France’s 2003 vintage has always been an enigma. The hottest summer since 1893, many assumed that no great wines could have been made under such conditions. But that pessimism was not borne out in reality. While great 2003 dry whites may be rare, there were in fact a number of extraordinary reds made.

And none may be more extraordinary than 2003 Léoville Las Cases. While one would have expected the heat and drought to push sugars above 15% alcohol, 2003 Las Cases came in at an elegant 13.1%. And from the beginning, the balance has been exquisite: creamy, rich, soft, gentle tannins, with none of the hardness you expect from a young Las Cases. In fact, it’s the opposite: pure hedonistic opulence, but with the hidden structure for long aging.

If we’re surprised by how Léoville Las Cases turned out in this year, we only need to look back at the vintage most like 2003, and its most famous wine: 1893 Ch. Margaux. Considered by the château as the greatest Margaux of the 19th century, it too combined the seeming contradictions of ravishing style and being built to last.

And like 2003 Las Cases, 1893 Margaux’s extraordinary quality became more and more apparent as it aged.

To this day, no one seems to understand just how Margaux could have made a wine like that in a summer like 1893. It was a miracle, just like the Miracle of Léoville.

We have succeeded in acquiring a very rare parcel of 2003 Léoville Las Cases that was still slumbering in the château’s library last April. Consequently, the provenance is simply extraordinary. Yet our price is about what you would pay for examples that have been floating around the market for nearly two decades. We know which one we’d want in our cellar!

You'll find extensive (and lavish) reviews at the bottom of this offer.