Robert Parker
The 1986 Leoville-Las Cases is still so youthful in appearance after 30 years, with only a thin bricking on the rim giving away its age. The bouquet is magnificent: extraordinarily pure and delineated, bewitching black fruit laced with cedar and graphite, the latter lending an almost Pauillac-like personality. The palate is exactly as I have found the previous dozen or so bottles I have tasted: structured, delineated, intense, aristocratic and imperious. It is less formidable than say, ten years ago, so it has probably just stepped onto its drinking plateau. The acidity is perfectly judged lending freshness and tension, crucial to counterbalance those layers of spicy black fruit that fans out with cedar and graphite (again) towards the finish. You come away with the feeling of having consumed a wine with immense energy, yet with so much more to give over the next three decades, and knowing this property, perhaps even the three decades after that! I would agree with the late Michel Delon: the 1986 Léoville Las-Cases is the summit of the 1980s. Drink 2016-2060.
Score: 98/100 Neil Martin
CT 95.66 from recent reviews
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