Top 15 best Saint-Julien: Grands crus de Bordeaux

A special feature of St-Julien's grands crus

Saint Julien wines are highly regarded in the French wine world. The era ofSaint-Julien appellation lies between Margaux and PauillacSaint-Julien is the smallest of the Médoc regions, with just over 900 hectares of vines. Saint-Julien's terroirs are renowned for their exceptional gravel, marl and pebble soils.

There are no premier grand cru classé in the Saint-Julien appellation area. The first conclusion to be drawn is that "if it's easy to find excellent bottles, it's difficult to find mediocre ones.

The only remaining explanation lies in the ambitions of the men concentrating on the 900 hectares of a very coherent terroir. It's hard to differentiate wines with so much potential. Discover the greatest Châteaux of Saint-Julien.

2nd crus classés : Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, château Gruaud-Larose, château Léoville-Barton, Château Léoville-Las Cases, château Léoville-Poyferré

 

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Top 15 Saint-Julien wines

Comptoir des Millésimes has selected for you the Saint-Julien's finest wines, according to the tasting notes of the Robert Parker.

♢ Ducru-Beaucaillou 2009

100/100 Robert Parker - December 23, 2011

"The Ducru-Beaucaillou 2009 will eclipse the brilliant wines produced in 2005, 2003 and 2000. It will be interesting to see how the 2009 evolves in relation to the 2010 after twenty years of ageing. But my money's on the 2009 above all. A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot that reached 13.5% natural alcohol, this inky purple wine is unctuous and possesses classic aromas of graphite, crème de cassis, blueberries, violets, licorice and Christmas fruitcake. Full-bodied and intense with Ducru's inimitable elegance and purity, it should firm up in the bottle after 7-10 years of cellaring and last for 40-50 years. Magnificent! Bruno Borie has done a remarkable job at Ducru Beaucaillou."

Drink from 2019 to 2069

> Buy Ducru Beaucaillou wines at the best price

 

♢ Léoville-Poyferré 2009

100/100 Robert Parker - December 23, 2011

"One of the most flamboyant and sumptuous wines of the vintage, this inky/purple St-Julien reveals exhilarating levels of opulence, richness and aromatic pleasure. A bewitching bouquet of crème de cassis, charcoal, graphite and spring flowers is followed by a super-concentrated wine with silky tannins, stunning glycerin, a voluptuous, multi-layered mouthfeel and nearly 14% of natural alcohol. Displaying fabulous definition for such a big, round, massive and concentrated effort, I suspect the tannin levels are high, even if they're largely concealed by prodigious amounts of fruit, glycerin and extract."

Expected maturity: 2018-2040.

> Buy Leoville Poyferre wines at the best price

 

♢ Léoville-Las Cases 2016

98-100/100 Robert Parker - April 28, 2017

"The 2016 Léoville-Las Cases comprises 75% of Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% of Merlot and 11% of Cabernet Franc picked between September 30 and October 19, during which the pickers were put on the vine for 16 days. It's aged in 90% of new oak and delivers 13.60% of alcohol and an IPT of 82. It's initially tightly wound on the nose and needs coaxing from the glass. There are scents of small black cherries, boysenberry, crushed violets and a light flintiness that emerges over time. The definition is very impressive - you can almost pick out the aromas one by one. The palate is impressive. The tannins are so filigreed, indeed quite similar to their neighbor across the border at Château Latour. That graphite vein gives this Léoville Las-Cases a Pauillac look, but ignoring the stylistic similarities, it's the intensity, depth and arched structure that amazes, with the detail on the finish riveting your feet right-side-up. Then the finish is ultra-precise, one of the most mineral I've encountered in nearly 20 years visiting the estate, plus it boasts one of the longest aftertastes you'll find in 2016. Yeah, it's good."

Drink from 2030 to 2070.

> Buy Leoville Las Cases wines at the best price

 

♢ Ducru-Beaucaillou 2010

98+/100 Robert Parker - 2023 to 2053

"With lots of minerality, a terrific opaque purple color, and a bit more structure and tannin than Poyferre or St.-Pierre (and that's saying something), this is a blockbuster, fabulous Ducru Beaucaillou that should be at its best now and last for 40-50 years. The owner isn't the only one who thinks this is the best Ducru Beaucaillou since 1961. Classic rock, crème de cassis, subtle oak and gravelly vineyard stoniness reveal themselves in this spectacular, full-bodied, beautifully pure and intense effort. This is a wine for the ages that should be forgotten for at least a decade. Owner Bruno Borie thinks this wine is as superb as their 2009. Slightly more structured and less flamboyant than its predecessor, it's a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot from the vineyard's best parcels. This wine tips the scales at 14% natural alcohol but has a normal pH of 3.6, which is one of the characteristics of this vintage (high alcohol, normal pH), explaining the freshness and precision of most 2010s."

Drink from 2023 to 2053.

 

 

♢ Léoville-Poyferré 2010

98+/100 Robert Parker - February 28, 2013

"The wine is a far cry from both Leoville Las Cases and Léoville Barton, but all three are convincing efforts. A full-bodied wine, dense purple in color, with mingled floral notes of blackberry, cassis, graphite and spring flowers. This full-bodied, legendary wine is long and opulent, with wonderfully abundant, soft tannins, a scratchy mid-palate and a thrilling finish that lasts nearly a minute. This spectacular effort from Poyferre should drink well for over 30 years. Another spectacular wine from the Cuvelier family, Leoville Poyferre (with Ducru Beaucaillou) may be one of the two best Saint-Julien wines year after year these days. This is a large estate covering nearly 200 acres, and the final blend of the 2010 Leoville Poyferre is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon."

Drink now until 2043.

 

 

♢ Léoville-Las Cases 2009

98+/100 Robert Parker - December 23, 2011

"The Léoville Las Cases 2009 is perhaps the most open and advanced Las Cases I've tasted to date. Analytically, it is rich in tannin and the alcohol is 13.8%, almost a record in this field. This blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc showed brilliantly at the 2009 tasting I did in Hong Kong and at a later tasting. It offers a crimson/purple color, monumental concentration and plenty of sweet, candied cassis, black cherry and kirsch intermixed with notes of crushed stone and minerals. As always, proprietor Jean-Hubert Delon has built a massive wine with exceptional precision, incredible purity and 40-50 years of cellaring potential. I was surprised by the succulence of this cuvée on several occasions, and how much more before it is given that Las Cases can often be presumptuous and need 10-15 years of cellaring (at 30, the 1982 is still a baby in terms of development!). The super-concentrated 2009 needs another 5-7 years before further nuances emerge. It's a brilliant Saint-Julien at full throttle."

 

♢ Château Saint-Pierre 2009

98/100 Robert Parker - December 23, 2011

"The greatest wine I've ever tasted from St. Pierre, this estate, the smallest of St. Julien's grand crus, has an opaque purple color and a spectacular nose of subtle charcoal, creme de cassis, blackberry, and incense. Full-bodied, with striking intensity and exuberant, rich flavors brimming with extract, St. Pierre has no hard edges, but rather a massive, incredibly well-endowed blockbuster style that should prove monumental. Give it 6-8 years to get more definition and settle down, but this is a 30-40 year wine. Bravo!"

Drink from 2018 to 2058.

> Buy Saint Pierre wines at the best price

 

♢ Léoville-Las Cases 2000

98/100 Robert Parker - February 28, 2017 by Neil Martin

"Assessed blind as a vintage comparison to the Valandraud vertical, the 2000 Leoville-Las-Cases is an utterly fabulous and masterful Saint Julien that is only just beginning to flex its muscles. It has a very intense, beautifully defined bouquet with mineral-rich blackberry and blueberry aromas, exceptional concentration and harmony, and very well-integrated oak. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, an impressive backbone and in situ concentration. There's a touch of mint infusing the fruit here, superb tension with a touch of blackberry and Hoi Sin lingering on the finish that still feels backward and edgy. What was remarkable was watching the improvement in the glass, realizing the wonderful energy and delineation over time, still improving after a few hours. Buy it, cellar it, drink it. Tasted in December 2016."

To be enjoyed from 2025 to 2060.

 

 

♢ Léoville-Las Cases 1996

98/100 Robert Parker - By Neal Martin on October 28, 2016

"The 1996 Leoville-Las Cases is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 16% Cabernet Franc picked between September 25 and October 10 (for a fascinating insight, read Robert Parker's comments on the blend with Michel Delon ). Now 20 years old, it has evolved into an absolutely stunning Saint Julien, clearly one of the estate's best wines this decade. The bouquet is beautifully defined with intense black cherry, cedar, mint and a touch of oyster shell that seems to gain intensity in the glass. The palate is seamless from start to finish, extraordinarily pure, the new 70% wood fully assimilated of course, impressive weight and power allied with genuine finesse and tension towards the silky smooth finish. It stands out as one of the best wines of the vintage without an iota of doubt, and will last 30-40 years with no problem. You could call it "claret". You could call it delicious. Tasted in July 2016."

Drink from 2020 to 2050.

 

 

♢ Léoville-Las Cases 1986

98/100 Robert Parker - December 30, 2016 by Neal Martin

"The 1986 Leoville-Las Cases is still so young in appearance after 30 years, with only a thin brick on the rim giving away its age. The bouquet is magnificent: extraordinarily pure and delineated, bewitching black fruit mixed with cedar and graphite, the latter giving an almost Pauillac personality. The palate is exactly as I found the dozen bottles I tasted: structured, delineated, intense, aristocratic and imperious. It's less formidable than ten years ago, and has probably stepped on its plateau. The acidity is perfectly judged ready for freshness and tension, crucial to counterbalance those layers of spicy black fruit that soar with cedar and graphite (again) towards the finish. You leave feeling you've consumed a wine with immense energy, but with so much more to give over the next three decades, and know this property, maybe even the three decades after that! I would agree with the late Michel Delon: the 1986 Léoville Las-Cases is the pinnacle of the 1980s. Tasted in September 2016."

Drink now until 2060.

 

 

♢ Château Gruaud-Larose 1982

98/100 Robert Parker - June 30, 2009

"A massive wine that is clearly first-rate in this vintage, the 1982 Gruaud Larose remains a youngster. A covering, thick, unctuous, inky/plum/garnet/purple color offers scents of beef blood, steak tartare, cassis, herbs, tobacco and underbrush. One of the most concentrated wines of the vintage (as well as one of the most concentrated Bordeaux I've ever tasted), this is a huge, full-bodied, heavy, rich wine whose tannins are becoming silkier and silkier. It seems set for another 30-40 years of life. This behemoth is a singularly profound example of Gruaud Larose continuing to justify its legendary status."

Expected maturity: now-2050.

> Buy Gruaud Larose wines at the best price

 

♢ Léoville-Barton 1945

98/100 Robert Parker - October 31, 1994

"Tasted once, the 1949, 1948 and 1945 from Leoville-Barton are all great efforts on the part of the winemaker. The famous 1945 is one of the greatest wines of this vintage. It has extraordinarily thick, massive fruit and body that stand up to the formidable level of tannin. This will continue for two more decades.

Drink now.

> Buy Leoville Barton wines at the best price

 

♢ Léoville-Las Cases 2005

97+/100 Robert Parker - June 23, 2015

"This is a prodigious effort. A blend of 87% of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and Cabernet Franc (only 37% of the crop qualified for Las Cases), this dense ruby-purple wine has an incredibly pure bouquet of black fruits, wet rocks, graphite and subtle toast/vanillin background. Full-bodied, masculine and very deep and concentrated, this titanic effort is at least 8-10 years from its plateau of maturity. The Delon family has produced another legend."

Expected maturity: 2023-2050 +.

 

 

♢ Beychevelle 2016

96-98/100 Robert Parker - April 28, 2017 by Neil Martin

"La Beychevelle 2016 is a blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc grown at 45 hectoliters per hectare between October 3 and October 18. It is aged in 50% of new oak. What's more, this is the first vintage to be matured in the new chichi cellar, whose glass exterior overlooks passing traffic on the D2. It has a very pure, perfumed bouquet with black cherry, blackcurrant, cedar and damp limestone, extremely precise to the point where you'd think it came from the right bank (logical given the proportion of merlot in the blend). The palate is sensational: discreet at first and bridled by ultra-fine tannins, this is a Beychevelle armed with a disarming sense of symmetry. It builds in the mouth to a fabulously taut finish that is so fresh and full of energy that the senses are almost overwhelmed. Frankly, it leaves all other Beychevelles standing in recent years. It's an electrifying 2016 from winemaker Philippe Blanc and his right-hand man, technical director, Romain Ducolomb."

Drink from 2026 to 2060.

> Buy Beychevelle wines at the best price

 

♢ Ducru-Beaucaillou 2016

96-98/100 Robert Parker - April 28, 2017 by Neil Martin

"The Ducru Beaucaillou 2016 is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot grown at 36 hectoliters per hectare between September 24 and October 14, and aged in 100% new oak barrels (for a total of 18 months). Alcohol content is 13.63% with a pH of 3.71. The bouquet is initially very closed, so I aired the Grand Vin by transferring it from one glass to another. It gradually unfolds to reveal scents of blackberry, blueberry, cedar and a touch of pencil lead. The medium-bodied palate is supported by a thick layer of dark fruit. The new oak is probably more present here than some of its peers, but there's more than enough substance to absorb that. The minerality moves into the lingering finish, completing what a Ducru Beaucaillou built for the long haul is."

Drink from 2026 to 2065.

 

 

You now know the ranking of Saint-Julien's best winesAll that's left to do is taste the different wines from each château!

 

 

 

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