Graham/Barton tasting-cum-lunch
Restaurant Bak, Amsterdam, NL
Tasted Saturday, January 13, 2018 by Xavier Auerbach with 790 views
Introduction
Participants: Angela, Ard, David, Elizabeth, Frank, Huib, Ingmar, Job, Lendl, Panny, Paul, Sjaak, Steven, Udo, Xavier, Yvo.
All wines were double decanted early in the morning before the tasting, with the exception of the Graham's 1963, 1966 and 1970, and The Stone Terraces 2011, which were single decanted in the restaurant. I think that the Graham 1963 was the universal WOTT, with the Barton 2009 and Stone Terraces 2011 close on its heels. Among the Grahams, the 2003 and 1983 stood out too and it did not come as a surprise that the Barton 2000, 2005 and 2010 delivered a great performance. More sensitive souls were also particularly taken with the Graham 1975 and the Barton 2004 and the Barton 1994 outperformed its vintage.
The Graham 1963 lost its finesse and fragrance quickly in the glass - a long decanting time would have been an unforgiveable error.
All the Bartons were retasted on the second day (with the exception of the 1990, 1994 and 2000, which were empty after the tasting) and they universally remained intact. I also retasted the Graham 1977-2011 (with the exception of the oxidised 1991 and the tainted 1994) on the second day and on the third day. On the second day all ports still showed well, but on the third day the older wines (1977-1985) had lost their shine. The younger wines (1997-2011) continued to develop and even improved. I guess this makes perfect sense, but I thought I would mention it anyway.
Flight 1 - Léoville-Barton 2000-2010 (11 Notes)
Flight 2 - Lunch (8 Notes)
Flight 3 - Graham's 1963-2011 (13 Notes)
Flight 4 - The Stone Terraces 2011 (1 Note)
A very generous contribution from Sjaak.
2000 Château Léoville Barton 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Classic Barton at its finest. Intense but gentleman-like, very well balanced, very tannic but has the weight of fruit for balance, rounded and creamy, complete and long.
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2001 Château Léoville Barton 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Quite a lot lighter than the 2000, but with a wonderfully classical profile, lovely cassis fruit, quite tight and tannic, hint of spice, perhaps a bit slender for the powerful structure.
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2002 Château Léoville Barton 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Lighter structure than both the 2000 and 2001, with a lovely spiciness in the oak, lifted aromas of cassis and violets, tannic but well-balanced, liquorice, slender, tobacco, lovely crisp Cabernet fruit, good length.
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2003 Château Léoville Barton 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Opulent style, rich and full for Barton, generous, almost sweet fruit, powerful tannins but they are ripe, deep and spicy, fennel, very expressive nose, benefits from its terroir near the river in this hot year, good but not exceptional length.
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2004 Château Léoville Barton 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Classical style but less tannic than all the other vintages tasted so far today, elegant and well-balanced, fragrant, drinkable and digestible, a very attractive and stylish Barton. Drinking well now.
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2005 Château Léoville Barton 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
A great classic in the making, but really far too young. Fantastic nose of great depth, everything in place on the palate, pure and precise, transparent almost, fierce but finely grained tannins are well integrated, beautifully fresh but ripe cassis fruit, has great line and length. Score based on potential, but I don't mind drinking this now.
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2006 Château Léoville Barton 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Cedary nose, nice hint of cream, spicy and deep but not as pure and precise as the 2005, very tannic but well-balanced, a long term wine.
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2007 Château Léoville Barton 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Attractive, gentle nose, slightly creamy, relatively gentle tannins, very developed for its age, light style, nice length. Not a bad wine but by far the weakest of the 15 vintages tasted today.
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2008 Château Léoville Barton 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Very floral and lifted style on the nose, different from most other vintages (Lendl said it reminded him of Malbec and I can see why), tobacco and liquorice, lacks a bit of stuffing and power on the palate, moderate tannins (in the context of Léoville-Barton), fresh but falls away on the finish. Better on the second day. Retaste.
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2009 Château Léoville Barton 96 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
This is a beast of a wine. It is rich, almost opulent, deep and spicy, but unlike the 2003 the ripeness is backed up by a formidable structure, well-enveloped tannins, coffee and cinnamon, toffee even, positively hedonistic for Barton, creamy richness, long and layered finish. Moderate alcohol: 13% ABV. Magnificent.
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2010 Château Léoville Barton 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
More civilised and fresher than the 2009 and more approachable than the 2005, classical but not closed at all, radiant fruit, flowers, tight and energetic, beautifully balanced, long. Very light on its feet for such a powerful wine. Will last for decades.
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