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| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.6 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 26 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by FransS on 1/14/2023 & rated 96 points: A very special birthday dinner (Amsterdam): A magnum (level very upper shoulder), very deep, ripe colour, creamy, but also earthy, and a nice minty bouquet with a firm dose of wood; after some aeration the earthy impression and the wood became more modest and the wine became smoother. The aftertaste of this super concentrated wine was very long. (896 views) | | | Tasted by maaike2 on 1/14/2023 & rated 97 points: Wow. An impressive wine. From Magnum. Beautiful balanced wine with still fruit and freshness, and showing earthiness, leather, round, acids and tannins balanced, a miracle -wine, a fantastic exposure of this great vintage. (821 views) | | | Tasted by bridgemaster on 11/27/2022 & rated 93 points: Cork was intact, providing a good seal.
Decanted one hour before serving. Light crimson, no sign of browning.
Developed well over the next three hours, gradually opening up. Still plenty of fruit. (734 views) | | | Tasted by fussyeater on 5/20/2022 & rated 91 points: Ferrari F40 in the rain! (Kent countryside, UK): Colour was translucent crimson so looked quite aged. Nose seemed to evoke being sat in an old leather seat in the National Liberal Club and not a great deal else. Red fruits on the palate and quite searing acidity and definitely on its descent. Still a real privilege to try and an experience. (1173 views) | | | Tasted by NickA on 5/20/2022 & rated 90 points: Ferrari F40 in the rain (A farmhouse in leafy Kent): Gentle and easy, with high acidity, some iron, and not much fruit. Fun with the cheese but had probably seen better days. (1219 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 4/6/2022 & rated 91 points: Fully-developed, the nose opens with wet forest, leafy-herbs, cedar, tobacco leaf, smoke, spice and red fruits. Medium-bodied, vibrant, crisp and bright, the finish has a nice peppery edge to the red fruits and cigar wrapper notes. (1834 views) | | | Tasted by sdr on 2/5/2022 & rated 89 points: 61s at 61 (Bourbon Steak, Aventura, Florida): A nice showing for the Barton, mostly due to its distinctiveness. I couldn’t identify the smell but after a few passes the closest I could come was “concrete.” Doesn’t sound too pleasant but as often the case with wine, aromas or flavors that originate outside the garden or forest can be intriguing and enjoyable. It fortunately didn’t taste like what I image concrete tastes like but it lives in a dimension well beyond fruit. (1029 views) | | | Tasted by steinersing on 11/9/2019 & rated 94 points: This is showing very well still - straightforward and beautiful (1675 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 6/23/2018 & rated 94 points: From half, this shows a near-identical nose to a full bottle drunk about a year ago. Quince and red fruit nose with iron, beef blood, leather, and cedar notes. A harmonious, lithe wine. See second note for a fantastic contrast with a full bottle beside. (2428 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 6/23/2018 & rated 96 points: This shows much better than from half (drunk beside 375ml, see corresponding note), showing off a beautifully potent nose. The fruit driving the half bottle is quince, but from whole bottle the fruit is pure blackcurrant and there's much more aromatic volume and verve. Much of the accompanying notes - cedar, iron, beef blood, leather, loam - are identical. Medium bodied with beautifully resolved tannins, this maintains very nice balance in the mouth. A fascinating format comparison between formats. (2710 views) | | | Tasted by dcwino on 11/10/2017 & rated 95 points: 2017 Villa d’Este Wine Symposium - Kelly and Kevin's excellent adventure; 11/9/2017-11/14/2017 (Villa D’este, Lake Como and Milan): Fully mature nose displaying sweet red fruit, cherry, raspberry, a hint of plum, a lot of cedar, a hint of lead pencil, leather, tobacco and earthy. Fully integrated harmonious palate, subtle sweet red fruit driven palate impression, silky and polished, very broad, perfect amount of acidity, fully integrated tannins and a long sweet red fruit and cedar driven finish. The tertiary complexity comes from ideal cellaring. A bit straightforward compare to the top 61s. Nevertheless, this is a classic claret that is drinking beautifully. (3763 views) | | | Tasted by JulianSkeels on 4/29/2017 & rated 95 points: Yet another great bottle. A strange almost orange glow to the wine, which showed the wonderful 61 sweetness and richness with vivid flavours. I find the great vintage really shows well in otherwise austere wines like this (and Latour). Not the best 61, and lacks a bit of body, but a really enjoyable wine. It has all the cedar, tobacco and a touch of graphite expected - but with a touch of cinnamon and everything turned up to 11 and with a rich and sweet saturating mouthfeel. Very balanced with plenty of energy, and at peak with no hurry to drink up, this will glide along for another decade or more easily. 95pts (2987 views) | | | Tasted by Chimer on 4/11/2017 & rated 93 points: Lovely deep colour, still bright and energetic. A bottle in super condition with silky palate and melted tannins and holding up beautifully - a great treat. (2255 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 3/5/2017 & rated 94 points: Top shoulder fill with a healthy color and the capsule looked OK... but when the foil came off, the cork was half an inch into the neck! Luckily the wine didn't seem any worse for the wear. As usual with the 61s, this took about half an hour in the decanter to really wake up and shake off the bottle funk. While it does seem to be on the downhill slope, there was still plenty of lovely redcurrant with a slightly confected, port-y touch from the 61 vintage. Cedar, leather, smoke, cinnamon, and game rounded out the nose. Svelte in the mouth - all the tannins have faded away. Neither my favorite 61 nor my favorite Barton, but a fine bottle. Perhaps larger formats are showing better, but it's time to drink these. 94-95. (2521 views) | | | Tasted by tinybubbles on 11/18/2016 & rated 93 points: A reticent but appealing eventually revealing tar and vanilla notes. Tight palate with notes of white pepper and light wood notes. Quite dark overall. (1705 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 11/13/2016 & rated 92 points: Firm, old school, austere, yet completely charming wine that is still going strong. The tannins are resolved, the cassis has freshness, the secondary tobacco, earth and forest floor aromatics hit the spot. This is a solid example of a classy and classic, mature Bordeaux. (2750 views) | | | Tasted by DrinkBordeaux on 11/5/2016 & rated 93 points: First dinner of the L.A. wine trip (The Bazaar at SLS, Beverly Hills, California): Started out a bit thin on the palate, but gained weight in the glass. A bit more rustic than the 1961 Ducru-Beaucaillou, with more earthy character. A nose of black currant, blackberry, cedar, a bit of old library book, cigar tobacco, and green pepper. Again, while it started out thin, it gained body and density to become a nicely balanced wine. An excellent wine that still has some tannic structure left. Could have used a bit more freshness on the finish. (1723 views) | | | Tasted by Keith Levenberg on 10/10/2014 & rated 96 points: Terrific. This isn't the greatest '61 I've had but it still knocks the socks off anything from younger generations. It is always a treat to drink this vintage. Deep cigar tobacco aromas with a backdraft of the same on the palate, finishing more like smoke than liquid. There is still plenty of sweet red fruit here and while the tannin has mostly melted away to give this a saturating mouthfeel, what remains is really satisfyingly gritty. An old-style masculine Bordeaux still going strong and likely to stay there for who-knows-how-long. (12152 views) | | | Tasted by pjaines on 12/13/2013: Classic, beautiful, mature, elegant but still with the guts for more years in the bottle. The structure has melted away and has left pashmina soft wine with no rough edges that is purely brilliant mature Bordeaux. It still has some acidity to balance off he wine. Truly brilliant. (3886 views) | | | Tasted by andrewstevenson.com on 6/1/2007 & rated 90 points: A very attractive mature colour. The nose has deep black fruits. Very attraction on the palate, this has a lovely open, full feel. There are some slightly lifted high tones, but here they serve to make it more attractive. It has nothing like the length of the Poyferré and is actually a touch short. Very Good Indeed. (5630 views) | | | Tasted by andrewstevenson.com on 6/1/2007 flawed bottle: This has an Avery’s label, but was chateau-bottled. It has a clear appearance, looking more mature with more of a polished oak colour than the first Léoville Barton. It feels a bit corked on the nose, and is definitely so on the palate. (6055 views) | | | Tasted by G SQUARED on 1/10/2007 & rated 89 points: Dinner at Acquarello with Garen and Wilf. This wine started stronger than the Poyferre and the las Cases but came in a distant third by an hour into the dinner. Just not very pleasureable and a bit past it's prime I think. Drink up. (6544 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff W on 2/9/2005: Linden vertical.
Faded ruby-brown. Sweet fruit, with a liquorice note. Strong volatile acidity. Soft tannins and a good length. It's probably past its best and fading, but still approachable and enjoyable. exc (5049 views) | | | Tasted by sdr on 5/1/1988 & rated 83 points: Off the list at the Dorchester Hotel in London (75£). Only a few fragments of the label remain, just enough to identify it. Cork was moist and fractured on removal. Dark bright color, no sign of age. Gorgeous violet bouquet for 15 minutes then turned into raw ground coffee. Good grip. Slightly dry tannins. Good acidity. Coarse texture. Interesting but not a top ‘61 and a relative good buy. (701 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Château Léoville Barton Producer website - Read more about Chateau Leoville BartonRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanMédoc Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the Medoc
VdB
The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines.St. Julien VdB
Read more detailed information on St. Julien and its wines The seventeenth century pioneers Traces are to be found of a Saint-Julien de Rintrac, perhaps Saint-Julien's earliest name, as from the thirteenth century. But we have to wait until the seventeenth century pioneers, urban and rural aristocrats, discover the exceptional merits of these terroirs.
Traces of this system still exist today in the structure of estates within the appellation: by the side of the two villages of Beychevelle and Saint-Julien, the large estates are heavily preponderant, representing more than four fifths of the total surface of vineyards.
The terrain is practically identical over all the commune. Only the proximity of the estuary, sometimes close, sometimes further away, can cause slight variations in climate. In fact, Saint-Julien-Beychevelle's layer of gravel takes the form of a huge rectangle over 3 miles long and 2 miles wide. And the alluvial deposits are particularly well fragmented into ridges of Garonne gravel of the early Quaternary. Accordingly, the vines are safeguarded from stagnant water.
The wines from the Saint-Julien appellation may be recognized by their unparalleled bouquet, particularly harmonious and mild. They have a fine deep colour and combine the finesse of their aromas and a solid constitution. They have body, are very rich in flavour and have a delicious and delicate bouquet.
Production conditions (Decree dated November 14, 1936)
In order to have the right to the Saint-Julien appellation of controlled origin, red wines must:
- come from the commune of Saint-Julien and from precisely defined parcels in the communes of Cussac, and Saint-Laurent, "excluding the parcels situated on recent alluvium and sand on impermeable subsoils",
- satisfy precise production conditions: grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare). |
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