Leoville Las Cases 2018 has been released at €180 per bottle ex-negociant, up 25% on the 2017’s opening price of €144. This price also represents a 7.8% premium on the predicted (not wanted) ex-negociant release of €167 by Liv-ex members.
The wine is now being offered by the international trade at £2,172 per 12×75, an increase of 22.3% in sterling terms on the 2017 release of £1,776 per case.
Leoville Las Cases 2018 received potential 100 points from both James Suckling (99-100) and Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (The Wine Advocate, 98-100). Suckling praised its “amazing depth of fruit and density” and noted that “the château says 2016 plus, plus”. For Perrotti-Brown, today’s release is “simply breathtaking”, “an atomic bomb waiting to go off in your mouth”.
Antonio Galloni (Vinous) also liked the wine, despite awarding it a slightly lower barrel range of 95-98 points. He claimed that “the 2018 Las Cases has a very bright future” and said it was “one of the unquestioned stars of the vintage”.
Other critics that ranked today’s release among their Bordeaux 2018 highlights include Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider, 98-100) and James Molesworth (Wine Spectator, 97-100).
Prices for Leoville Las Cases are strongly correlated to critic scores. With this price tag, the 2018 represents good value for followers of Suckling and Perrotti-Brown; however, it is positioned above the implied trend line when Galloni’s score is considered.
Score-conscious buyers might also be interested in the 2009 (RP 98+, JS 99, LPB 99) and the 2005 (RP 97+, JS 99, JM 98), currently available at small discounts.
Looking for more?
Our Bordeaux 2018 pages contain everything you need to know about this year’s En Primeur campaign, including:
- Critic scores
- Release prices
- Bordeaux 2018 analysis tool [members only]
- The conversation on social media
- Liv-ex’s fair value methodology
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