Clos du Marquis 1988

Lot presentation

Clos du Marquis 1988

The wine

The Clos du Marquis is more than just the second wine of Château Léoville Las Cases. Usually made from the vines in the Petit Clos and the plots outside the Grand Enclos (the area of vines that produce Léoville's grand vin), it is a match for many of the Médoc's finest wines. The grapes are grown and vinified with the same care as the grand vin, and the resulting wine has a wonderful distinguished elegance. The tannic structure needs a few years to age before the flavours reach their full expression.

Created in 1638, Château Léoville Las Cases produces some of Bordeaux's most prestigious wines. They were already well-known, much appreciated and commanding high prices in the middle of the 18th century, due to work of the owner, Blaise-Alexandre de Gasq, the Seigneur of Léoville. Four of his descendants owned the property at the time of the French Revolution. One of them, the Marquis de Las Cases, who owned one quarter of the land, fled abroad. The other three managed to obtain a partial confiscation of the property, consisting specifically of this quarter, from the Revolutionary Government. This plot would later become Léoville Barton. At the beginning of the 19th century the property was split once again and the half adjoining Château Latour formed the current vineyard.