San Francisco Bay Area Leoville Barton Vertical

This was a great occasion for a vertical tasting of the famous Leoville Barton estate in the context of the worldwide virtual offline organized by Adam Flint and others. Eight residents of the Bay Area converged on that not so famous cul de sac in the Bay Area, Moraga, and tasted the 1982, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, and 2000, along with an outstanding 1996 champagne (the Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Elisabeth) and an equally outstanding 2001 Chablis (the Raveneau Valmur). We were blessed with having only a single bad bottle (the 1986) and a broad enough vertical range to see both the success the Chateau has had in eliciting the best of the St. Julien terroir and typicity, while finding at least some evidence for a stylistic/winemaking change between 1990 and 1994. All tasters were pretty much agreed that starting with the 1994, the level of extraction in the Leoville Barton was raised, although I think most felt that this was not at the price of overall balance. Some would say that this was merely that we were drinking younger wines (certainly the 2000 is nearly impossible to evaluate at this stage), but the somewhat evolved, but extracted profile of the 1994 was revealing in this regard.

The 1982 was the clear favorite of the tasting group, followed by the 1985 and 1989 for drinking now. My own feeling is that the three best wines were the 1982, 1989, and 1996, with the evaluation of the 2000 being difficult at this stage. Still, it seems quite possible that the 2000 will eventually deliver both the power and the finesse, but ten years of additional aging at minimum will be necessary.

• 1996 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon

  France, Champagne

  Pale rose color. Aromas of bright red fruit and toast. On the palate, very intensely flavored, with impressive, bracing acidity drawing out the ripe fruit on the palate, giving the impression of overall balance in this impressive wine. The acidity on this wine is a bit aggressive now, but this should continue to improve with age.

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• 2001 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Pale straw yellow. This really is an extraordinary wine, mostly for its ability to combine apparent opposites of sweetness with acidity and minerality. The nose is positively perfumed, showing distinct notes of white flowers, honey, and botrytis mixed with rock dust. In the mouth, the Sauterne-like character seems to persist, with a sweet, viscous, palate-coating finish that is preceded by a classic Chablis attack of rock flour, acidity, and intensely flavored ripe fruit. Really extraordinary the way this wine shows so many of the classic characteristics of Chablis, especially in the finely comminuted rock dust on the palate and the initial acid attack, but then follows with an almost Sautern- like viscous, sweet finish. A wine just oozing character, this has to be the best 2001 Chablis I have tried.

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• 1982 Château Léoville Barton

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Darkest ruby red, nearly opaque, with garnet color showing near the rim. This wine immediately shows a powerful, even explosive nose of aged cassis, Cuban cigar, cedar, mushrooms, and clay minerals on the nose. The palate is equally impressive, with the minerality and very ripe cassis combining to provide a very powerful mid-palate, tannic, but balanced with very intense and suave flavors. Some tasters have referred to this wine as one-dimensional, but this is delivering on many levels, and the overall balance is impeccable, even if in a slightly aggressive style. Universally, the WOTN for the tasters at the San Francisco offline. A big wine, but one that is still able to simultaneously convey the power and the finesse of the best Left Bank Bordeaux. Very similar in style and performance to a bottle tasted in May of 2005, so this led the entire group to believe this wine is really at its apogee. Taste this one if you can. No formal scoring here, but this has to be a solid 93-94 pointer, with no extra points for future potential (it's all here now)...

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• 1985 Château Léoville Barton

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Medium ruby red with the faintest trace of browning near the rim. The nose on this wine was reticent at first, but with time in the glass it gradually expanded to reveal the classic profile of damp earth, Cuban cigar, and a distinct note of bell pepper lurking in the background. In the mouth, the tasting group commented on the rather striking red fruits mixed with darker fruit, which combined with nicely balanced acidity, fine tannins, and ripe fruit. This wine just kept getting better and better in the glass and ended up the second favorite of most of the tasters, at least for drinking now. Certainly impressive for its delineation and its overall impeccable balance. Many tasters thought this showed as far younger than the 1982, but in my opinion it was more or less in the same age group, but with less aggressive tannins and slightly less intense flavors. Certainly a well stored bottle like this one will last some years, but it is drinking beautifully now.

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• 1986 Château Léoville Barton

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Dark ruby red, almost opaque. This wine appeared to be seriously flawed, if not outright corked. The fruit was muted and never evolved in the glass. Seemed like the raw materials might have been there for a good bottle, but no further comment on this one is possible.

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• 1989 Château Léoville Barton

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Dark ruby red, almost opaque compared to the 1990. A beautifully nuanced and complex nose of tobacco and damp earth is beginning to emerge on this wine, not so powerful as in the 1982, but showing notes of violets, rock dust, and cassis. The palate is equally well balanced, delivering finesse, power, and sheer flavor intensity along with an impressive finish. The dark fruit and tannins on this wine seemed to be virtually indistinguishable. None of the tasters could remember the scoring for this wine, but it was the 2nd or 3rd favorite of the night for most. Very impressive, classically styled Claret, perhaps in the style of the 1985, but with a bit more power and extract.

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• 1990 Château Léoville Barton

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Medium ruby red. Tasted against the 1989, this wine showed a more aggressive, tannic mid-palate and a more subdued nose, both suggesting this wine needs some more time in the bottle. Perhaps most similar in style to the 1982, but lacking just a bit of the sheer power and grip on the mid-palate and finish that that wine shows and showing a little less finesse at this stage.. Could be quite impressive in 5-10 years, but right now showing a little below its perennial competitor, the 1989...

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• 1992 Château Léoville Barton

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Medium ruby red. Faint notes of tobacco and earth, but this wine doesn't deliver much on the palate. Hollow and a bit thin, with drying tannins on the finish, this wine is not so unattractive perhaps as some have made it sound (although other tasters did pick up some distinct green notes), but it is difficult to say much favorable beyond the fact that it could be enjoyable with the right foods.

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• 1994 Château Léoville Barton

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Dark ruby red, this was one of the surprises of the evening. Surprisingly tannic, concentrated, and extracted on the palate, this wine showed a somewhat evolved but more subdued nose than the 1996 or 1990 on either side. Similar to the 1996 in the underlying level of extraction in the wine, still the Chateau seems to have carried it off quite well here. Most tasters thought this was an 89-90 point wine, but I would consider more in the range of a 91 pointer for the impressive combination of intense flavor, suave tannins, and St. Julien typicity it delivers. Any doubts about the quality of this wine are erased by the long finish it delivers.

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• 1996 Château Léoville Barton

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Dark ruby red. A gradually expanding nose of Cuban cigar and damp clays and rock dust, and ripe cassis complements a palate that is at once spare and intensely flavored. In this regard, perhaps a classic '96er with its well delineated but very ripe and intensely flavored Cabernet profile. Steve Rigisich thought there was something flawed or out of balance in the wine, but most others considered this as one of the best of the evening, even if way too young to be consumed now. Still, the wine we drank was starting to show at least some secondary characteristics, and overall an impressive balance of ripe fruit, fine tannins, and acidity delivered with in a classic, beautifully delineated Bordeaux style. In terms of sheer potential, I would probably place this with the 1982 and 1989 as the top wines of the evening, certainly better than the less well balanced 1990. The level of extraction in this wine was striking, however, and the entire tasting group thought the style was otherwise similar to the other wines of the 1990s and 2000s tasted (including the 1994 and the 2000) and distinctly different from the style of the 1990 and earlier. Was there a change in wine making shortly before 1994 at Leoville Barton?

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• 2000 Château Léoville Barton

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Dark ruby red. This wine was decanted for about 12 hours, perhaps a mistake since it showed essentially no nose at all, except for faint notes of caramel and oak that developed after some time in the glass. On the palate, the wine is much more impressive, with fine, even silky tannins balancing very impressive fruit extract. This was infanticide of the most serious kind to open this, but it may well be that this wine will combine both the power of the best years (1982 and 1990) with the finesse of a vintage like 1985. Shows the same underlying level of extraction as the 1996 and 1994 (and not found in earlier vintages), which led most of the group to believe that at least some change in wine making style occurred between 1990 and 1994. Anyway, this is one not to disturb for at least 10 years...

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An impressive and very informative vertical. Will the 2000 come around and surpass some of the earlier vintages? Probably so, but I don't see this wine as in the category of legends (95 points and above)--it just doesn't have the multiple layers and complexity to carry this off. Most neglected but very good vintages of Leoville Barton: 1994 and 1985. Drinking the best right now: the 1982. And at least in this showing, the 1989 shows better than the 1990...