Tasting Notes
Vinous 91
The 1966 Leoville Las-Cases is similar to the half-dozen or so previous bottles I have tasted. Black fruit, leather and tobacco on the nose have perhaps lost some vim and vigour in recent years, a little rustic but charming. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins and a fine line of acidity. A classic old-school claret through and through, the 1966 might feel a bit austere to some but has sufficient freshness to pull through in the end. Tasted at the 1960s dinner at Noize.
Anticipated maturity: 2025-2035
Wine Advocate 90
Tasted at the Las-Cases off-line at The Square. For a long time, one of my favourite vintages from the 1960’s, though this bottles suggests that it is beginning to fade. It has a typical nose of cigar box, smoke and even a touch of hickory that turns into Provencal herbs with time. There is something austere and dusty on the palate though the tannins remain quite rigid, lending it a foursquare but not disagreeable finish. It actually improves with further time in the glass and returning after an hour it is almost up to the standard previous bottles demonstrated a decade ago. Tasted February 2011.
