2000 Château Léoville Barton

Community Tasting Note

Keith Levenberg Likes this wine:

97 Points

Tuesday, January 22, 2013 - Wow, remember when this wine was a blockbuster? Now it's practically a ballerina. There is so much that is impressive about this already but one of the most remarkable things is how svelte its figure is, with the tannins commensurately fine-grained and lacey. I never would have guessed this could turn into something so feminine and elegant. That's the impression in turns of mouthfeel and shape, anyway, but the actual flavors are serious and deep. You get a twist of blue and black fruits tinged with cedar and iron; at times the minerality seems almost more prominent than the fruit, but both are probably less emphatic than they otherwise might be because the tannins are still wrapped around it all, as elegant as they are. They certainly do not compromise the drinkability in any way. This wine keeps you coming back to it so compulsively I was almost tempted to open a second.

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5 comments have been posted

Comment posted by Champagneinhand:

1/22/2013 5:14:00 PM - Great notes. I wish I had more than one bottle of this. I'll have to look at the auction, as it makes much more sense to buy more 2000 with 10 years on the bottles over 2010 futures.
Comment posted by que syrah syrah:

1/23/2013 4:59:00 AM - Agreed, great note and very helpful. I only have one and am now looking forward to it even more. The only question, when?
Comment posted by Keith Levenberg:

1/23/2013 4:18:00 PM - I don't think I would want to open this now if I only had one, unless you're mulling over buying more. It is certainly a good buy relative to more recent vintages (and to any number of other Bordeaux that cost a lot more and aren't as good).
Comment posted by StefanAkiko:

4/1/2013 3:14:00 PM - As a Barton lover, I suffered a bland experience w/this one in 2009. But from recent reviews, I feel quite comfortable with our acquired half case. I do seem to share a kinship with this gentleman's taste, so the more merriment is looked forward to in these neck of woods.
Comment posted by englishman's claret:

10/5/2013 2:25:00 PM - Hey Keith, how long did you decant?
Marc