...extraordinary with a dense purple colour that is just beginning to lighten at the edge, and lots of lead pencil, sweet black and redcurrant, cherry, dusty loamy soil, new saddle leather and spice box characteristics. This full-bodied, opulent, rich 1982 is a killer example of Las Cases. 100 points, Hedonist’s Gazette (7/2013).

Still stubbornly backward, yet beginning to budge from its pre-adolescent stage, this dense, murky ruby/purple-coloured wine offers up notes of graphite, sweet caramel, black cherry jam, cassis and minerals. The nose takes some coaxing and the decanting of 22-24 hours prior to service is highly recommended. For such a low-acid wine, it is huge, well delineated, extremely concentrated, and surprisingly fresh. Perhaps because I lean more toward the hedonistic view of wine than the late Michel Delon, I have always preferred this to the 1986, but the truth is that any lover of classic Médoc should have both vintages in their cellars as they represent perfection in the glass. This wine has monstrous levels of glycerin, extract, and density, but still seems very youthful and tastes more like a 7-8 year-old Bordeaux than one that is past its 20th birthday. A monumental effort.  100 points (12/2003).

I have had perfect bottles of this cuvee, but, perplexingly, the bottles from my cellar tend to be broodingly backward and require plenty of coaxing. This huge wine is, in many ways, just as massive as Leoville Barton, but it possesses a greater degree of elegance as well as unreal concentration. Classic lead pencil, cassis, kirsch, cedar, and spice characteristics are abundant in both the nose and full-bodied flavors. The tannins are still there, and, at least from my cellar, this 1982 does not appear to have changed much in the last 10-12 years. One wonders how much patience admirers of this brilliant St.-Julien will continue to exhibit. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050.  95+ points, The Wine Advocate (6/2009).

Tasted three times over a two month period, this youthful yet profoundly complex wine gets my nod as the finest Leoville-Las-Cases ever made. It reveals massive proportions yet extraordinary purity, elegance, and balance. This dense ruby/purple-colored 1982 still looks and tastes as if it were 5-8 years old. The nose offers up blazingly well-delineated, pure aromas of creme de cassis, cherry jam, minerals, and toasty new oak. This unctuously-textured, gorgeously rich, pure, super-concentrated, low acid effort concludes with a 45+ second finish. There is still tannin to shed in this unbelievably fresh, lively, full-bodied, vibrant wine. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2035.  100 points, Wine Advocate (6/2000).