Clos du Marquis 2004, St. Julien
Finding a good angle to write about Clos du Marquis is not easy: everyone writes about it, and you have lots of stuff about the tasting, the terroir, and the history. Sufficed to remind you that, like next-door neighbour Latour, the Grand Vin Super Second Léoville Lascases produces second labels that are not second wines but are wines of classed growth quality in their own right. Connaisseur considers this wine the equal of most 3rd, 4th and 5th Growths and has been an outstanding performer for many years. Classic blending 57% Cab Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 66% of the production of Lascases.
(credit, Winecent HK, a blogger residing in Hong Kong; if there is a problem just email me, and I will take it off)
A forward version of the backward sibling. This is a very impressive performance with lots of chewy black fruits—excellent weight to balance the tannins. After a sweet cassis nose. the palate is fat and rich with an attractive spicy toastiness. Quite layered and complex and better than most classed growths. In all aspects, then, Clos du Marquis 2004 is reminiscent of Chateau Léoville Lascases. Lascase is always considered the ‘Super Second’ for cost performance; Clos du Marquis is the best of the best in terms of value. Scores from WE90, WS90, JS91 and RP gave a mere 89. Not bad that’s why Clos du Marquis 2004 is still so valuable for money.
