2008 Chateau Leoville Las Cases Clos du Marquis St.-Julien 750 ml

The 2008 Clos du Marquis is a find that gets our adrenaline pumping, because it’s a perfect storm of Bordeaux value: A library bottle from prime St.-Julien terroir and an “outstanding” vintage that rivals Second Growth quality—this is the rare ticket to Bordeaux’s upper echelon without a three-digit price. 

Pour a glass of this concentrated and generous Bordeaux and behold its symphony of black currant, cherry, leather, and tobacco aromas. Taste the exceptional black fruit, the supple tannins, the balance developed over more than a decade, and your mind might wander, like ours did, to top Bordeaux estates worthy of their sky-high prices. 

That’s because Clos du Marquis consistently rivals and even surpasses the Left Bank elites: Robert Parker said it’s “frequently as good or better than many Médoc classified growths.” It doesn’t bear the official Second Growth label like its sibling Château Léoville Las Cases, but it’s crafted by the same esteemed winemaking team and grown on its own designated vineyard located just off the Léoville Las Cases estate—directly next door to Second Growths Léoville Poyferré ($147), Léoville Barton ($135), and Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande ($246).

With that kind of pedigree, this wine was built for the cellar, and it has emerged after a decade with impeccable depth and harmony. That’s thanks in part to the 2008 vintage, which delivered wines with “sexiness and a ripe structure,” according to Decanter, but was immediately overshadowed by the historic 2009. Vintages like 2008 are the type we watch, because they often deliver excellent quality for a great price. 

Wine Spectator said Bordeaux’s 2008 season produced wines of “potentially outstanding quality.” That was in 2009. Today, all these years later, the Clos du Marquis has more than lived up to that potential. It demonstrates a level of depth and complexity that can only result from extra innings in a cool, dark cellar. Magnificent right now, it could certainly age for several years longer if you have the self-control.