Winemaker Notes
Blend: 57% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The aromas of blackcurrants, violets and graphite are impressive. Some white pepper and stone undertones. Medium-bodied with firm and juicy tannins. Shows linear intensity and energy. 57% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon and 3% cabernet franc. Give this two or three years to come around. Best after 2028.
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Vinous
The 2021 Le Petit Lion is a fine second wine. It offers terrific energy in a soft, approachable style that will offer plenty of enjoyment over the next 15-20 years. Crushed flowers, spice, red cherry fruit, mint and white pepper lend brilliance. The 2021 is an articulate, reserved Petit Lion. This is very nicely done. –Antonio Galloni
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Wine Enthusiast
This second-label wine is juicy, the aromatic black plum fruits and touches of toast are already balanced. It is succulent and saline, with red berry and grey-pepper flavors in harmony. Drink from 2027.
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Decanter
Plush and vibrant, the fruit here is lively and zippy, it has real energy on the palate while having a bitterness and a salinity to the tannins that are grippy and mouthfilling. The whole palate is full of minty freshness giving this life and an aerial feel while the darker more savoury elements settle on the tongue and long finish. It's a little tight right now but shows refined and elegant winemaking. I like it's roguish charm with power and intention. Ageing in 40% new barrels.
Barrel Sample: 91 -
Jeb Dunnuck
Readers looking for a more approachable version of the Grand Vin will love the 2021 Le Petit Lion, a pretty, medium-bodied, elegant Saint-Julien. Cassis and raspberry fruits, some graphite and spicy, floral notes, nicely integrated acidity, and a focused, linear, seamless mouthfeel all make for an already delicious, classy second wine that will drink nicely over the coming 10-12 years. The blend is 57% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
An icon of balance and tradition, St. Julien boasts the highest proportion of classed growths in the Médoc. What it lacks in any first growths, it makes up in the rest: five amazing second growth chateaux, two superb third growths and four well-reputed fourth growths. While the actual class rankings set in 1855 (first, second, and so on the fifth) today do not necessarily indicate a score of quality, the classification system is important to understand in the context of Bordeaux history. Today rivalry among the classed chateaux only serves to elevate the appellation overall.
One of its best historically, the estate of Leoville, was the largest in the Médoc in the 18th century, before it was divided into the three second growths known today as Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases, Léoville-Poyferré and Léoville-Barton. Located in the north section, these are stone’s throw from Chateau Latour in Pauillac and share much in common with that well-esteemed estate.
The relatively homogeneous gravelly and rocky top soil on top of clay-limestone subsoil is broken only by a narrow strip of bank on either side of the “jalle,” or stream, that bisects the zone and flows into the Gironde.
St. Julien wines are for those wanting subtlety, balance and consistency in their Bordeaux. Rewarding and persistent, the best among these Bordeaux Blends are full of blueberry, blackberry, cassis, plum, tobacco and licorice. They are intense and complex and finish with fine, velvety tannins.