John Gilman

I had not crossed paths with a bottle of the ’70 Las Cases in several years, and was very pleasantly surprised to see how full and complex the wine was at age thirty-six. The bouquet offers up a complex blend of black cherries, truffles, tobacco smoke, soil tones and cedary wood. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and just a touch four-square, with sound acids, melting tannins, and good length and grip on the complex finish.  (7/2006)

Wine Advocate

Poured just prior to the Wine Advocate’s Las-Cases dinner by a generous subscriber, while I was seated next to export manager Pierre Grafeuille, we were both smitten. It had a comely bouquet with degraded red berries, a touch of undergrowth and black stewed tea, delivering impressive delineation, if not power. The palate is medium-bodied, surprisingly elegant and without question the most vigorous example of the 1970 that I have encountered over the years. While not profoundly complex or rivaling the finest examples of this Saint Julien, it is the kind of mature Claret that puts a smile on your face, seeming to be so effortless and refined. Will future bottles be as good as this? Was it a one-off? Who knows, but certainly here we had a Bordeaux that delivers drinking pleasure after 46 years without too much effort. (NM)  (7/2016)