Monthly Tuesday group "The Dead Sparrow": Pauillac and St. Julien (By me @ the factory): In the bouquet dark berries, minerals and beautifully dosed oak. On the palate an elegant wine with fresh acidity, dark and red berries, beautiful oak and cedar, good acidity and tannin with still enough power for some more years. Beautiful and classical wine.
Decanted 45 minutes at home, cleared sediment, brought to a restaurant where it was slow-O'd for another hour. Note going from memory.
Not a lot of fruit more tertiary flavors at this point. Yes there were some black currants and plum but there was also fennel, mushroom, tobacco, and aged balsamic. Everything was nicely balanced and it held its flavor profile over 60-90 minutes after we got around to it. This exceeded my expectations. Birth year wine for eldest and so happy to share with everyone.
NOTE: this was purchased in 2011 from a reputable retailer and stored properly since that time. Cork was unbelievably pristine. Really shocking for a 25 year old wine, looked like was laying on its side for a year.
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Not a lot of fruit but plenty of leather and balsamic. Auction purchase so not sure how well this had been stored but the bottle seemed very advanced. Great fun to drink, best with food.
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Coravin fun - Bordeaux (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. A little almost raspberry note is intertwined with slightly dried our plums and blackcurrant, mushroom, Autumn leaves, wet earth, cedar, tiny touch of pencil shavings. Medium plus intensity acidity freshens everything; some sweet black fruits, Asian five spice, fruit tea, a little leafy quality, tannins are drying, talc textured but in support. Hmm
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Great nose on this wine which in typical LB fashion has taken 2 decades to hit full maturity. Tobacco, loamy earth, cigar box and some cedar notes. The palate took about an hour to round out. Fine-grained tannins with good mid-palate presence and a slightly leaner flavour profile than the 1996. Probably not much upside here but should hold at this level for a few more years. Really enjoyed with a cheeseboard. Threw quite a bit of fine sediment so decant carefully.
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We were blown away by the 1998 Léoville Barton that we decided to open up. A vintage hailed in more regard on the right bank than the left of Bordeaux, we were still excited about what this Barton could entail. Opting to let it breathe in the bottle, we were surprised at how much blackcurrant was on the palette in the first glass. The bottle quickly transitioned to more a more tertiary experience with the second glass entailing smoke, pepper, a hint of crème de cassis, lavender and strong notes of anise on the finish. Despite its age, the wine still had great length and was an exceptional bottle to pair with dinner.
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Same as last year's note, but more pronounced flavors. More of eerything. Tannins still present, but smooth and well integrated. Continues to improve and develop. Impressive wine.
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Open two hours. Not masses of visual evolution. Mint, dry undergrowth, blackberry, cold black slate. What a beautiful left bank nose. Added black currant on the palette, and very light vanilla and star anise on the third glass. Delicate, feminine, almost Burgundian in texture. Only indication of age was the resolved tannins and medium body. But so pure and delicious.
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Opened by Otis. Decanted before dinner. Part of a vertical of the 1995, 1998, 2000 and 2003. 3rd time I have had this wine. This wine was showing better 9 years ago when it was younger. The least tannic of the wines. Soft texture. Notes of plums, red berries and underbrush. Lighter to medium bodied for a Bordeaux. 89 points.
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Last bottle and still drinking well. This is a pleasant and nicely formed wine with berries, tobacco and garden herbs commingled for a full flavor. More light than rich or dense.
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Coravin fun - Leoville Barton; 3/8/2022-3/15/2022 (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Leather, brambles, a little red berry note, plus, pyrazine, slight Autumn leaves, mushroom, a little tobacco leaf with cedar and a touch of cream. With agitation that cedar notes come to the fore joined by a little cigar box. Medium plus intensity acidity, the fruit is slightly sour on the palate with a little yeasty underpin, tannins are chalky textured and drying. It’s slightly out of whack. Nose better than the palate for me.
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This was the second bottle we opened on Christmas. All in all, it seemed a bit muted - the nose, flavor, and finish. There was nothing disagreeable. In a blind tasting, one would be easily able to identify left bank, but would have guessed younger or from a lesser chateau. Don't recall having other 1998's, so it may be the vintage. We drank over the next two nights, but it never hit our mark of what we expect from an aged bordeaux.
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Bought in 1998 and stored in my parents' cellar. Even after 20+ years of aging, this wine still needs substantial time to open up.
Appearance: dark ruby with a hint of bricking. Some sediment.
Nose: medium intense black plum, violet, and vanilla aromas with notes of meat, graphite, and vegetal.
Palate: high tannins, medium(+)/high acid, full bodied, leaner texture. Good balance and medium complexity. Medium intense flavors of smooth red plum and graphite with some hints of mint. A medium-length lighter chocolate and slightly minty finish.
A very nice older and bigger left bank Bordeaux! Lighter fruit, big tannins, and herbal notes. Would go great with a steak.
I didn't have this wine when it was younger, so I can't attest to how it has aged. The fruit is a little subdued for me, but I'm not sure if this was due to the wine itself or due to age. The tannins are big enough to store for more time however. But if you do open it now, make sure to give it 45+ minutes to open up.
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Deep ruby, very young. Full fruity nose dominated by dark berries, almost a bit kirsch on alcohol, combined with green tones. Not very aged, no hints of tertiary aromas. Sweet, full-bodied attack, very young fruit on the mid palate – blackberries, black plums and blackcurrant, as well as some fine tones of vanilla and coffee (oak). Fine tannins and good acidity, but also a bit flabby fruit. Long aftertaste with a clear note of alcohol. Young version of this wine. Incredibly different from the previous wines. 87-88
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good deep red color- even a bit deeper than the 2002 tasted alongside, tight young nose, cherries, cloves, plum, on the palate a dark fruit profile, cool and calm, lovely punchy mature fruit, fine long punchy finish, spice notes with time, as with a 1998 Chateau Margaux tasted a few days ago- another point of evidence that 1998 was not just a great year for St. Emilion and Pomerol, a fine Leoville-Barton.
***(*), now to 2035
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Granato luminoso, limpido, spezie dolci al naso, verde peperone alla griglia, terra, cioccolato, fragola matura e ciliegia, tabacco pipa, bocca polposa fruttata e speziata, leggera mancanza di spina acida, ma molto elegante e suadente... vino che accompagna.
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I did not have a lot of expectations for this bottle but was pleasantly surprised by its qualities. Captivating aromas of tobacco leaves, cigar box cedar and dark fruits burst out of the glass, this is a beauty. Mouth is gently filled by a dark core of fruit that has perfectly absorbed its wood-the refined tannins lends to a velvety hedonistic mid palate lifted by a fresh finish. In a good spot now, with secondary emerging beautifully. Not the powerhouse mouth coating monster which is actually good as this is drinkable now. A very good surprise and very good value here.
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Surprisingly muted note. Brilliant Rudy color. Shows a bit of eucalyptus and clean red fruit notes with some loam and barnyard notes. Fine somewhat angular tannins and medium finish. If I didn’t know the producer I would say this probably won’t get better—but knowing this a slow aging bdx I would guess this will develope the expected maturity and aromatics in a few years. Still, not a great vintage for Leoville Barton.
-- double-decanted approx. 2.5 hours before initial taste -- -- tasted non-blind over 1.5 hours --
Red fruits and a moderately intense wet stones mineral element on the Nose. No longer tannic on the palate. Medium-light to medium bodied. Medium-low acidity. Medium-light to medium concentration of fruit. At, if not past, peak. Very surprised to get such a "weak" showing out of Leoville Barton --- I was expecting this to be quite youthful, but that was not the case. Fruit seems to be falling-away, and there's really not much there otherwise. Drink Now. Gut impression score: 90.
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Pop and Pour - straight off a hybrid of floral and bright fruity nose with a very refreshing lift. Totally love the nose of this. Surprisingly still alot of fruits and not much secondary notes, although I'm not complaining. The palate somehow disappoints as it's quite muted. It's light to medium bodied. The finish is medium. Unfortunately, the nose totally brought my expectations sky high, which might be the downfall of this wine as the palate didn't deliver on the expectations using the nose as the basis of what's to come.
With a braised lamb shank and sitting in the glass for approximately 30 minutes, it started to open.
At rhe end of my 2+ hour meal, the nose is still singing throughout, but the palate couldn't really keep up.
I have 1 bottle left, will cellar for a few more years or if I open it, will choose to decant it for some time.
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2.5 hour decant. Upon opening heavy barnyard and mustiness that blew off. dried flowers, red fruit, leather. silky, understated, great with a rack of lamb. Major improvement over previous bottle.
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Classic austere left banker - graphite, cassis, a certain coolness. There's high acidity that begs for some lamb, a little prickle of spice, and really nice tannins. It's well put together and relatively slick, but not complex or delicious enough to deserve a higher score.
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Decanted for about 20 minutes to open up. Strong barnyard on the nose. Fine integrated tannins on the palate of well into dark stewed fruit. Pungent notes of tea and tobacco. Will continue to age beautifully.
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Coravin fun - Leoville Barton and new arrivals (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Dusty, closed initially but, with time and agitation, blackcurrant, a little chalky minerality, pyrazine, a tiny touch of cellar stink underpins these aromas lending complexity rather than distracting. In the mouth it has medium plus intensity acidity, medium plus intensity chalky, drying tannins which lend a chewy quality to the leathery blackcurrant fruit, long but a bit disjointed. Hmm
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Wow, who said that we must now dring left bank '98? Sure this isn't just any left bank, but this Leoville Barton was in great shape and has a great future for at least 10 more years. From opening, dark opaque violet color, on the nose suave St Julien, just about in between 2nd and 3rd phase of its development. Gorgeous aromas of earth, fruits, spice, slightly smokey, lush, not heavy and simply inviting. This was a majestic master class of how a Bordeaux Grand Cru ought to be; proud, yet modest, inviting with its elegance yet standing tall. Wow... that is the type of Bordeaux that I love. Cheers,
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8th of 12, pnp, perfect cork and level, as last December's bottle , still gaining nuance, good for 10 if not 20 years if without the inherent richness and drive of a very top vintage. F+ (18).
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Stood a week before opening, two hours before pouring first glasses, immediately decanting remainder. Decanted, showed greater length, generally more attractive. This was a little surprising given recent notes expressing concern that, at ts age, this could lose from too much air exposure That said, colour and aromatics, as well as cork condition, suggest that this is a long way from over the hill Lamb boulangere highlights everything. Tannins easing away, almonds and dark fruit edging into tertiary notes. Brie does nothing for it, stick to hard cheeses
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A dark coloring when poured. Opened and let it breathe about 30 min. but did not decant. A nose with lots of black fruit, some casiss and a hint of leather. The tannins have softened considerably leaving a very smooth delicious wine. As the evening progressed, the wine seemed to become a bit unbalanced with a hot afterfinish. That first glass was yummy.
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Much better than I expected. It could have been well over the hill: 1998 was not a great year, and some other 98's did not hold up well. Yet, it was very nice, and still has quite decent fruit. The tannins are softening and very present. Color is deep. Hard to put this down! It has a least a few more good years ahead. I will write more notes when I open more bottles later.
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Tasted blind. Much better bottle that I had recently. Nose of dark fruit with licorice, forest floor. The wine shows cool fruit on the palate, grippy tannins but light bodied, the balance is ok, masculine, clearly Pauillac or St.Julien. Not for the beginner but I like the precision and symmetry here.
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So... This is my last bottle of an OWC that I purchased in 2006. Purchased for $41 per bottle at the time. There is either extreme bottle variation or this wine has changed many times over the past 15 years. From 2006-2014, it was young, tight, with grainy abrasive tannin. From 2015-2018, it was in its sweet spot. In 2019, I wrote that it was past its prime (however, I made a mistake in decanting it). In 2020, it is drinking the best I’ve ever had of this LB vintage. I did not decant it tonight and that was a good decision. Tasting note tonight is so clear... Sweet Virginia tobacco, olive tapenade, black licorice, leather, and cedar. Fully mature St. Julien. Drink up as I still believe it will start fading from here.
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Dinner with the wine group (Millbrae, CA): Not that aromatic, some black fruits; palate is full bodied, still plenty of deeper black fruits, medium-plus acidity; medium finish. Nice balance and still youthful, but doesn’t have the complexity of other vintages here tonight. 88
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Beautiful wine in a beautiful place now. Still enough to keep it going for another decade, although I think this is around peak drinking now. Maybe a little hollowness to the mid palate but it filled in a bit with air. Medium fruit, medium acid, medium tannins …. classic Bordeaux.
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What a beautiful, classic nose the 1998 Leoville Barton has, bursting with fresh, juicy blackcurrant, cedar, and pencil accented by fresh mineral and a touch of lavender. Persistent tannins and good balance suggest a long life a head. Indeed, I think its best days are ahead as the emergence of more tertiary components over the coming decade should add progressively more interest and the wine's vigor isn't in doubt. Not a wine for prolonged decanting as this loosened up a bit too much after 3 hours in a closed decanter. 93-94
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From Coravin. Saline, slightly funky, stinky, a little black fruit, leather, sweet spice but very muted. The stink less obvious on the palate, loads of medium plus intensity tight, chalky tannins with a sour black fruit underpin. Hmm.
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7th of 12, decanted 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, classical and classy, cassis now showing bramble, and tertiary flavours developing, fine tannic underpinning more noteworthy than in my previously noted bottle in March 16, good life ahead and attractive now if without the concentration of the 96, 00 and 03. F+ (18).
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Strict, tannic and structured. Open and decanted for an hour or so. This wine really shone with beef tenderloin. This added so much to the food, the food to the wine. This is the way it should be.
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From a 375. Strawberry tart, vanilla, faint herbs, tannins still there but civilized now. Excellent with Mediterranean dishes. No further development in this format, drink up.
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Still dark garnet but starting to show some bricking on the edge. Beautiful nose of dark fruit and pencil shavings, some stone. Similar on the palate with great structure and balance. Still plenty of life in this one.
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From coravin: the next annoyance, as the 3star restaurant Aqua at Wolfsburg is charging 20€ for a glass of mature Bordeaux GC this restaurant is charging the double, a barefacedness! Never again. the wine is showing a little subdued, better flabby, I do often think that coravining is not perfect for most of the bottles, but today no chance to get a better red to pair my Ibericocheek, some cassis, but overall a not convincing showing, lacking the tension of a GC, **
Yet another 1998 from the Medoc impaired by all that rain in September. A 75cl bottle which we didn't decant. Very soft and gentle for an LB, diffuse in mid-palate. Pedestrian, unexciting, a little weak. You can almost taste that rain. However, it did improve a bit towards the end, with some vigour and tannins, probably due to suspended solids in the last glass.
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A little disappointed. It is quite an austere wine but that is the style of Leoville Barton. A classic old fashioned claret. A friend told me only to buy this in hotter vintages - I think that he is correct. I will not try a bottle for another could of years and see if it has changed at all.
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Garnet edge, ruby core. Red fruit, graphite, cassis, and a touch of earth on the nose. Palate is logistics to medium body, full of grippy tannin an moderate acidity. Finish is clipped by the structure. This will likely get better but it’s hard to say how much. A nice bottle but not stunning.
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I waited too long on this one. I should have heeded my own advice from my tasting note back on 2015 that said to drink up. It is now on the downslope of evolution. Bricking on the edges, tobacco leaf, leather shoe, black tea, touch of raisin. The fruit has faded and almost completely resolved. I have one bottle left and will be drinking it soon so I don’t have to pour it down the drain. Drink up... and I mean it this time.
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To begin quite a deep nose of dark fruit, but quite strict and old-school Bordeaux. Classic but a bit boring. Reminded me a little about '06 which I didn't like as well either. Better to taste with good mouthfeel with long and good aftertaste. Smooth exit. Took the limelight completely from Calon Segur 98 the first 10-15 minutes. But Barton would prove to be the hare while Segur the turtle
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New Years Eve 2018: rubin color; cherries, cassis, chocolate, cedar and coffee; started with a perceptible fruity acid on the palate that mellowed down over time; round, tannic texture; medium body.
The 1998 Leoville-Barton is at the beginning of his maturity. There are plenty of tannins left for further aging.
Direct contenders of the evening were Montrose 1998 and Latour a Pomerol 1998 (see tasting notes).
Kept about one glass in the corked bottle. After approx. 24 hours: the aromas and flavors are clearly more restrained, but still perceivable; strong tannin backbone.
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Coravin fun with Mats & Fredrik part two (Kennards, Waterloo): From Coravin. Medium minus intensity aromas of earth, blackberry and cherry, leather, cedar, slightly tobacco leaf. And this is equally muted on the palate, juicy with similar flavour profile to the nose and an odd peach note, tannins are drying and gritty. Time for me.
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At home with friends, an evening of wines from the 1998 vintage. Served to accompany lamb shanks. I'm a Bordeaux lover so I expected this to be my favourite wine of the 1998s tasted on the evening. However, I ranked it second best (putting the Miguel Merion Rioja in top place). Fully mature and a pleasure to drink if you are a Bordeaux lover as it is very typical of the style of the 1998 vintage. Lots of farmyards overtones, though perhaps less earthy than I had expected. Smooth, rich and long fruit. Very good.
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Still a deep and dark purple with dark red edges. A nicer nose than the Gruard Larose 1998 consumed alongside. And showing even better than when I had it a few years ago. This was a classic bordeaux.
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I continue to find it baffling that anyone in their right mind would pay more than £10 for this nonsense. I am not doubting its provenance, authenticity, or even honesty. But why the prestige? This wine was desperately flabby, lacking any sort of acidity or definition whatsoever, soupy, vaguely syrupy, had no discernible tannin, no structure at all, and all fragrance pretty much died within 10 minutes. What aromas there were included maybe figs, blackberries, tar, and that's about it. A waste of time and money. The only possibility of redemption is that this wine was once very good (not great - that's inconceivable) and died years ago. A pathetic showing, and one that doesn't help at all to convince me that Bordeaux is not the world's most pompously overrated wine region. Let the Chinese and Russian oligarchs have it all! Maybe they're right to mix this syrup with Coca-Cola - I guess it makes the wine more exciting...
Very kind of our host for lunch to open this 20 year old Leoville Barton. Served with roast lamb. Colour is dark maroon, tending to black. The nose shows damson, cloves, nail varnish. Smooth, earthy, silky, good balance of fruit. Long and well balanced overall. Excellent. It's my view that this has certainly reached full maturity and I would not recommend keeping any longer.
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Following up from a bottle of the 1999 I had last week, I decided to open the 1998 with our beef stew. It’s a step up in depth and complexity from the 1999, though the two wines have a clear connection-they are both clearly Barton. For the 1998 there is deep red fruit, cedar plank, tobacco, and dusty, round finishing tannins. It’s quite complete and satisfying in a classical mode. Overall it’s pretty much everything I want in a Bordeaux. Drink now or ten years from now.
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My goodness; 5 years since I tasted this last and it's barely budged! Deep, sophisticated, blackcurrant nose; more leather and mineral than the Langoa - longer, more upright, more depth, and clearly less ready.
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Eight years after buying this bottle i finally popped the cork with high expectations....which were not quite met. Decanted for 2 hours. Fairly complex on the nose, worked very well with food but on its own it was slightly astringent and boring. I am not sure if it was past its peak (doubtful), too young or just a slightly off bottle.
Maturing garnet color that still has a deep center. Classic Barton nose of black currant fruit, leather and earth. This wine is evolving flavor-wise but is a bit rough and tumble. Course texture as the stuffing still has rough edges. Could continue to age but I bet this will never fully become silky. Better to drink over the next 5 to 7 years with a roast or other fall/winter fare. Did open with 60 minutes of air. (92)
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This bottle was past its prime. Nose was decent with stewed black fruits, spices, an earthy burnt smell and a slight herbaceousness. Initial thin mouthfeel turned softer with some tannins present, however, only a shadow of the typical bordeaux flavors remain ("like drinking water"). Surprisingly, came to back life a little with the pot roast.
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Opened by Mark as part of a blind vertical of the 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2003 vintages of this wine. Decanted 3 hours. This finished last in the voting among the 4 tasters and some thought it might be flawed. 2nd time I have had this wine. Purple red color. Peppery nose. Softer tannins. Notes of dried mushrooms, eucalyptus, red berries and currants. A little alcohol on the finish. 89 points.
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Such power and such depth still left on this wine!!! Wow this was a monster St Julien '98. This is the 9th of 12 and certainly most powerful bottle yet of the case. If the other two are like this, then I would prefer to open the next one in 7~8 years. Big Bordeaux in the making and no kidding around. Cheers,
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Last time I tried this it was tight and tannic and austere 5 years ago Now... lovely fresh and perfectly balanced No decant required but did improve somewhat after an hour
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Flat and lacking structure upon opening. Decanted and after one hour it blossomed into a beautiful Bordeaux. Earth, leather, tobacco, and hints of ripe dark berries. Good balance, medium tannin, moderate complexity. Medium long finish. Drinking very well now. Unsure of how much more aging it can handle.
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한동안 인생와인으로 기억될.... 입안을 아주 포근히 감싸안으면서도 레이어 마다 결이 팽팽하게 살아있어 미소를 머금다가도 팔럿을 가득채우는 타닌감.... 조이는 느낌과는 사뭇 다르다. 긴 피니쉬를 얼마만에 느껴보는 것인가? 부산의 비프 앤 피쉬의 조화로운 음식과 소믈리에의 멋진 디켄딩 까지..... 멋진 여행과 와인은 빨리 질 수 없다. 굿굿
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Très différent du 2012, que j'ai eu la chance de boire à 2 reprises. Je trouve le vin moins explosif, moins de cèdre et de graphite, plus de cuir, champignons, truffes et très peu de fruits. La texture est bien agréable, crayeuse et des beaux tannins bien présents. J'aime bien le vin, mais encore une fois, je préfère de loin la personnalité des vins de 5-15 ans d'âge et pas plus.
3/5
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A deep colour; quite full blackcurrant fruit initially, but there is a slight diffuseness in the middle and the finish is a bit weak. Certainly elegant and stylish, but not one of the better vintages of this wine.
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quality & mature wines tasting event (my home): dark opaque ruby funky dark ripe fruits nose with sous-bois and leather notes full bodied, soft integrated tannins, rich dark fruits flavours, tobacco, leather, good balance and harmony, soft structure, basic complexity, mint-eucalyptus, tart finish & aftertaste. requires 1-2 hours of decanting.
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w/ prime rib at Thanksgiving, which preferred younger reds. In a nice place with well integrated secondary notes and an expansive palate. Better after a short spell in the decanter.
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Coravin fun - Leoville Barton trial run (Kennards, Waterloo): From Coravin. Dirty earth, barnyard, autumn leaves are all underpinned by muted brambles and blackcurrant. More of the same on the palate, a little linear perhaps, but rather pleasant. The tannins are present but do not dominate...a more complete wine than the 94 & 95 at this juncture. Lovely.
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This is NOT over the hill. I opened and decanted. It started very tight with no fruit and a little funk. It really came around in 2 hours and was great over the next 2 hours. Integrated tannins but still very present. It has beautiful dark fruit - dark cherry, blackberries, etc. I thought it would taste older or be dusty. Had it with light Italian food which was nice but would have gone well with a bigger flavored pork or beef main course. Drink in the next 3-4 years but it is wonderful now.
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The best 1998 Left bank I remember to have tasted (but then a lot of wine might heart my memory). Classic nose of red fruit, a bit earthy. Palate so balanced I guessed it to be 2000 in the blind tasting, and then 1996... Drink now-2022, strong buy.
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I opened, filtered and decanted. Earth early, later more black fruit on the nose. Well balanced, supple, mid palate has a nice acidity. I thoroughly enjoyed. The Barton Family can be proud of this particular year.
Lovely nose of wet slate, smoke and blackberries. The palate was smooth and rich with black currant sweetness coming through. Nice structure. From half-bottle, so quite well matured, but definitely improved over time in the glass. Another couple of years ideally before the next half.
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Tasted blind along side the 1998 Leoville Poyferre and 1998 Leoville Las Cases from half bottles. I've had this wine a couple times before many years back and a few years ago. The wine has been very austere for ages but is finally coming out of its shell. Still, it was the least expressive of the three Leovilles. The tannins were fully resolved and there was a lot of intensity and flavour to the palate. However, there was a slight rotten component, or perhaps an underripeness which meant the wine lacked richness and made it less enjoyable to drink. No doubt, the 1998 weather is to blame. On the nose, there was wonderful black fruit wrapped in toasty oak. Some nuttiness, cigar, and pencil lead came out over time, like a Pauillac. While the palate had some flaws, the nose really compensated. I think the wine is ready to drink, but maybe some of the issues will resolve with age. I can't say.
Deep red and little bricking. Medium to full body. Good acidity. Light tannins well integrated. A great mature bordeaux that still has the structure to go another 10-20 years. Drink now - 2030+
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Firm, structured, tannic, classic, austere and youthful, this needs at least a decade for the tannins to become civilized and catch up with the secondary nose that is developing.
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Decanted roughly 2 hours before consuming with home-made corned beef. Good garnet-red color with very little signs of brown at the rim. A lovely, if somewhat monolithic, nose of damp clay, cedar, and cassis. Very full on the palate, with good fruit and a hint of menthol on the finish, but the wine lacks acidity to pull it all together, a surprise, to me, for this vintage. Perhaps it's just past its best. All in all a good, but not great, LB.
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5th of 12, pnp, perfect cork and level - suddenly it's all come together with the palate reflecting the nose, very pure cassis, tobacco and cedar box, long and persistent, grip and balace, fresh fruit, lovely, almost refreshing. F+ (18).
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Medium red colour, showing some maturity; as with previous bottles, this is well made with typical blackcurrant fruit, medium weight and modest length, but it is a little dull. Not the best vintage of Léoville Barton. Will probably keep, as it seems inert.
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Bonhams Pre-Sale Tasting (San Francisco): Deep, even ruby. Bigger than the '95 Ducru. Some noticeable wood. Mouth coating black olive more than fruit. Pretty massive, monolithic, and solid at this point. Needs 15+ more years, I'd imagine, but excellent potential.
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Drank from magnum last nite at Mistrals in Vt. Didn't decant, but should have. A bit of funk on the nose at first, which blew off shortly after opening revealing aromas of blackberries, earth and some barnyard. Still some fruit here--all black--but it's doesn't seem overly ripe. The wine is now predominantly tertiary with lots of earth, cedar, leather and some forest floor. Tannins remain but are soft and chalky, not at all grippy. Decent length with good level of complexity. This wine continues to lack in concentration and depth in the mid-palate (as I've mentioned before in previous tastings). It's a very pleasant wine, but nothing extravagant or particularly memorable.
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After tasting the 2013 a few days ago, I have a bit of an issue. This rating is stingy when I think of the 13's Just emphasizes that we are never absolutely objective.....
This shows graphite and muted fruit on nose. Colour is mature, no signs of brown
Palate has tannins fully integrated, but still enough tenacity for another seven years or so
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Decanted for 2 hours. Ruby red, slight discolouration. Very closed on the nose, subtle. Forest floor, tobacco, fruit cake. Thin on the mid palate, grippy tannins, low acidity, very short finish. This is not going to be better, so drink up.
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Open 5 hours. Very Nice wine, at maturity but will last. Classic left bank wine. Tobacco, spice and cedar on the nose. Pretty dark fruits, spice and good minerality on the palate. More round and balanced than when first opened. 91 points
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Decanted 1+ hrs. Nose showed a touch of graphite, some ripe cherry leaning into pruniness, and a bit of volatile acidity. The flavors always showed a bit attenuated. This bottle showed soft acidity and almost fully integrated tannin, though I did not really get a lot of secondary development. Nevertheless, very tasty.
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Decanted 1h. Garnet colour, not showing it's age. The bouquet is intense and kept developing during the next hour, really nice. Delicious on the palate, full body, good balance between fruit and oak. Excellent finish, medium/long. Ready to drink but should hold another 5 years.
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Fantastic wine. Black fruit and cocoa powder. I no longer drink much Bordeaux, but I'm drinking thru all the classified Bordeaux I bought from the late 1990s and stored in my parents' superb basement/wine cellar. One thing I consistently note is that the 1998s and 1999s are much more enjoyable wines than the 1995s and 1996s, contrary to the opinions of the newsletter publishers masquerading as experts.
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Irony blackfruit, barnyard, cedar, leather, blueberries, mulberries, liquorice and spice aromas. Medium to full bodied elongated and spherical, chunky and slightly austere palate with a reserved fruity, gravelly, lightly cedary balanced and stylish middle. Ends long, incisive, fresh and fruity. A classy masculine wine. At its peak, can be kept for 5 to 10 years minimum.
At first very closed and tannic, after it was decanted an hour, the wine really showed itself as a classic Bordeaux and was enjoyable with grilled lamb chops.
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Tuesday Night Double Blind $40+ (Bin 75): Dark core, some clarity, garnet, crimson rim; wow, smoky Bordeaux nose, younger, red currant, boxwood, medicinal, dusty, very mineral driven, licorice, great red fruit; on the palate it is spicy, firm, broad shouldered, very masculine, great drive, balance; seems much younger than I am sure it is, others on 2006, I called 2000 Ducru Beaucaillou; heard this was painfully tannic when young but this wine is like a butterfly emerging from the cocoon; very well preserved example, still has some blossoming to accomplish in my opinion, 92+.
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En magnum. Nez discret, fumé, avec du cuir, du fruit noir, un peu de poivron grillé. La bouche possède la structure du millésime, mais l'âge l'a rendu souple, avec un fruit sucré, des tanins arrondis, belle précision. Un des meilleurs 1998 que je me rappelle d'avoir pris. 92 pts
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A fairly deep colour; a classic claret nose of blackurrant, spice and smoke; medium depth on the palate, but there is a slight wateriness towards the end and the fruit is a little unyielding.
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3rd of 12, decanted an hour, as November 14 note, still primary cassis fruit, just a touch of attenuation and hint of under-ripe fruit, dryish tannins, lacking generosity, classy though and on improving trend.
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Very similar to my 1/25/15 tasting note on this same wine from the same case. However, I'm picking up much more licorice on the nose than I did last time. Still a very good wine that is mature... Finally. Drink up, it probably won't get any better with age other than to lose its fruit and evolve into a giant liquified cigar.
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Vertical tasting with 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2004. At the beginning, I thought I like 1999 the best, 1998 has a slight green hint. However after half an hour, the 1998 opened up a lot more and it's become my favourite. 2004 seemed a bit closed yesterday. I'm neutral on 1995, which seemed a bit thin.
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Dark purple but good clarity. Elegant serious herby nose. Savoury, with leather, graphite and good complexity . V. slight hint of brett but in a good way. Good length. Thick legs. Probably not peaked yet. Will last 10- 15 years more.
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Classic Bordeaux. A medium bodied wine that is driven by structure and elegance rather than ripe fruit and high alcohol (this is 12,5%). Lovely nose with lots of pencil shavings, cassis and an element of iron or blood. On the palate it's medium- bodied showing lots of elegance. With air sweet tobacco and herbs start to show. Well made Bordeaux that will easily last another decade. 91-92
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Loads of barnyard funk on the nose upon opening, but it blew off rather quickly. Opened up nicely after about 1.5 hours. Still lots of fruit left on it and tannins have settled nicely. I don't think it will improve in bottle and probably has another 5 years or so left.
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A superb showing here. This really has gained a lot of fat and weight in the most elegant way. Still very dark violet color, aromas of dark berries starting to fade away to leave room for the earth to surface, and this is exactly where I prefer. Lots of wet earth, mingling with berries, spice, leather and lavender, a bit of animal and even a slightly saline after taste all mixing so beautifully that the word complexity is almost as if the nature was cohabiting together. The left over tannin is just right to keep all the qualities in together as well as lifting up the whole waves of flavors. The magic of Leoville Barton has struck again and this is a classy and unique profile of a beautiful wine. Not at all interested in joining the race which other ones are chasing after points, but rather, killing them all, speaking softly. cheers,
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Drank from 375 bottle. Dark purplish color, nose of black fruit, tobacco & earth/forest. Medium bodied, soft tannins, decent fruit still, lots of tertiary stuff going on--leather, bramble, earth, meat. Good length, tannins seem bit chalky. This wine has an overall rustic quality, and seems to be in a good place currently. In no danger of aging prematurely at this point.
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After letting this age for several years, I finally opened it up on a Friday night, to go along with NY Strip steaks. A very nice, smooth, medium bodied Bordeaux. Red fruits, pepper, oak and meaty flavors. Deep purple in color. This is ready to drink now and has clearly softened with age, but will last a good 5 more years or more - not sure if that will make it any better but you can try.
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This is a robust L-B with still quite primary colour and a nose with red fruit, touches of cedar, balsamic hints and sharp floral odours toggling with acidity. The palate was medium/full with good depth of fruit, more of the same odours from the nose, lively acidity which toyed with astringency and nicely firm tannins at the finish. The question determining this wine's future is whether the hints of astringency will come to dominate or whether they will abate. Just very good.
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I bought a case of this wine in 2005 and have opened a few bottles throughout the years noting that this wine is not ready to drink. However, it has been four years since I last approached this wine. Much to my surprise, this wine is finally ready to drink. While it still carries the rustic character of the 1998 vintage and the traditional style of a L. Barton, the tannins have softened and the wine has evolved now showing its true personality. The nose is expressive with sweet Virginia tobacco, black currant, herb, anise, with a slight touch of raisin. The mid-palate carries a St. Julien leanness telling me where it is from. The tannin has mostly resolved but it still carries a grip that you can always expect from a L. Barton. Overall, it is a nice wine that can be enjoyed with a good piece of beef tenderloin. It is medium bodied and lean, so don't put this up against a ribeye. Enjoy!
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Popped, breathed in bottle one hour, poured. Followed over next two and a half. This started off extremely tight. With air, it gradually opened up in the second hour, slowly revealing its charm. In the final half hour, it came together presenting a slightly subdued, but classic Left Bank Bordeaux. Very charming, seamless and satisfying, just missing a little oomph to make it a little more profound. Could get closer with more age. Give it lots of air. 92+
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Medium to full colour; blackcurrant fruit, showing some maturity; rounded and savoury. Medium weight only, and a bit short on the finish. Decent enough, with true claret character, but not the best vintage of this wine.
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Very first taste of Leoville-Barton. Really closed at first. Very fruit forward on the nose, but lacking in the taste department until this warmed up. Felt a bit flat at first, but then about an hour later, this wine brought the fruit into the taste. Not the best vintage and feel this could have loads of potential in a good year. Good afternoon experience with friends and family.
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Fully mature. Magnum. Plenty of decanting time. Took a while to open up even so. After early morning decanting it was singing by 8pm
Mid-length. Very typical. Black and a little red fruit, some pencil shavings on the nose. Less cedary than some LBs. chocolate and leather. A tad of earthiness.
It ain't the best LB but it's a damn fine bottle.
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I probably have a bias towards this Barton, but solid as always. Not as full bodied as other vintages, but still long on palette. Good fruit, currants, hint of licorice. Tanins are muted, but still there. Probably couple more years left.
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2nd of 12, perfect fill, not decanted, much better than note earlier this year - darkish garnet, still purple rim; primary blackcurrant driven on nose, quite pure and fresh, hint of secondaries developing, cedar and graphite; fullish palate, dry tannins not wholly masked by fruit, but classy, some grip, this has come on a lot in 6 months, probably still needs 18 months, the 99 is much more rewarding at present! A tentative fine (17.5/20).
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Reasonably deep colour. The nose is rather flat and restrained. There is fruit on the palate, but it is more redcurrant than blackcurrant. Overall, this is a bit lightweight, and not one of the better Léoville Bartons, or one of the better 1998s.
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Very tight on opening, this needed three hours in a decanter. Xmas pudding, red cherry and spices on the nose, with quite a bright attack of cherry and cinnamon, then a decent second seam of strawberry, but the finish is short and there's a prevaling feel of stodginess. The fruit is far from underripe - if anything it's overripe, there's a dry, almost burnt tinge to it which leaves a bitter taste on the finish. Not bad, but nothing special. There are very good 98s, this is not one of them.
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Very dark, black/red color. Nose seemed a bit restrained, so decanted. First taste seemed a little disjointed. We'll see how this develops over dinner and revise if needed. Initial reaction is ok, but not special.
Well,this improved quite a bit with air and time. An elegant and sophisticated nose and palate developed. Still lacking the stuffing of the best vintages, but classic Bordeaux.
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Muted nose with soft tannins that make it easy to drink but has lost some fruit and has dry, short finish. Not very exciting but I guess typical 16 year old middle of the road Bordeaux? Reminds me why I don't drink much of it these days.....
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Double decanted. Aromas of bramble and blackcurrant, biscuit, slight liquorice, leather and hints of sweet tobacco. Also notes of cream, vanilla and the fruit tends to cassis with time. In the mouth the wine has juicy acidity and flavours of muted black currant, bramble, spice, slight leathery floury tannic grip on the mid palate and the front of the mouth. It is very long on the palate and very enjoyable. Lovely. as time passed (3+ hours) the nose developed Autumn leaves, cedar, mushrooms and bonfire to accompany the cassis and liquorice. A certain tartness was evinced on the palate.
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Initialy wet cardboard nose and palate, which blew off somewhat but not completely. An otherwise limited nose. The wet cardboard notes persisted over the dark fruits and remaining tannins. I wonder whether this bottle was corked (as wet cardboard is typical to cork fault).
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Slow-ox for approximately 3 hours. Pours a dark garnet. On the nose are notes of barnyard, black cherry, oak, and cassis. Not much else resolves with more air. I'm disappointed at the brett problem, as it detracts from the purity of the fruit and vintage. As the wine opens, more brett becomes apparent, it starts to dominate the black fruit and leaves only firm tannin in the wake. Somewhat disappointing bottle.
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Mature, but still reasonably fresh. Medium weight, good blackcurrant fruit, but not especially concentrated: in fact, it lacks a little depth in mid-palate. However, it is drinking well now. I don't see this improving further.
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Fairly deep colour; blackcurrant on the nose and palate, with spice, smoke and dusty tannins. There is some dilution in mid-palate, but it finishes reasonably. Not the best vintage of Léoville-Barton, but quite enjoyable now, and not for keeping.
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Just starting to show signs of browning (last quarter inch in decanter has brown edge). Nose is classic mature claret, with cedar and hints of marzipan. On palate tannins and fruit are now fully entwined, subtle and sensuous, with a very long finish While there is still plenty of life in this, it will no longer improve with keeping. Caveat; my bottles have moved house with me twice, including a trip from mid-west to west coast. Bottles which have been cellared in one location may have more life left in them
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That was a splendid, classy, thoroughly enjoyable wine. I think this type of wine is making me to like the Bordeaux again. It is still dark violet, but on the nose very poised, dignified and nothing showing off other than perfectly integrated and balanced fruits, oak, leather, spice. Blueberry is definitely present but as if it were a matured Tenor's voice or a superbly fitting cashmere suit. Most wonderful medium texture(How did I even enjoy, at some time ago the full explosive texture that is beyond myself really ... ) the secondary element is starting to come to the surface and each sip was inviting for yet another one. This wine seems to belong to another time, where extracting is not necessary and that the pleasure of drinking is more natural, almost naive, where it all seem so 'simply lovely'... I love this dignified, elegant and unsaturated profile of Leoville Barton. I would imagine that making such wine is so much more difficult than trying to out beat the scores of the journalists I am hoping this style of wine will continue to provide us the uplifting moments.
Classic cassis and pencil shaving aromas on the nose. The fruit is fairly demure at this stage of this wine's development, but there is enough to balance the fairly stiff tannins on the finish. A nice pairing with Christmas Beef Wellington. Probably peaking IMHO.
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The first bottle from my auction lot of 98 Bartons. This is still so young - the first hour, this is very shy. The second, this starts to open to show a beautiful but subtle nose of biscuit and caramel; on the palate there is classy, refined fruit followed by a long floral finish. By a couple hours in, this really starts to show itself - such crystalline, pure, plush fruit. The finish lasts forever. There's a lot of up-side here; not going to really be ready for a few years. 92 but potentially with lots of up-side.
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This wine was tasted in double-blind fashion, with the bottle kindly provided by D.B. Opaque ruby/red, it has a moderately intense nose of cassis, dried herbs, graphite and earth. Fresh and full-bodied, it follows with similar flavors in a rustically tannic frame. A "green" element additionally creeps into the flavor profile. The alcohol (12.5%) is nicely integrated and the middle palate is solid. The wine concludes with a medium-length, dry finish. With rustic tannins and a degree of greenness, it appears that this wine is the product of grapes which never reached full physiological ripeness. Give it a bit more time to allow the tannins to soften. That said, I suspect that, over time, the tannins will outlast the fruit. Drink 2016-2023.
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Reasonable fruit, good weight, but a little dull at first. In time, it opened up a bit, but was not especially lively. Certainly elegant and attractive, but not one of the best.
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Still very green, I double decanted at 11am, decanted at 1pm and we drank it (against Daumas Gassac 98) at 2. Needs a lot of time yet. This will never be great but is gong to give great pleasure in about 5 years
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Very good. Developing some nice complexity at age 15 but still showing a decent amount of structure. I believe that this is just about coming into its drinking window and will probably remain her for another 5-10 years.
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Dark core with pink rim. It took a bit of time to open, with notes of graphite, florals, blackberry, boysenberry, creamy oak, cigar wrapper, hint of vanilla and incense. Yet taste on the palate is a bit linear, there's jam, spice box and raspberry. Tannins are quite noticeable, on the dry side, finishing has good amount of plum juice and tobacco scent. The wine has kept hold of LB's great attributes in structure and balance; however a bit more weight and richness would have made it better. This claret was a distance second to the '98 Pavie Macquin on the table, but it recovered a big chunk once it benefited from the air time and showed great strength.
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Brought out late from cellar so limited time to stand. Decanted and venturi. Sediment not properly cleared so overall disappointing - seemed older than expected given last tasting. Fruit and almonds with persistent tannins.
memo to self; stand 24-48 hours before decanting
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Dark ruby color, no ready signs of age on the rims. Drank from magnum at X2O and was impressed with the wine. Very aromatic nose of dark fruit & earth. This was likely the wine's best quality. I thought the fruit was a bit unripe at first but, as the wine opened up in the decanter, it became rounder, the fruit more pleasing, and the quality of the wine improved. Good minerality and earth, well balanced, soft tannins, good complexity and nice spiciness. Good length too. I wouldnt' call this a classic, but it was a very enjoyable wine that likely still has some time to go, though I wouldn't expect it to get appreciably better than what it is today.
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A deep colour, and quite dense, concentrated fruit, with typical claret character; this is very good indeed, if a little hard and dry on the finish; not quite the succulence and charm of a really good vintage, but a good effort.
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First from a case. Not a typical LB, except for its vigorous dark colour. Quite forward; gentle fruits, tasting more red than black despite the deep colour. Soft but still prominent tannins, but surprisingly forward on the tongue. Not at all watery. But no significant length and no bite. Not a weak wine, but a relatively uninteresting one. No power. Unlikely to improve, but no hurry to drink up. But after an hour, a touch vegetal I'm sorry to report.
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Opened by Mark. Deep purple color. Not decanted. The most earthy of the 4 1998 Bordeaux opened. Notes of pencil shavings, cedar box and dark fruit. Still has firm tannins. My favorite of the 4 1998 Left Bank Bordeaux although the Montrose was close. I was excited to try this as I had not had it before. Of the LB's Ive had before, this was better than the 1999 or 2001, about the equal of the 1996 but not as good as the 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009 or 2010. 92 points.
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In the four or five years since I last tried this wine, not much has evolved. The tannins have softened somewhat; they are tame and the wine is approachable. Coffee, tobacco and soil predominate. Nose is primarily cabernet without oak or cedar aromatics. This is a wonderful wine of subtle claret pedigree. Nothing blockbuster; this is a wine to pair with good roasted meats and share with friends who appreciate likewise.
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Slightly disappointing, and not nearly as good as the 2001. It has some style, but is a bit dilute, and weak on the finish. Perhaps a substandard bottle?
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Day later from memory. Can't remember what I said last time I tried this, but I seem to recall I was less than thrilled. Maybe a little green? Oh well, we'll find out soon enough. Tonight it was in the zone, requiring about a half hour to shake off a little dust. Then it was a beautifully representative St. Julien, full of inviting blackberry and cassis fruit, and classic overtones of cedar and tobacco. Ripe but not at all extracted, easy to see it as a midpoint between the perfume of Margaux and the structure of Pauillac, just like it used to be. At its peak and holding for 10-15 years, as a guess.
My cellar used to be dominated by Bordeaux-then came Parker, then auction insanity, domestic and international. Now I almost never buy a bottle of Bordeaux for more than $30, the value just isn't there. A quick check of wine-searcher said today this bottle retails on average for $107 in what was considered an average-to-good left bank vintage, and Leoville Barton has always been fairly priced in comparison to more rapacious chateaux of comparable quality. Net net, I realize it's unlikely I will ever replenish my cellar with wines of breed and finesse like this again-I'll have to start going slow on what remains of the glory of Bordeaux. With crazy prices, modern winemaking trends, and global warming, it's arguable that the entire experience can ever be replenished.
---Looked back and last note was from 2006. Serves me right for not waiting the requisite 10 years. Quite a different story now, and unless it's bottle variation I was flat out wrong 6 years ago. Live and learn, a key lesson being to trust properties that have a long track record for integrity and consistent quality.
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This wine will not be opened up unless you give it a two hour decant. It was not surprising at first but as the time goes, it will turn into something quite different with much fruitiness and vanilla, with a hint of flower on the nose. However, the only disappointment is that the smell and taste slipped away quickly after reaching its optimal point which is at after two hours of decanting. The quality at its optimal is excellent, still abit young and could wait for a few years more.
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Not yet ready, but will be very classic in a few years. I hope the fruits will survive the years, as for now the tannin, earth is pulling it down, but am hopeful that it will transcend in a few years time.
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Hatte selten einen Wein öfters getrunken, da ich mir eine Kiste halbe Flaschen zulegen konnte. Feiner Körper, typischer zurückhaltender Cabernetdurft. Ätherische Öle, leicht alkoholische Note. Haut mich nicht aus den Socken für ein 2e Cru.
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Quite ripe, attractive fruit with a touch of sweetness, but on the whole the wine does not seem quite ready. It has not fully knitted together and there is some residual tannin. Potentially fine, but not quite there today.
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Served in the midst of some legendary wines and this actually stood its ground. Reserved nose needs time to open up, texture was surprisingly smooth supple for the vintage, quite fresh still, though lacking in some of the secondary components at this time. Lovely little bottle.
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Deep ruby. Classic nose of red fruits, stones and a very slight hint of Asian spice. Could only be left bank Bordeaux. In the early stage of maturity. Resolved enough to begin showing a smooth texture, there is energy and depth that promises a long future. Very good. (93)
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Balanced and tasty. Nice aromatics of fruit. Not much secondary going on yet. Fine, charming, understated. Tannins soft but all held in good balance. A little light in body. Very pleasant. Dare I say though, rather "boring".....? (89-90)
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Bordeaux blind tasting dinner (Chez L.): mature and open nose with a very classic expression. Still very fresh and well balanced - could probably age further still.
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This bottle showed a bit below expectations. The nose is very restrained, and displays cigar box, leather, chocolate and dark fruit. The palate is medium-bodied, but intense enough and balanced. A medium finish follows with notes of chocolate and tobacco. Very nice but not with the usual secondary aromatics and intensity associated with Léoville Barton.
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We enjoyed this wonderful bottle in Santa Barbara at the Wine Cask. It was carefully decanted but even right out of the bottle this was elegant. you could feel the slight faint pungent earth aroma. It was silky to the initial taste to the end yet it let you know it had structure to it. the strong body was smoothed down of any roughness to it. we had it with red meat as well as Risotto. This wine was so wonderful and ready. I could not detect if it had peaked yet or would keep on tasting this well for years to come. Highly recommended.
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The Big Bordeaux Redux: 1986, 1990, 1995 and 1998 (Rocknroller's (Kevin's)): Vary dark red/purple color. Decanted for 5+ hours and drank over 4 hours. Tighter and a bit less complex on the nose, with earth, dark chocolate, cassis, blackberry, anise, cedar. The palate is deeper than the Segla, more modern, but still quite nice with black vruits, slightly firm tannins, medium finish.
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Excellent Bordeaux. Drinking well at the moment, but will age for a whole longer. Leather, blackberry and cassis. Smooth tannins and a finish that lasts an incredible time. Outstanding.
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Dark purple. Nose a bit muted, but some cassis and a little smoke. Smooth and tasty on the palate, with red cherries. Well balanced. Mid weight, enjoyable, but still a bit tight.
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Les Deux Bartons (Les Deux Salons): A touch tighter on the nose than the 2000 Langoa. Leaner and a bit tighter. Dense though. A little dry on the finish. Decent enough. ***
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Medium ruby still! not even garnet, transparent and bright with thick legs. Nose has intense aromas of black fruit, leather and cedar. Has reached maturity but is still vibrant with a very long way to go. Palate has medium weight fruit is black and ripe, tannins are of high quality and unintrusive now. Has a wonderful refreshing bitter cedary finish.
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From Magnum. Beautiful classic cigar box nose. Fairly good weight on the palate . Can't say it really knocked me out but good enjoyable Bordeaux. Glad I bought it years ago because if I paid today's price I would not feel it was worth it. I live in Australia so a wine like this is a wonderful change from the overpowering reds made here. Long live restraint!
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Fresh, smooth, light and integrated tannin with dark brambly fruit,plums and touch of cedar. Perhaps lacking a touch of body but displays an agreeable balance and elegance with a fine finish of leather and graphite.
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what a great example of classic bordeaux. still great dark colour, fantastic nose of fruit and a small hint of earth. Extremely smooth finish and long lasting. I had been turned off Bordeaux for about a yr now but this wine has brought me back. Maybe i was drinking the other ones too early??
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WS Group Mid-Winter Offline (Himmarshee's - Ft. Lauderdale, FL): Decanted about one hour before tasting. I found this still a bit closed with some drying tannins vying with the very dark fruit. My opinion is that this wine would benefit from more aging as I have found 98 Left Banks to be a "hard" vintage much like 95 that require more aging than other vintages. However, others liked this more than I and thought it was drinking nicely. I felt a 96 I drank last year was much more accessible than this right now.
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Decanted over 4 hours and paired with steak. The entire group rated this the worst of the five wines we had - two Russian River Pinot's and two Napa cabs blew this wine away - and went better with the meal. It wasn't even close. Perhaps a bad bottle, but I doubt it. I have 3 left.
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Very nice, well structured wine. Good dose of acidity matched with black fruits. Seems to have the stuffing to last for much longer but is very enjoyable right now. Served with pot roast.
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Drank with strip steaks. Decanted for about a half hour before first glass, then drank over the next 3 hours. Aroma of mocha, blackberry & earthiness. Taste had dark chocolate and light blueberry - the finish seemed a bit green/minty near the end of the bottle. I'm not sure if it is a bit thin in the mid-palate, or it is just the subtleness of flavors that aged Bordeaux seem to have. I think this still has a decent amount of time left in its drinking window.
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375ml. Garnet robe, disc just beginning to brick. Great nose of blackcurrants, cedar, leather, tobacco and liquorice on decanting. Really classic Bordeaux - hits the spot. Just so comforting and wonderful. I love it. The leather is emphasized a bit more on the palate. Technically the wine is very well balanced for my taste - a healthy dose of tannin, but not too much! Appropriate acidity, medium body. Great finish. Just wonderful. Ready for drinking in half bottle format, might hold off a bit on 750s. Should stay on a plateau for 20 years or so, I'd say.
Solid 4, perhaps 4.5/5 for my taste
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Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)): Subtle personality. Some earthyness, slightly under ripe dark red and black fruit. Caramel, stemmyness, black olives, horse saddle and licorice aromas. The finish is decent, but compared to the other bottlings sampled this awesome day, it fell a bit short - much of this was from the hollow mid palate. Still quite nice as the score reveals, just not as complete of a wine as I would like to see form this producer - even in this lesser of a vintage.
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Decanted four hours before drinking, which was a good move; outstanding, powerful nose, revealed in all its complexity. A relatively light wine but an excellent accompaniment to duck. A delight to drink.
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Excellent Bordeaux, tight at first, opens up after an hour or so. I expected a big, tough wine, but got a smooth, medium bodied, but still powerful one. It's not over-oaked, and it has nice Cab black fruit, excellent depth, nice (but not abrasive) tannin and a green, minty edge. There's also a light leather/fig/ spice box element to the flavor you sometimes get with an older Rhone wine, that comes across like a mix of aromatic tea and Persian spices; an unexpected, but welcome surprise.
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Minerals underling flavors. Tannin that is not too chewy or unpleasant . Fruit and layers of herbs are here but not it enormous quantity making this a very good yet understated wine. Moderate finish . These elements are nicely integrated . It will be interesting to taste it again in a year or two .
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I was quite surprised by this bottle as it was much more open and ready then I expected. Soft and elegant with nicely resolved tannins and great fruit that isn't too ripe or tart. This wine is in a very nice spot right now.
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An Afternoon and Evening with Rob and Lisa (Chez MacKay): Dark ruby to purple. Nose of blackberry, cassis, spice. Fruity palate with some stones. Drinking well now and given the lighter tannins I would not keep this for long-term cellaring. Very enjoyable. Drank with Rob and Lisa at their lovely home.
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Blackcurrant profile with excessive barnyard. Quite rustic. Fruit is a bit muted or stewed. Seems quite advanced for its age. Suspect provenance? I've haven't had much luck with this wine. Last two were corked. 12.5% alcohol.
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Drinking beautifully now - lovely balance of cedar back fruits with almost tarry edge - tannins well balanced - we drank this wine alongside a much more expensive Californian Cab and let's just say France won 1-0 with no handball required - long finish - went especially well with roast partridge - this is a top class effort for the vintage
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Bottle was opened for 3 hours. Beautiful nose of cedar, pencil lead, faint dark fruit. Very full bodied but very tannic yet. Tasted like a 2 year old wine instead of a 12. Long way to go on this.
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Lovely deep color; somewhat tight nose opening up after 2 hrs in decanter. Nice balance, tannins smooth and unobtrusive, fruit somewhat reserved. Good for another 10 years, nowhere near its peak
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Really great! Huge nose with leather, spices and a touch of dark fruits. The palate still feels a bit young but it has a nice balance and plentiful but smooth tannins. (at the Sampler, London)
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My experience was largely in-line with other previous notes. 30-60 minutes was needed for the nose to fully emerge. It's a big nose of cedar, mint, forest floor, and a touch of spice and leather. A slight unripe/green note hung in the background though...Still a bit closed in the mouth, and it never really opened up during the course of the night. However, the wine did feature a big, smooth mouthfeel. Powerful and still quite tannic (although it settled down considerably over the course of the night). The nice finish revealed cool flavors of plums, blueberry, and coffee bean. I'd say it's just beginning to wake up but still needs another 3-5 years to evolve. 92+
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Cabernet Tasting I - Australia & France (G&E's, Melbourne): Nose still very closed. Opened a bit after decant and time in glass, but still a bit underwhelming. Fruit appeared a touch underripe and acid a bit out of balance. Reasonable length and ok complexity. A solid wine, but didn't stack up to it's companions on the night.
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Had this wine blinded last night as the ringer in the second flite of wines at the first Hickory Wine Club meeting of the year, thrown in with a '94 - '98 Pahlmeyer vertical. Did not guess that this wine was the odd one out. Very good, minimal bordeaux funk on nose, tighter and more austere then expected, not particularly fruit forward at this stage, well structured, plenty of tannins left for at least another 5 years of ageing, medium bodied, reasonable aftertaste. Too expensive to be a reasonable QPR but still definitely highly recommend it, at this point needs a long decant or a little more time. Nose initially muted and then floral with dark fruit and some lilac, primary flavors included hints of cassis, cedar, cigar box, leather with some fruit present later on the palate.
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pretty much spot on with prior tasting notes. I think this wine is in a dumb phase and will loosen up and gain some weight in another 5. It was a nice wine to drink but it was much more austere than I thought.
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More austere than the bottle I had last Spring. Purchased and stored together, however this one had great color, a very nice and well developed nose, but was short of fruit on the palate and finish. Not a bad bottle by any means, but a bit disappointing.
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Very nice quality cork! Almost black. Very fragrant complex classy nose with smoke, elderberry, vanilla and many other components. Quite a mouthful, fresh, sweet attack, black fruit. Finishes with some slightly dry tannins. Medium length. Nice bottle, almost at peak.
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Very good: classic St. Julien, with cedar, cigar box on the nose, along with cassis. Resolved and smooth on the palate, though lacking the ripe fruit of a more exuberant vintage. Still, enjoyed this very much. Near peak for me, though will certainly hold at this level for quite a while.
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Double decanted 3 hours before dinner and served with beef bourginon. A little disappointing. Despite the serious decant, it didn't show much. Probably should have waited another couple of years.
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Lovely this time around; classic St Julien nose of violets, cassis, leather, spice box....silky tannins; everything in harmony. acidity has receded a bit; very soft wine now.
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initial nose very woody/cedar as it opened it exposed herbs, dirt, color was dark burgundy or plum nice bright light plum at edges smooth tannins, dark fruit, herbs, little tobacco and chocolate medium body and moderate finish
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Deep dark way with a fading rim and nearly violet highlights. Classic ripe black currant fruit and graphite on the nose and in the mouth. Quite fine-grained tannins, moderate alcohol and medium body comprise a wonderfully balanced wine. This is classic unadulterated Bordeaux - no modern, perturbing schnick-schnack. Drink now and into the late '20s and early '30s.
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Not sure if simply closed or is this is good as the 98 will get.... Did open up some as the night went on, eventually a very good nose of cedar, leather and dark fruit. Very deep purple. Medium bodied, currant and earth.
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This is drinkable now, but not near its peak. Other than that not much to add to my Feb 08 note. Give it some time and air and drink t now or wait a few years.
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Decanted three hours. Red to rim. Developing nose, great entry and palate, worked very well with roast leg of lamb. Red fruit, cassis, sous bois. Good length. Can last (passive cellar, purchased on release) but in a good drinking window now.
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Aromas of red fruit, cassis, leather, earth, mineral. Tanins were very strong at first but faded to reveal nice red fruit and mineral flavors after 90 minutes decanting. Medium bodied with a plesent long finish.
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Full-bodied brooding purple highly concentrated and full in the mouth wine with flavors of mineral, tobacco, and spicy blackberries. Classic in every respect.
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Decanted for about 75 minutes still a little tight but after about 90 minutes really started to come out. Ruby red/garnet in color. Red currant, cherry, pepper, earth, leather lead to a long finish.
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Tight and tasteless at first but after decanting for an hour it opened up enough to appreciated the aromas. Not much body or depth but nice mid palate of red and dark berries with mild oak spicyness. Enjoyable and ready to drink.
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McKenzies in Philly. ruby red/slight purple, not decanted. a little tight upon opening, tannins a bit strong, but blew off nicely after a little while, clean cabernet fruit, slight tobacco hints with a medium-full bodied structure and good finish. A nice juxtaposition for the overripe Cdr's. Drinking well now and see no further development.
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Wonderful bouquet blk fruit abound. Slightly tannic, should have decanted it longer (decanted less than an hour). Just started opening up at the end of meal. No the best bottle of LVB I've had.
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when i first opened this bottle thought it had spoiled, the nose was very musty. My first taste also led me to believe the wine had been exposed to heat, the flavours seemed burned. i only had one glass and vacuum sealed it until the next day. The next day it was far better, no more burnt flavours, more fruit but still a bit tannic. i suspect it needs more time.
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Jeroboam Club: Ch. Leoville Barton Vertical (Averys, Bristol): Deep purple colour. Less exuberant on the nose than the 1999, but shows a lovely, silky elegance with ripe blueberry and cassis, and pear drops testifying to secondary development. More austere on the palate than the 1999 too, with some rough-edged tannins and a cranberry streak of bitterness. But greater weight here, and better structure. Needs time - not for drinking now- but should be a beauty.
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Red fruits and ceder dominant aromas on nose. Lots of fruit, lots of tannins, and lots of acidity on this wine. Very enjoyable, but no rush to drink. Med+ finish. Great with dinner, and a very enjoyable bottle of wine.
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First bottle of two cases purchased several years ago at a good price. Dark purple. At first, bright nose of violets and red fruit, not what I expected. Over a few hours, the red fruit faded a bit, the nose closed, and notes of smoke and leather came through. It also evolved on the palate, with a tannic bite at first that faded with air and time. Overall, drinking better now than I expected. If you have several I wouldn't hesitate to pop one now to calibrate with your tastes. This probably won't peak for a few years, and I'm looking forward to tracking this wines evolution over the next several years.
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Dark ruby in color. Nose of black fruit and pencil lead. Tastes of blackberries, black currant, violets, a hint of bell pepper and some nice earthiness. Well balanced with good acidity. Firm tannins. Nice finish. Needs 5 more years of bottle age. Paired exceptionally well with Duck Confit.
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Surprisingly open and charming. Black currant, and other dark fruits, with some woodsy notes, and enough grip to suggest a long life, but not so much as to make the bottle unpleasant. On the contrary, an agreeable Barton that needs time to develop more nuance.
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Well-done Bordeaux with decent structure. An above average bottle but I'm not sure these are ever going to be anything more than that. Decanted about 30 minutes and probably could have used more time to open up.
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This is the 4th bottle of this vintage I've drank from my cellar. I enjoyed the first two immensly but the last two have been a bit of a disappointment. I keep wanting to like it more than I do but it's just not giving much right now; and it's well beyond it's dumb phase.
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Tightly wound, took over an hour in a decantor to open up plus time in the glass. Once it did the wine showed beautifully. Still young give it3-4 years more to mature. Structured ut smooth and silky tannins. Cedar, a touch of menthol on the nose, dark fruits. Very well made. I will seek out more to add to my collection. Worth buying, but hold for the future.
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Leoville-Barton Vertical (Nook): Here's a wine that somehow *smells* tannic, but it performs well and tastes more accessible than the nose suggests. Tastes like a younger and leaner version of the 1986 with its black-fruit profile and sticky grip.
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I think this still needs some long decanting time, but presents a obvious Bordeaux, pencil box, tobacco, and leather followed by rather large oak and heavy tannins. I have no idea if this will get better with age, because not huge fruit to carry on. Who know but nice food wine to be sure.
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Very nice, but still very young. Dark ruby red, purple color. Classic Bordeaux nose of dark fruits, leather and earth. Hugely tannic and very dry on the palate... best to hold for a while longer.
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A steal for a vintage that the press bashed in Bordeaux. I've had a few of these a year for about 4 years in a row now. This year is the time. It's drinking phenomenally. Strong, full, smooth and deep.
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Thought it was time to give one of these a go. Apparently not...This had quite a bit of brett on the nose and palate that fought with the immense oakiness. Very dry on this finish. Hopefully time will resolve some of these issues.
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Concentrated, very, very dry...Tannic and still very young with a bit of tightness over the 1.5 hours that we had this popped and poured. Great structure and purity with an obvious depth that was not quite showing its wild side, but incredibly tasty none the less
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Beautiful dark garnet color, and after swirling in the glass, a nice nose of plum, black cherry and leather. Wonderful on the palate with black currant, plum, leather and graphite. A bit of tannin to resolve and a touch of alcohol on the palate. This was quite a surprise, since the ratings on this wine are only in the good-very good range. A fine wine at a great price. Need to get some more, since I think this wine has not hit its peak and should improve and then plateau for at least ten more years.
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Quite young and closed down, but this has quite a bit of stuffing to it. I thought it marginally more complete and balanced than the '99, but that is splitting hairs. Try again in five years.
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Leoville Barton Vertical; 12/4/2006-12/5/2006 (Spencer's): More briar and spice on the nose than fruit, not showing particularly well tonight - the more recent vintages perhaps could have benefited from decanting. Still a well made wine, and good representative of the vintage.
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No denying the breed present here, but it leaves me wanting more. Graphite, cellar floor and cassis in the nose, still somewhat closed. I don't think it's going to age indefinitely, but it will continue to improve for a while longer. It's nicely balanced and possesses a certain amount of finesse, but tastes a little hollow toward the finish when the dusty tannins take over. Overall a positive wine that will do well with food, but lacks depth.
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This wine is drinking very well right now--classic nose of black currants mixed with earthy truffles, followed by very smooth consistency involving muted oak, mushrooms and mellow cassis. Incredibly deep red color. After 4 hours, tannins more refined resulting in a smoother finish.
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While I have 4 or 5 more of these (I think), this is the 1st 98 I've opened, and we drank it alongside the 03 Lascombes. (The LB, however, was given 4 hours to air while the Lascombes was given just one.) At first blush, the nose is unforgiving (shit, it's missing), but surprisingly for such a young LB there is ample and seamless fruit. The color is a much richer purple than the Lascombes (the LB cork is BLACK), but in truth, the wine is more elegant and balanced. (It sounds ridiculous, but side by side, the new age Margaux is the blockbuster, overly ripe culprit.) On the palate, this LB is still lush (but not overdone and sweet) with copious notes of black cherries, plums, and a whiff of tobacco leaf. With each passing minute, the finish improves. It seems as though the wine has formidable power, though it is held in reserve. I'll wait for 3-5 years on the next bottle, but if you've got a few, I'd recommend giving one a try. I did not find this to be a punishingly tannic LB at this stage. On the contrary, this wine has been one of the last week's greatest revelations. Delicious and underrated. (94)
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Off-line Dinner with Mark Neal & Gove (Atlanta - Bone's): Fully decanted 3 hr’s and recorked. Good, intense, deep nose of black fruits and violets. Dark cassis with some violet flavors and red fruit along with ample minerality and grainy tobacco. Smooth texture on the palate throughout. Good balance with acidity, but a little austere with a faint touch of Brett on the nose.
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Tasted 2006-01-16, AIS 80% CS, 15% M, 5% PV & CF Black core, ruby rim. Nose: Closed, nothing. Palate: No fruit, all minerality and drying tannins, moderate alcohol (12.5%). Not well balanced; very disappointing. Maybe it's a phase or an off bottle?
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Impenetrable red color, almost all the way through to the edges. Great nose of black fruit. Inky, very thick wine. Mouth drying tannins somewhat balanced by good fruit concentration. This seems like it would age well, but is still too young now.
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Dinner at Landmarc (New York City): Tight, tight, tight. As good as Landmarc is, they have crappy stems... and when I asked that this be decanted, they poured it into a carafe. Oh well.
This wine, even though clearly shut down, showed hints of what it could be as it got some air. I'm not rating it, but I expect it to be a solid bottle of wine in 4 or 5 years.
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2/20/2024 - Zweder Likes this wine: 92 Points
Monthly Tuesday group "The Dead Sparrow": Pauillac and St. Julien (By me @ the factory): In the bouquet dark berries, minerals and beautifully dosed oak. On the palate an elegant wine with fresh acidity, dark and red berries, beautiful oak and cedar, good acidity and tannin with still enough power for some more years. Beautiful and classical wine.
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10/14/2023 - Bellissimo wrote:
Decanted 45 minutes at home, cleared sediment, brought to a restaurant where it was slow-O'd for another hour. Note going from memory.
Not a lot of fruit more tertiary flavors at this point. Yes there were some black currants and plum but there was also fennel, mushroom, tobacco, and aged balsamic. Everything was nicely balanced and it held its flavor profile over 60-90 minutes after we got around to it. This exceeded my expectations. Birth year wine for eldest and so happy to share with everyone.
NOTE: this was purchased in 2011 from a reputable retailer and stored properly since that time. Cork was unbelievably pristine. Really shocking for a 25 year old wine, looked like was laying on its side for a year.
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9/30/2023 - TheForces wrote:
Flawed bottle
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8/17/2023 - Darbus123 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Not a lot of fruit but plenty of leather and balsamic. Auction purchase so not sure how well this had been stored but the bottle seemed very advanced. Great fun to drink, best with food.
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6/30/2023 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Bordeaux (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. A little almost raspberry note is intertwined with slightly dried our plums and blackcurrant, mushroom, Autumn leaves, wet earth, cedar, tiny touch of pencil shavings. Medium plus intensity acidity freshens everything; some sweet black fruits, Asian five spice, fruit tea, a little leafy quality, tannins are drying, talc textured but in support. Hmm
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5/7/2023 - hkbob Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great nose on this wine which in typical LB fashion has taken 2 decades to hit full maturity. Tobacco, loamy earth, cigar box and some cedar notes. The palate took about an hour to round out. Fine-grained tannins with good mid-palate presence and a slightly leaner flavour profile than the 1996. Probably not much upside here but should hold at this level for a few more years. Really enjoyed with a cheeseboard. Threw quite a bit of fine sediment so decant carefully.
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4/22/2023 - ankitmehra Likes this wine: 93 Points
We were blown away by the 1998 Léoville Barton that we decided to open up. A vintage hailed in more regard on the right bank than the left of Bordeaux, we were still excited about what this Barton could entail. Opting to let it breathe in the bottle, we were surprised at how much blackcurrant was on the palette in the first glass. The bottle quickly transitioned to more a more tertiary experience with the second glass entailing smoke, pepper, a hint of crème de cassis, lavender and strong notes of anise on the finish. Despite its age, the wine still had great length and was an exceptional bottle to pair with dinner.
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3/23/2023 - Geoff Likes this wine: 94 Points
Same as last year's note, but more pronounced flavors. More of eerything. Tannins still present, but smooth and well integrated. Continues to improve and develop. Impressive wine.
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3/14/2023 - platpeeps wrote: flawed
Sadly, seriously corked. Musty, like tasting an ashtray, bitter and unapproachable. CHP Faulty Bottle
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3/12/2023 - egoya Likes this wine: 92 Points
Medium bodied, elegant old-style Bdx, no signs of decline, once bought for 30 EUR
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12/26/2022 - Amberissey Likes this wine: 92 Points
Open two hours. Not masses of visual evolution. Mint, dry undergrowth, blackberry, cold black slate. What a beautiful left bank nose. Added black currant on the palette, and very light vanilla and star anise on the third glass. Delicate, feminine, almost Burgundian in texture. Only indication of age was the resolved tannins and medium body. But so pure and delicious.
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12/25/2022 - JPL Likes this wine: 94 Points
Olivia birth year wine with Christmas dinner. Jordan’s crock pot ham, cheesy potatoes, scalloped corn, rolls, relish plate, cherry pie.
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11/14/2022 - Vino Me wrote: 89 Points
Opened by Otis. Decanted before dinner. Part of a vertical of the 1995, 1998, 2000 and 2003. 3rd time I have had this wine. This wine was showing better 9 years ago when it was younger. The least tannic of the wines. Soft texture. Notes of plums, red berries and underbrush. Lighter to medium bodied for a Bordeaux. 89 points.
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11/11/2022 - doug374 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Last bottle and still drinking well. This is a pleasant and nicely formed wine with berries, tobacco and garden herbs commingled for a full flavor. More light than rich or dense.
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4/23/2022 - djs Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good medium bodied, old school bordeaux from a mediocre vintage.
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3/26/2022 - Geoff Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful aged wine. Dark fruit with multiple layers of finesse, seconsary notes, firm but smooth tannins, medium to full body. Probably at it's peak.
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3/9/2022 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Leoville Barton; 3/8/2022-3/15/2022 (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Leather, brambles, a little red berry note, plus, pyrazine, slight Autumn leaves, mushroom, a little tobacco leaf with cedar and a touch of cream. With agitation that cedar notes come to the fore joined by a little cigar box. Medium plus intensity acidity, the fruit is slightly sour on the palate with a little yeasty underpin, tannins are chalky textured and drying. It’s slightly out of whack. Nose better than the palate for me.
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1/6/2022 - olalar wrote: 90 Points
Drinks very well now but willlastfor many more years. Very classic in flavors with great balance.
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12/28/2021 - gsomers Likes this wine: 91 Points
This was the second bottle we opened on Christmas. All in all, it seemed a bit muted - the nose, flavor, and finish. There was nothing disagreeable. In a blind tasting, one would be easily able to identify left bank, but would have guessed younger or from a lesser chateau. Don't recall having other 1998's, so it may be the vintage. We drank over the next two nights, but it never hit our mark of what we expect from an aged bordeaux.
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12/23/2021 - N777 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Bought in 1998 and stored in my parents' cellar. Even after 20+ years of aging, this wine still needs substantial time to open up.
Appearance: dark ruby with a hint of bricking. Some sediment.
Nose: medium intense black plum, violet, and vanilla aromas with notes of meat, graphite, and vegetal.
Palate: high tannins, medium(+)/high acid, full bodied, leaner texture. Good balance and medium complexity. Medium intense flavors of smooth red plum and graphite with some hints of mint. A medium-length lighter chocolate and slightly minty finish.
A very nice older and bigger left bank Bordeaux! Lighter fruit, big tannins, and herbal notes. Would go great with a steak.
I didn't have this wine when it was younger, so I can't attest to how it has aged. The fruit is a little subdued for me, but I'm not sure if this was due to the wine itself or due to age. The tannins are big enough to store for more time however. But if you do open it now, make sure to give it 45+ minutes to open up.
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11/5/2021 - dagij wrote: 87 Points
Deep ruby, very young. Full fruity nose dominated by dark berries, almost a bit kirsch on alcohol, combined with green tones. Not very aged, no hints of tertiary aromas. Sweet, full-bodied attack, very young fruit on the mid palate – blackberries, black plums and blackcurrant, as well as some fine tones of vanilla and coffee (oak). Fine tannins and good acidity, but also a bit flabby fruit. Long aftertaste with a clear note of alcohol. Young version of this wine. Incredibly different from the previous wines. 87-88
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10/31/2021 - B Paul wrote:
No detailed notes, but this was quite good. In a great spot with the fruit still at the fore, but with some mature notes as well.
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10/29/2021 - Elpaninaro Likes this wine:
good deep red color- even a bit deeper than the 2002 tasted alongside, tight young nose, cherries, cloves, plum, on the palate a dark fruit profile, cool and calm, lovely punchy mature fruit, fine long punchy finish, spice notes with time, as with a 1998 Chateau Margaux tasted a few days ago- another point of evidence that 1998 was not just a great year for St. Emilion and Pomerol, a fine Leoville-Barton.
***(*), now to 2035
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9/14/2021 - vespa110 wrote: 93 Points
Granato luminoso, limpido, spezie dolci al naso, verde peperone alla griglia, terra, cioccolato, fragola matura e ciliegia, tabacco pipa, bocca polposa fruttata e speziata, leggera mancanza di spina acida, ma molto elegante e suadente... vino che accompagna.
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8/18/2021 - jmcmchi Likes this wine: 91 Points
Last bottle
Open 5 hours, decanted 2.5 hours
Dark fruit with cedar nose
Palate has tannins fully integrated, light tobacco and graphite top notes, dark brambles fading slightly to tertiary notes
Totally enjoyable, a few years yet to go.
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8/7/2021 - vinolovers wrote: 91 Points
see note from 7/31/2020; no significant change in 12 months.
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6/3/2021 - Mag357 Likes this wine: 93 Points
I did not have a lot of expectations for this bottle but was pleasantly surprised by its qualities. Captivating aromas of tobacco leaves, cigar box cedar and dark fruits burst out of the glass, this is a beauty. Mouth is gently filled by a dark core of fruit that has perfectly absorbed its wood-the refined tannins lends to a velvety hedonistic mid palate lifted by a fresh finish. In a good spot now, with secondary emerging beautifully. Not the powerhouse mouth coating monster which is actually good as this is drinkable now. A very good surprise and very good value here.
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5/15/2021 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Surprisingly muted note. Brilliant Rudy color. Shows a bit of eucalyptus and clean red fruit notes with some loam and barnyard notes. Fine somewhat angular tannins and medium finish. If I didn’t know the producer I would say this probably won’t get better—but knowing this a slow aging bdx I would guess this will develope the expected maturity and aromatics in a few years. Still, not a great vintage for Leoville Barton.
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4/30/2021 - grafstrb wrote:
-- double-decanted approx. 2.5 hours before initial taste --
-- tasted non-blind over 1.5 hours --
Red fruits and a moderately intense wet stones mineral element on the Nose. No longer tannic on the palate. Medium-light to medium bodied. Medium-low acidity. Medium-light to medium concentration of fruit. At, if not past, peak. Very surprised to get such a "weak" showing out of Leoville Barton --- I was expecting this to be quite youthful, but that was not the case. Fruit seems to be falling-away, and there's really not much there otherwise. Drink Now. Gut impression score: 90.
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3/28/2021 - DrewWongo wrote:
Pop and Pour - straight off a hybrid of floral and bright fruity nose with a very refreshing lift. Totally love the nose of this. Surprisingly still alot of fruits and not much secondary notes, although I'm not complaining. The palate somehow disappoints as it's quite muted. It's light to medium bodied. The finish is medium. Unfortunately, the nose totally brought my expectations sky high, which might be the downfall of this wine as the palate didn't deliver on the expectations using the nose as the basis of what's to come.
With a braised lamb shank and sitting in the glass for approximately 30 minutes, it started to open.
At rhe end of my 2+ hour meal, the nose is still singing throughout, but the palate couldn't really keep up.
I have 1 bottle left, will cellar for a few more years or if I open it, will choose to decant it for some time.
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3/27/2021 - no leashes wrote: 91 Points
Very delicious and fully mature but not going anywhere anytime soon. Graphite, earth, cassis flavors, lean and well balanced.
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3/25/2021 - steinersing wrote: 90 Points
Faultless, solid wine. Nice concentration and power, but a little one-dimensional
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1/16/2021 - Eugenedinapoli wrote:
2.5 hour decant. Upon opening heavy barnyard and mustiness that blew off. dried flowers, red fruit, leather. silky, understated, great with a rack of lamb. Major improvement over previous bottle.
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12/27/2020 - NickA Likes this wine: 91 Points
Classic austere left banker - graphite, cassis, a certain coolness. There's high acidity that begs for some lamb, a little prickle of spice, and really nice tannins. It's well put together and relatively slick, but not complex or delicious enough to deserve a higher score.
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12/27/2020 - Roughl wrote: flawed
Corked ever so slightly, but acceptable and finished it anyway. Not nearly as fine a wine as the 2004, as far this can be judged on this bottle
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12/25/2020 - amenges Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted for about 20 minutes to open up. Strong barnyard on the nose. Fine integrated tannins on the palate of well into dark stewed fruit. Pungent notes of tea and tobacco. Will continue to age beautifully.
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12/21/2020 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Leoville Barton and new arrivals (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Dusty, closed initially but, with time and agitation, blackcurrant, a little chalky minerality, pyrazine, a tiny touch of cellar stink underpins these aromas lending complexity rather than distracting. In the mouth it has medium plus intensity acidity, medium plus intensity chalky, drying tannins which lend a chewy quality to the leathery blackcurrant fruit, long but a bit disjointed. Hmm
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12/15/2020 - swyang wrote:
Wow, who said that we must now dring left bank '98? Sure this isn't just any left bank, but this Leoville Barton was in great shape and has a great future for at least 10 more years. From opening, dark opaque violet color, on the nose suave St Julien, just about in between 2nd and 3rd phase of its development. Gorgeous aromas of earth, fruits, spice, slightly smokey, lush, not heavy and simply inviting. This was a majestic master class of how a Bordeaux Grand Cru ought to be; proud, yet modest, inviting with its elegance yet standing tall. Wow... that is the type of Bordeaux that I love. Cheers,
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11/27/2020 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
8th of 12, pnp, perfect cork and level, as last December's bottle
, still gaining nuance, good for 10 if not 20 years if without the inherent richness and drive of a very top vintage. F+ (18).
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10/4/2020 - Justinwine wrote: 91 Points
Classic Pomerol, though very late in life. Drink up!
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9/26/2020 - jmcmchi Likes this wine: 91 Points
Stood a week before opening, two hours before pouring first glasses, immediately decanting remainder. Decanted, showed greater length, generally more attractive. This was a little surprising given recent notes expressing concern that, at ts age, this could lose from too much air exposure
That said, colour and aromatics, as well as cork condition, suggest that this is a long way from over the hill
Lamb boulangere highlights everything.
Tannins easing away, almonds and dark fruit edging into tertiary notes. Brie does nothing for it, stick to hard cheeses
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7/31/2020 - vinolovers wrote: 91 Points
A dark coloring when poured. Opened and let it breathe about 30 min. but did not decant. A nose with lots of black fruit, some casiss and a hint of leather. The tannins have softened considerably leaving a very smooth delicious wine. As the evening progressed, the wine seemed to become a bit unbalanced with a hot afterfinish. That first glass was yummy.
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7/4/2020 - mac-eye Likes this wine: 93 Points
Much better than I expected. It could have been well over the hill: 1998 was not a great year, and some other 98's did not hold up well. Yet, it was very nice, and still has quite decent fruit. The tannins are softening and very present. Color is deep. Hard to put this down! It has a least a few more good years ahead. I will write more notes when I open more bottles later.
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5/22/2020 - Collector1855 wrote: 93 Points
Tasted blind. Much better bottle that I had recently. Nose of dark fruit with licorice, forest floor. The wine shows cool fruit on the palate, grippy tannins but light bodied, the balance is ok, masculine, clearly Pauillac or St.Julien. Not for the beginner but I like the precision and symmetry here.
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4/1/2020 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
So... This is my last bottle of an OWC that I purchased in 2006. Purchased for $41 per bottle at the time. There is either extreme bottle variation or this wine has changed many times over the past 15 years. From 2006-2014, it was young, tight, with grainy abrasive tannin. From 2015-2018, it was in its sweet spot. In 2019, I wrote that it was past its prime (however, I made a mistake in decanting it). In 2020, it is drinking the best I’ve ever had of this LB vintage. I did not decant it tonight and that was a good decision. Tasting note tonight is so clear... Sweet Virginia tobacco, olive tapenade, black licorice, leather, and cedar. Fully mature St. Julien. Drink up as I still believe it will start fading from here.
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2/23/2020 - aagrawal wrote: 88 Points
Dinner with the wine group (Millbrae, CA): Not that aromatic, some black fruits; palate is full bodied, still plenty of deeper black fruits, medium-plus acidity; medium finish. Nice balance and still youthful, but doesn’t have the complexity of other vintages here tonight. 88
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2/8/2020 - OttawaB Likes this wine: 93 Points
Beautiful wine in a beautiful place now. Still enough to keep it going for another decade, although I think this is around peak drinking now. Maybe a little hollowness to the mid palate but it filled in a bit with air. Medium fruit, medium acid, medium tannins …. classic Bordeaux.
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12/24/2019 - englishman's claret wrote: 94 Points
What a beautiful, classic nose the 1998 Leoville Barton has, bursting with fresh, juicy blackcurrant, cedar, and pencil accented by fresh mineral and a touch of lavender. Persistent tannins and good balance suggest a long life a head. Indeed, I think its best days are ahead as the emergence of more tertiary components over the coming decade should add progressively more interest and the wine's vigor isn't in doubt. Not a wine for prolonged decanting as this loosened up a bit too much after 3 hours in a closed decanter. 93-94
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12/11/2019 - chatters wrote:
From Coravin. Saline, slightly funky, stinky, a little black fruit, leather, sweet spice but very muted. The stink less obvious on the palate, loads of medium plus intensity tight, chalky tannins with a sour black fruit underpin. Hmm.
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12/7/2019 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
7th of 12, decanted 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, classical and classy, cassis now showing bramble, and tertiary flavours developing, fine tannic underpinning more noteworthy than in my previously noted bottle in March 16, good life ahead and attractive now if without the concentration of the 96, 00 and 03. F+ (18).
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10/22/2019 - pilot360 wrote: 92 Points
Strict, tannic and structured. Open and decanted for an hour or so.
This wine really shone with beef tenderloin. This added so much to the food, the food to the wine. This is the way it should be.
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10/22/2019 - Purple Grillz Likes this wine: 91 Points
From a 375. Strawberry tart, vanilla, faint herbs, tannins still there but civilized now. Excellent with Mediterranean dishes. No further development in this format, drink up.
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10/21/2019 - ireneng5 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Concentrated and intense. Quite complex in character but smooth. Very nice.
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10/18/2019 - cgrimes Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still dark garnet but starting to show some bricking on the edge. Beautiful nose of dark fruit and pencil shavings, some stone. Similar on the palate with great structure and balance. Still plenty of life in this one.
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10/5/2019 - fc1910 wrote: 85 Points
From coravin: the next annoyance, as the 3star restaurant Aqua at Wolfsburg is charging 20€ for a glass of mature Bordeaux GC this restaurant is charging the double, a barefacedness!
Never again.
the wine is showing a little subdued, better flabby, I do often think that coravining is not perfect for most of the bottles, but today no chance to get a better red to pair my Ibericocheek, some cassis, but overall a not convincing showing, lacking the tension of a GC, **
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9/28/2019 - Remony wrote: 90 Points
Yet another 1998 from the Medoc impaired by all that rain in September. A 75cl bottle which we didn't decant. Very soft and gentle for an LB, diffuse in mid-palate. Pedestrian, unexciting, a little weak. You can almost taste that rain. However, it did improve a bit towards the end, with some vigour and tannins, probably due to suspended solids in the last glass.
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6/3/2019 - Sievvy Likes this wine: 90 Points
A little disappointed. It is quite an austere wine but that is the style of Leoville Barton. A classic old fashioned claret. A friend told me only to buy this in hotter vintages - I think that he is correct. I will not try a bottle for another could of years and see if it has changed at all.
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5/7/2019 - Collector1855 wrote: 89 Points
Nice nose with tertiary aromas albeit a bit oaky. The palate shows tannins that are a bit rough, somewhat thin mouth feel.
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4/14/2019 - ONEFIVE Likes this wine:
Garnet edge, ruby core.
Red fruit, graphite, cassis, and a touch of earth on the nose.
Palate is logistics to medium body, full of grippy tannin an moderate acidity. Finish is clipped by the structure.
This will likely get better but it’s hard to say how much. A nice bottle but not stunning.
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2/1/2019 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 87 Points
I waited too long on this one. I should have heeded my own advice from my tasting note back on 2015 that said to drink up. It is now on the downslope of evolution. Bricking on the edges, tobacco leaf, leather shoe, black tea, touch of raisin. The fruit has faded and almost completely resolved. I have one bottle left and will be drinking it soon so I don’t have to pour it down the drain. Drink up... and I mean it this time.
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1/12/2019 - jrh82 wrote: 89 Points
To begin quite a deep nose of dark fruit, but quite strict and old-school Bordeaux. Classic but a bit boring. Reminded me a little about '06 which I didn't like as well either. Better to taste with good mouthfeel with long and good aftertaste. Smooth exit. Took the limelight completely from Calon Segur 98 the first 10-15 minutes. But Barton would prove to be the hare while Segur the turtle
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12/31/2018 - Fatty Cat wrote: 92 Points
New Years Eve 2018: rubin color; cherries, cassis, chocolate, cedar and coffee; started with a perceptible fruity acid on the palate that mellowed down over time; round, tannic texture; medium body.
The 1998 Leoville-Barton is at the beginning of his maturity. There are plenty of tannins left for further aging.
Direct contenders of the evening were Montrose 1998 and Latour a Pomerol 1998 (see tasting notes).
Kept about one glass in the corked bottle. After approx. 24 hours: the aromas and flavors are clearly more restrained, but still perceivable; strong tannin backbone.
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12/29/2018 - Zorg wrote:
Coravin. 91p.
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12/29/2018 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun with Mats & Fredrik part two (Kennards, Waterloo): From Coravin. Medium minus intensity aromas of earth, blackberry and cherry, leather, cedar, slightly tobacco leaf. And this is equally muted on the palate, juicy with similar flavour profile to the nose and an odd peach note, tannins are drying and gritty. Time for me.
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12/5/2018 - wineappreciation wrote: 92 Points
Black fruits, chalk, cigar box, lovely mellowed nose; smooth, gradual, long-lived, balanced, sloping, pleasing
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9/8/2018 - Keith Cooper Likes this wine: 90 Points
At home with friends, an evening of wines from the 1998 vintage. Served to accompany lamb shanks. I'm a Bordeaux lover so I expected this to be my favourite wine of the 1998s tasted on the evening. However, I ranked it second best (putting the Miguel Merion Rioja in top place). Fully mature and a pleasure to drink if you are a Bordeaux lover as it is very typical of the style of the 1998 vintage. Lots of farmyards overtones, though perhaps less earthy than I had expected. Smooth, rich and long fruit. Very good.
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7/13/2018 - _water.into.wine_ Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still a deep and dark purple with dark red edges. A nicer nose than the Gruard Larose 1998 consumed alongside. And showing even better than when I had it a few years ago. This was a classic bordeaux.
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7/13/2018 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine:
Dark, red fruits, cocoa, dark ink, really good LB, years left, additional notes from the group as I had a flu
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6/11/2018 - ricard Does not like this wine: 78 Points
I continue to find it baffling that anyone in their right mind would pay more than £10 for this nonsense. I am not doubting its provenance, authenticity, or even honesty. But why the prestige? This wine was desperately flabby, lacking any sort of acidity or definition whatsoever, soupy, vaguely syrupy, had no discernible tannin, no structure at all, and all fragrance pretty much died within 10 minutes. What aromas there were included maybe figs, blackberries, tar, and that's about it. A waste of time and money. The only possibility of redemption is that this wine was once very good (not great - that's inconceivable) and died years ago. A pathetic showing, and one that doesn't help at all to convince me that Bordeaux is not the world's most pompously overrated wine region. Let the Chinese and Russian oligarchs have it all! Maybe they're right to mix this syrup with Coca-Cola - I guess it makes the wine more exciting...
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6/3/2018 - Keith Cooper wrote: 94 Points
Very kind of our host for lunch to open this 20 year old Leoville Barton.
Served with roast lamb. Colour is dark maroon, tending to black. The nose shows damson, cloves, nail varnish. Smooth, earthy, silky, good balance of fruit. Long and well balanced overall. Excellent. It's my view that this has certainly reached full maturity and I would not recommend keeping any longer.
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4/21/2018 - paulst Likes this wine: 93 Points
Blackberry; austere; light; developed tannins; good structure; layered; elegant finish.
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4/15/2018 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Following up from a bottle of the 1999 I had last week, I decided to open the 1998 with our beef stew. It’s a step up in depth and complexity from the 1999, though the two wines have a clear connection-they are both clearly Barton. For the 1998 there is deep red fruit, cedar plank, tobacco, and dusty, round finishing tannins. It’s quite complete and satisfying in a classical mode. Overall it’s pretty much everything I want in a Bordeaux. Drink now or ten years from now.
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4/14/2018 - englishman's claret wrote: 92 Points
My goodness; 5 years since I tasted this last and it's barely budged! Deep, sophisticated, blackcurrant nose; more leather and mineral than the Langoa - longer, more upright, more depth, and clearly less ready.
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4/3/2018 - mmh wrote:
Eight years after buying this bottle i finally popped the cork with high expectations....which were not quite met. Decanted for 2 hours. Fairly complex on the nose, worked very well with food but on its own it was slightly astringent and boring. I am not sure if it was past its peak (doubtful), too young or just a slightly off bottle.
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11/27/2017 - dbkitc wrote: 92 Points
Maturing garnet color that still has a deep center. Classic Barton nose of black currant fruit, leather and earth. This wine is evolving flavor-wise but is a bit rough and tumble. Course texture as the stuffing still has rough edges. Could continue to age but I bet this will never fully become silky. Better to drink over the next 5 to 7 years with a roast or other fall/winter fare. Did open with 60 minutes of air. (92)
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11/24/2017 - tonylipp Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drank beautifully. Not past it's prime but should be consumed in the next 18 months. After 2 hours it opened up marvelously.
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11/20/2017 - Eugenedinapoli wrote:
This bottle was past its prime. Nose was decent with stewed black fruits, spices, an earthy burnt smell and a slight herbaceousness. Initial thin mouthfeel turned softer with some tannins present, however, only a shadow of the typical bordeaux flavors remain ("like drinking water"). Surprisingly, came to back life a little with the pot roast.
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10/30/2017 - Vino Me wrote: 89 Points
Opened by Mark as part of a blind vertical of the 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2003 vintages of this wine. Decanted 3 hours. This finished last in the voting among the 4 tasters and some thought it might be flawed. 2nd time I have had this wine. Purple red color. Peppery nose. Softer tannins. Notes of dried mushrooms, eucalyptus, red berries and currants. A little alcohol on the finish. 89 points.
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10/29/2017 - mnoljo wrote: flawed
Flawed
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9/6/2017 - swyang wrote:
Such power and such depth still left on this wine!!! Wow this was a monster St Julien '98. This is the 9th of 12 and certainly most powerful bottle yet of the case. If the other two are like this, then I would prefer to open the next one in 7~8 years. Big Bordeaux in the making and no kidding around. Cheers,
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9/2/2017 - mnoljo wrote: 90 Points
Gave a short decant half an hour I think needed a longer decant. Notes of licorice, earth and black fruits with hints of charcoal on the finish
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9/1/2017 - jmoon Likes this wine: 93 Points
Last time I tried this it was tight and tannic and austere 5 years ago
Now... lovely fresh and perfectly balanced
No decant required but did improve somewhat after an hour
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8/27/2017 - kerv22 wrote: 92 Points
Flat and lacking structure upon opening. Decanted and after one hour it blossomed into a beautiful Bordeaux. Earth, leather, tobacco, and hints of ripe dark berries. Good balance, medium tannin, moderate complexity. Medium long finish. Drinking very well now. Unsure of how much more aging it can handle.
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7/27/2017 - d'Auvenay wrote: 88 Points
Both bottles decanted for 1+ hrs and lasted 2-3 hrs. Dark color with currant taste. However, taste/palate rather light and short.
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6/17/2017 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still dark, a beauty, old skol Bordeaux, still about 10 years before fully mature
92+
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5/6/2017 - SeedfamilyD Likes this wine: 95 Points
한동안 인생와인으로 기억될.... 입안을 아주 포근히 감싸안으면서도 레이어 마다 결이 팽팽하게 살아있어 미소를 머금다가도 팔럿을 가득채우는 타닌감.... 조이는 느낌과는 사뭇 다르다.
긴 피니쉬를 얼마만에 느껴보는 것인가?
부산의 비프 앤 피쉬의 조화로운 음식과 소믈리에의 멋진 디켄딩 까지..... 멋진 여행과 와인은 빨리 질 수 없다.
굿굿
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2/26/2017 - ccn wrote: 90 Points
Pretty but subtle.
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2/14/2017 - Jean-Philippe M Likes this wine:
Très différent du 2012, que j'ai eu la chance de boire à 2 reprises. Je trouve le vin moins explosif, moins de cèdre et de graphite, plus de cuir, champignons, truffes et très peu de fruits. La texture est bien agréable, crayeuse et des beaux tannins bien présents. J'aime bien le vin, mais encore une fois, je préfère de loin la personnalité des vins de 5-15 ans d'âge et pas plus.
3/5
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1/9/2017 - La Grappe wrote: 88 Points
A deep colour; quite full blackcurrant fruit initially, but there is a slight diffuseness in the middle and the finish is a bit weak. Certainly elegant and stylish, but not one of the better vintages of this wine.
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1/5/2017 - Yagil wrote: 90 Points
quality & mature wines tasting event (my home): dark opaque ruby
funky dark ripe fruits nose with sous-bois and leather notes
full bodied, soft integrated tannins, rich dark fruits flavours, tobacco, leather, good balance and harmony, soft structure, basic complexity, mint-eucalyptus, tart finish & aftertaste.
requires 1-2 hours of decanting.
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11/24/2016 - silton Likes this wine: 91 Points
w/ prime rib at Thanksgiving, which preferred younger reds. In a nice place with well integrated secondary notes and an expansive palate. Better after a short spell in the decanter.
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11/12/2016 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Leoville Barton trial run (Kennards, Waterloo): From Coravin. Dirty earth, barnyard, autumn leaves are all underpinned by muted brambles and blackcurrant. More of the same on the palate, a little linear perhaps, but rather pleasant. The tannins are present but do not dominate...a more complete wine than the 94 & 95 at this juncture. Lovely.
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11/5/2016 - paulst Likes this wine: 93 Points
Rather soft and lean with good balance; light blackberry and soft tannins; has a maturity for its age; light finish.
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10/23/2016 - tadams66 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This is NOT over the hill. I opened and decanted. It started very tight with no fruit and a little funk. It really came around in 2 hours and was great over the next 2 hours. Integrated tannins but still very present. It has beautiful dark fruit - dark cherry, blackberries, etc. I thought it would taste older or be dusty. Had it with light Italian food which was nice but would have gone well with a bigger flavored pork or beef main course. Drink in the next 3-4 years but it is wonderful now.
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10/2/2016 - olalar Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very classic profile. Drinks well now.
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9/23/2016 - AMRS wrote: 93 Points
The best 1998 Left bank I remember to have tasted (but then a lot of wine might heart my memory). Classic nose of red fruit, a bit earthy. Palate so balanced I guessed it to be 2000 in the blind tasting, and then 1996... Drink now-2022, strong buy.
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8/18/2016 - bevetroppo wrote: flawed
Corked, but not to the point of undrinkability, not that I wanted to finish it. Clipped fruit, slightly moldy. Unfortunate.
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7/23/2016 - dbenglis Likes this wine: 94 Points
I opened, filtered and decanted. Earth early, later more black fruit on the nose. Well balanced, supple, mid palate has a nice acidity. I thoroughly enjoyed. The Barton Family can be proud of this particular year.
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7/10/2016 - Lordswood wrote: 91 Points
Lovely nose of wet slate, smoke and blackberries. The palate was smooth and rich with black currant sweetness coming through. Nice structure. From half-bottle, so quite well matured, but definitely improved over time in the glass. Another couple of years ideally before the next half.
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5/21/2016 - Bordeaux_Jon Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasted blind along side the 1998 Leoville Poyferre and 1998 Leoville Las Cases from half bottles. I've had this wine a couple times before many years back and a few years ago. The wine has been very austere for ages but is finally coming out of its shell. Still, it was the least expressive of the three Leovilles. The tannins were fully resolved and there was a lot of intensity and flavour to the palate. However, there was a slight rotten component, or perhaps an underripeness which meant the wine lacked richness and made it less enjoyable to drink. No doubt, the 1998 weather is to blame. On the nose, there was wonderful black fruit wrapped in toasty oak. Some nuttiness, cigar, and pencil lead came out over time, like a Pauillac. While the palate had some flaws, the nose really compensated. I think the wine is ready to drink, but maybe some of the issues will resolve with age. I can't say.
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4/28/2016 - _water.into.wine_ Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drank with Steve, Alan and Ollie in KL.
Deep red and little bricking. Medium to full body. Good acidity. Light tannins well integrated. A great mature bordeaux that still has the structure to go another 10-20 years. Drink now - 2030+
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4/16/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
Firm, structured, tannic, classic, austere and youthful, this needs at least a decade for the tannins to become civilized and catch up with the secondary nose that is developing.
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4/3/2016 - Tad GW Likes this wine: 91 Points
50+5+12+16+8=91
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3/20/2016 - tomandlu wrote: 85 Points
Decanted roughly 2 hours before consuming with home-made corned beef. Good garnet-red color with very little signs of brown at the rim. A lovely, if somewhat monolithic, nose of damp clay, cedar, and cassis. Very full on the palate, with good fruit and a hint of menthol on the finish, but the wine lacks acidity to pull it all together, a surprise, to me, for this vintage. Perhaps it's just past its best. All in all a good, but not great, LB.
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3/13/2016 - liber Likes this wine: 94 Points
5th of 12, pnp, perfect cork and level - suddenly it's all come together with the palate reflecting the nose, very pure cassis, tobacco and cedar box, long and persistent, grip and balace, fresh fruit, lovely, almost refreshing. F+ (18).
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3/12/2016 - La Grappe wrote: 88 Points
Medium red colour, showing some maturity; as with previous bottles, this is well made with typical blackcurrant fruit, medium weight and modest length, but it is a little dull. Not the best vintage of Léoville Barton. Will probably keep, as it seems inert.
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3/10/2016 - drwine2001 wrote:
Bonhams Pre-Sale Tasting (San Francisco): Deep, even ruby. Bigger than the '95 Ducru. Some noticeable wood. Mouth coating black olive more than fruit. Pretty massive, monolithic, and solid at this point. Needs 15+ more years, I'd imagine, but excellent potential.
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2/28/2016 - johneagle Likes this wine: 91 Points
Much too young. Opened at 1230, drunk at 1430. Great big green spot in the middle. Needs to soften . Leave till 2020 earliest
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2/18/2016 - ccarlier wrote:
W Sidesos
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2/9/2016 - cephomer Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank from magnum last nite at Mistrals in Vt. Didn't decant, but should have. A bit of funk on the nose at first, which blew off shortly after opening revealing aromas of blackberries, earth and some barnyard. Still some fruit here--all black--but it's doesn't seem overly ripe. The wine is now predominantly tertiary with lots of earth, cedar, leather and some forest floor. Tannins remain but are soft and chalky, not at all grippy. Decent length with good level of complexity. This wine continues to lack in concentration and depth in the mid-palate (as I've mentioned before in previous tastings). It's a very pleasant wine, but nothing extravagant or particularly memorable.
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2/2/2016 - jmcmchi wrote: 91 Points
After tasting the 2013 a few days ago, I have a bit of an issue. This rating is stingy when I think of the 13's Just emphasizes that we are never absolutely objective.....
This shows graphite and muted fruit on nose. Colour is mature, no signs of brown
Palate has tannins fully integrated, but still enough tenacity for another seven years or so
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1/1/2016 - Daniel Cecavac Does not like this wine: 88 Points
Decanted for 2 hours. Ruby red, slight discolouration. Very closed on the nose, subtle. Forest floor, tobacco, fruit cake. Thin on the mid palate, grippy tannins, low acidity, very short finish. This is not going to be better, so drink up.
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12/30/2015 - sastewart wrote: 91 Points
Open 5 hours. Very Nice wine, at maturity but will last. Classic left bank wine. Tobacco, spice and cedar on the nose. Pretty dark fruits, spice and good minerality on the palate. More round and balanced than when first opened. 91 points
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12/21/2015 - Mark Likes this wine: 90 Points
Has aged well. Still has a few years left, Lots of spice box, tobacco secondary flavors.
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11/29/2015 - Aravind Asok wrote:
Decanted 1+ hrs. Nose showed a touch of graphite, some ripe cherry leaning into pruniness, and a bit of volatile acidity. The flavors always showed a bit attenuated. This bottle showed soft acidity and almost fully integrated tannin, though I did not really get a lot of secondary development. Nevertheless, very tasty.
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11/13/2015 - ThalesGaspar Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted 1h. Garnet colour, not showing it's age. The bouquet is intense and kept developing during the next hour, really nice. Delicious on the palate, full body, good balance between fruit and oak. Excellent finish, medium/long. Ready to drink but should hold another 5 years.
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9/9/2015 - Pointless Likes this wine:
Fantastic wine. Black fruit and cocoa powder. I no longer drink much Bordeaux, but I'm drinking thru all the classified Bordeaux I bought from the late 1990s and stored in my parents' superb basement/wine cellar. One thing I consistently note is that the 1998s and 1999s are much more enjoyable wines than the 1995s and 1996s, contrary to the opinions of the newsletter publishers masquerading as experts.
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9/6/2015 - eboracum Likes this wine: 90 Points
No change in my assessment from January's bottle other than pleasing, to me, leathery hints which I did not note before.
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8/25/2015 - macaujames wrote: 92 Points
Irony blackfruit, barnyard, cedar, leather, blueberries, mulberries, liquorice and spice aromas. Medium to full bodied elongated and spherical, chunky and slightly austere palate with a reserved fruity, gravelly, lightly cedary balanced and stylish middle. Ends long, incisive, fresh and fruity. A classy masculine wine. At its peak, can be kept for 5 to 10 years minimum.
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8/20/2015 - Dough Boy Likes this wine: 91 Points
At first very closed and tannic, after it was decanted an hour, the wine really showed itself as a classic Bordeaux and was enjoyable with grilled lamb chops.
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8/17/2015 - swyang wrote: 82 Points
Don't know what happened to this bottle. very harsh, very little fruit left... not corked but only bones left... ah well.
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8/4/2015 - Rezy13 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tuesday Night Double Blind $40+ (Bin 75): Dark core, some clarity, garnet, crimson rim; wow, smoky Bordeaux nose, younger, red currant, boxwood, medicinal, dusty, very mineral driven, licorice, great red fruit; on the palate it is spicy, firm, broad shouldered, very masculine, great drive, balance; seems much younger than I am sure it is, others on 2006, I called 2000 Ducru Beaucaillou; heard this was painfully tannic when young but this wine is like a butterfly emerging from the cocoon; very well preserved example, still has some blossoming to accomplish in my opinion, 92+.
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7/31/2015 - d'Artagnan wrote: 92 Points
En magnum.
Nez discret, fumé, avec du cuir, du fruit noir, un peu de poivron grillé.
La bouche possède la structure du millésime, mais l'âge l'a rendu souple, avec un fruit sucré, des tanins arrondis, belle précision. Un des meilleurs 1998 que je me rappelle d'avoir pris. 92 pts
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7/26/2015 - La Grappe wrote: flawed
Corked. I therefore opened another bottle: see separate note.
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7/26/2015 - La Grappe wrote: 88 Points
A fairly deep colour; a classic claret nose of blackurrant, spice and smoke; medium depth on the palate, but there is a slight wateriness towards the end and the fruit is a little unyielding.
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7/14/2015 - liber Likes this wine: 91 Points
3rd of 12, decanted an hour, as November 14 note, still primary cassis fruit, just a touch of attenuation and hint of under-ripe fruit, dryish tannins, lacking generosity, classy though and on improving trend.
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6/28/2015 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very similar to my 1/25/15 tasting note on this same wine from the same case. However, I'm picking up much more licorice on the nose than I did last time. Still a very good wine that is mature... Finally. Drink up, it probably won't get any better with age other than to lose its fruit and evolve into a giant liquified cigar.
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5/25/2015 - VeronicaXu Likes this wine:
Vertical tasting with 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2004. At the beginning, I thought I like 1999 the best, 1998 has a slight green hint. However after half an hour, the 1998 opened up a lot more and it's become my favourite. 2004 seemed a bit closed yesterday. I'm neutral on 1995, which seemed a bit thin.
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5/13/2015 - Shoebox Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark purple but good clarity. Elegant serious herby nose. Savoury, with leather, graphite and good complexity . V. slight hint of brett but in a good way. Good length. Thick legs. Probably not peaked yet. Will last 10- 15 years more.
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5/6/2015 - Lakefarm Likes this wine: 91 Points
Classic Bordeaux. A medium bodied wine that is driven by structure and elegance rather than ripe fruit and high alcohol (this is 12,5%). Lovely nose with lots of pencil shavings, cassis and an element of iron or blood. On the palate it's medium- bodied showing lots of elegance. With air sweet tobacco and herbs start to show. Well made Bordeaux that will easily last another decade. 91-92
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4/18/2015 - GA Old World Guy Likes this wine: 90 Points
Loads of barnyard funk on the nose upon opening, but it blew off rather quickly. Opened up nicely after about 1.5 hours. Still lots of fruit left on it and tannins have settled nicely. I don't think it will improve in bottle and probably has another 5 years or so left.
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4/4/2015 - WillersC wrote: 90 Points
Drinking nicely. Well resolved after a long decant. Still some fruit, good minerality and herbal elements.
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3/21/2015 - swyang wrote: 95 Points
A superb showing here. This really has gained a lot of fat and weight in the most elegant way. Still very dark violet color, aromas of dark berries starting to fade away to leave room for the earth to surface, and this is exactly where I prefer. Lots of wet earth, mingling with berries, spice, leather and lavender, a bit of animal and even a slightly saline after taste all mixing so beautifully that the word complexity is almost as if the nature was cohabiting together. The left over tannin is just right to keep all the qualities in together as well as lifting up the whole waves of flavors. The magic of Leoville Barton has struck again and this is a classy and unique profile of a beautiful wine. Not at all interested in joining the race which other ones are chasing after points, but rather, killing them all, speaking softly. cheers,
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2/28/2015 - JonnyG wrote: 88 Points
A Matter of Taste: London Edition (Saatchi Gallery, Chelsea): Not the best vintage, of course, and came across as a bit dried out; muted fruit, high acidity.
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2/12/2015 - cephomer Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank from 375 bottle. Dark purplish color, nose of black fruit, tobacco & earth/forest. Medium bodied, soft tannins, decent fruit still, lots of tertiary stuff going on--leather, bramble, earth, meat. Good length, tannins seem bit chalky. This wine has an overall rustic quality, and seems to be in a good place currently. In no danger of aging prematurely at this point.
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1/30/2015 - Squilber Likes this wine: 91 Points
After letting this age for several years, I finally opened it up on a Friday night, to go along with NY Strip steaks. A very nice, smooth, medium bodied Bordeaux. Red fruits, pepper, oak and meaty flavors. Deep purple in color. This is ready to drink now and has clearly softened with age, but will last a good 5 more years or more - not sure if that will make it any better but you can try.
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1/29/2015 - eboracum Likes this wine: 90 Points
This is a robust L-B with still quite primary colour and a nose with red fruit, touches of cedar, balsamic hints and sharp floral odours toggling with acidity. The palate was medium/full with good depth of fruit, more of the same odours from the nose, lively acidity which toyed with astringency and nicely firm tannins at the finish. The question determining this wine's future is whether the hints of astringency will come to dominate or whether they will abate. Just very good.
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1/25/2015 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 91 Points
I bought a case of this wine in 2005 and have opened a few bottles throughout the years noting that this wine is not ready to drink. However, it has been four years since I last approached this wine. Much to my surprise, this wine is finally ready to drink. While it still carries the rustic character of the 1998 vintage and the traditional style of a L. Barton, the tannins have softened and the wine has evolved now showing its true personality. The nose is expressive with sweet Virginia tobacco, black currant, herb, anise, with a slight touch of raisin. The mid-palate carries a St. Julien leanness telling me where it is from. The tannin has mostly resolved but it still carries a grip that you can always expect from a L. Barton. Overall, it is a nice wine that can be enjoyed with a good piece of beef tenderloin. It is medium bodied and lean, so don't put this up against a ribeye. Enjoy!
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1/16/2015 - Ibetian wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 3 hours before dinner, which seems about right. Mid weight, elegant wine, not great, but very, very good classic Bordeaux.
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1/14/2015 - rsbeck wrote: 92 Points
Popped, breathed in bottle one hour, poured. Followed over next two and a half. This started off extremely tight. With air, it gradually opened up in the second hour, slowly revealing its charm. In the final half hour, it came together presenting a slightly subdued, but classic Left Bank Bordeaux. Very charming, seamless and satisfying, just missing a little oomph to make it a little more profound. Could get closer with more age. Give it lots of air. 92+
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1/13/2015 - La Grappe wrote: 88 Points
Medium to full colour; blackcurrant fruit, showing some maturity; rounded and savoury. Medium weight only, and a bit short on the finish. Decent enough, with true claret character, but not the best vintage of this wine.
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12/26/2014 - Bcw1989 wrote: 90 Points
Very first taste of Leoville-Barton. Really closed at first. Very fruit forward on the nose, but lacking in the taste department until this warmed up. Felt a bit flat at first, but then about an hour later, this wine brought the fruit into the taste. Not the best vintage and feel this could have loads of potential in a good year. Good afternoon experience with friends and family.
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12/24/2014 - mark_m_owen wrote: 91 Points
Fully mature. Magnum. Plenty of decanting time. Took a while to open up even so. After early morning decanting it was singing by 8pm
Mid-length. Very typical. Black and a little red fruit, some pencil shavings on the nose. Less cedary than some LBs. chocolate and leather. A tad of earthiness.
It ain't the best LB but it's a damn fine bottle.
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12/14/2014 - blakehastings Likes this wine: 93 Points
I probably have a bias towards this Barton, but solid as always. Not as full bodied as other vintages, but still long on palette. Good fruit, currants, hint of licorice. Tanins are muted, but still there. Probably couple more years left.
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12/1/2014 - rikipedia wrote: flawed
Terroir-istes International - France, Bordeaux, Léoville Barton (Rodwell House): Ruby colour, the nose shows farmyard, stinky notes along with detectable TCA. The palate confirms with a gravelly texture, some juiciness in the mid-palate, chocolate notes but then the musty, wet dishcloth of cork consumes all.
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11/15/2014 - liber Likes this wine: 91 Points
2nd of 12, perfect fill, not decanted, much better than note earlier this year - darkish garnet, still purple rim; primary blackcurrant driven on nose, quite pure and fresh, hint of secondaries developing, cedar and graphite; fullish palate, dry tannins not wholly masked by fruit, but classy, some grip, this has come on a lot in 6 months, probably still needs 18 months, the 99 is much more rewarding at present! A tentative fine (17.5/20).
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11/1/2014 - La Grappe wrote: 87 Points
Reasonably deep colour. The nose is rather flat and restrained. There is fruit on the palate, but it is more redcurrant than blackcurrant. Overall, this is a bit lightweight, and not one of the better Léoville Bartons, or one of the better 1998s.
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10/19/2014 - Julian Marshall wrote: 88 Points
Very tight on opening, this needed three hours in a decanter. Xmas pudding, red cherry and spices on the nose, with quite a bright attack of cherry and cinnamon, then a decent second seam of strawberry, but the finish is short and there's a prevaling feel of stodginess. The fruit is far from underripe - if anything it's overripe, there's a dry, almost burnt tinge to it which leaves a bitter taste on the finish. Not bad, but nothing special. There are very good 98s, this is not one of them.
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10/12/2014 - Ibetian wrote: 92 Points
Very dark, black/red color. Nose seemed a bit restrained, so decanted. First taste seemed a little disjointed. We'll see how this develops over dinner and revise if needed. Initial reaction is ok, but not special.
Well,this improved quite a bit with air and time. An elegant and sophisticated nose and palate developed. Still lacking the stuffing of the best vintages, but classic Bordeaux.
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9/16/2014 - ctjared Likes this wine:
silky tannins, balanced. Not so much fruit anymore, but complex long finish.
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8/29/2014 - Fosgrove wrote: 89 Points
Muted nose with soft tannins that make it easy to drink but has lost some fruit and has dry, short finish. Not very exciting but I guess typical 16 year old middle of the road Bordeaux? Reminds me why I don't drink much of it these days.....
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8/22/2014 - chatters wrote:
Double decanted. Aromas of bramble and blackcurrant, biscuit, slight liquorice, leather and hints of sweet tobacco. Also notes of cream, vanilla and the fruit tends to cassis with time. In the mouth the wine has juicy acidity and flavours of muted black currant, bramble, spice, slight leathery floury tannic grip on the mid palate and the front of the mouth. It is very long on the palate and very enjoyable. Lovely.
as time passed (3+ hours) the nose developed Autumn leaves, cedar, mushrooms and bonfire to accompany the cassis and liquorice. A certain tartness was evinced on the palate.
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8/17/2014 - Jhcwine wrote: flawed
Initialy wet cardboard nose and palate, which blew off somewhat but not completely. An otherwise limited nose. The wet cardboard notes persisted over the dark fruits and remaining tannins. I wonder whether this bottle was corked (as wet cardboard is typical to cork fault).
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6/15/2014 - ucbeau wrote: flawed
Slow-ox for approximately 3 hours. Pours a dark garnet. On the nose are notes of barnyard, black cherry, oak, and cassis. Not much else resolves with more air. I'm disappointed at the brett problem, as it detracts from the purity of the fruit and vintage. As the wine opens, more brett becomes apparent, it starts to dominate the black fruit and leaves only firm tannin in the wake. Somewhat disappointing bottle.
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5/14/2014 - La Grappe Likes this wine: 87 Points
Mature, but still reasonably fresh. Medium weight, good blackcurrant fruit, but not especially concentrated: in fact, it lacks a little depth in mid-palate. However, it is drinking well now. I don't see this improving further.
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5/6/2014 - La Grappe wrote: 87 Points
Fairly deep colour; blackcurrant on the nose and palate, with spice, smoke and dusty tannins. There is some dilution in mid-palate, but it finishes reasonably. Not the best vintage of Léoville-Barton, but quite enjoyable now, and not for keeping.
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5/1/2014 - Roughl wrote: 92 Points
Wonderful claret. Probably early peak. Classic proportions. Loved this. This was one of my first" serious" purchases now 14 years ago.
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4/26/2014 - fatfishzsy wrote: 88 Points
果香淡,酸度集中,回味弱。
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3/15/2014 - kerv22 wrote: 92 Points
Excellent bottle. Starting to get the taste of age to it. I'm sure you could get a few more years out of it, however it's drinking very well now.
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2/16/2014 - jmcmchi wrote: 90 Points
Just starting to show signs of browning (last quarter inch in decanter has brown edge). Nose is classic mature claret, with cedar and hints of marzipan.
On palate tannins and fruit are now fully entwined, subtle and sensuous, with a very long finish
While there is still plenty of life in this, it will no longer improve with keeping.
Caveat; my bottles have moved house with me twice, including a trip from mid-west to west coast. Bottles which have been cellared in one location may have more life left in them
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2/6/2014 - swyang wrote: 95 Points
That was a splendid, classy, thoroughly enjoyable wine. I think this type of wine is making me to like the Bordeaux again. It is still dark violet, but on the nose very poised, dignified and nothing showing off other than perfectly integrated and balanced fruits, oak, leather, spice. Blueberry is definitely present but as if it were a matured Tenor's voice or a superbly fitting cashmere suit. Most wonderful medium texture(How did I even enjoy, at some time ago the full explosive texture that is beyond myself really ... ) the secondary element is starting to come to the surface and each sip was inviting for yet another one. This wine seems to belong to another time, where extracting is not necessary and that the pleasure of drinking is more natural, almost naive, where it all seem so 'simply lovely'... I love this dignified, elegant and unsaturated profile of Leoville Barton. I would imagine that making such wine is so much more difficult than trying to out beat the scores of the journalists I am hoping this style of wine will continue to provide us the uplifting moments.
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12/25/2013 - mjf@ulkner wrote: 91 Points
Classic cassis and pencil shaving aromas on the nose. The fruit is fairly demure at this stage of this wine's development, but there is enough to balance the fairly stiff tannins on the finish. A nice pairing with Christmas Beef Wellington. Probably peaking IMHO.
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12/14/2013 - roelof.ligtmans@gmail.com Does not like this wine: 84 Points
Very average, no interest. Could be any plain Bordeaux. It's main virtue is that, at age 15, it is not yet completely dead. Maybe drunk way too late?
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12/7/2013 - englishman's claret wrote: 92 Points
The first bottle from my auction lot of 98 Bartons. This is still so young - the first hour, this is very shy. The second, this starts to open to show a beautiful but subtle nose of biscuit and caramel; on the palate there is classy, refined fruit followed by a long floral finish. By a couple hours in, this really starts to show itself - such crystalline, pure, plush fruit. The finish lasts forever. There's a lot of up-side here; not going to really be ready for a few years. 92 but potentially with lots of up-side.
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11/28/2013 - jefe-alto wrote: 89 Points
Echo previous comments
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11/22/2013 - broadband013 wrote: 93 Points
a son apogée magnifique de douceur et d equilibre, encore fuité et puissant mais tres tres agreable. a boire maintenant
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10/25/2013 - roelof.ligtmans@gmail.com wrote: flawed
Corked!
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9/27/2013 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 88 Points
This wine was tasted in double-blind fashion, with the bottle kindly provided by D.B. Opaque ruby/red, it has a moderately intense nose of cassis, dried herbs, graphite and earth. Fresh and full-bodied, it follows with similar flavors in a rustically tannic frame. A "green" element additionally creeps into the flavor profile. The alcohol (12.5%) is nicely integrated and the middle palate is solid. The wine concludes with a medium-length, dry finish. With rustic tannins and a degree of greenness, it appears that this wine is the product of grapes which never reached full physiological ripeness. Give it a bit more time to allow the tannins to soften. That said, I suspect that, over time, the tannins will outlast the fruit. Drink 2016-2023.
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9/21/2013 - Jhcwine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Toronto Wine Cru - WineSpectator Off-Line Event - Leoville Vertical (Crush Wine Bar, Toronto): 1998 Leoville Barton
Nose - Younger than the 89 or 96. And still reserved by the end of the night.
Palette - As above.
92
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8/9/2013 - La Grappe wrote: 87 Points
Reasonable fruit, good weight, but a little dull at first. In time, it opened up a bit, but was not especially lively. Certainly elegant and attractive, but not one of the best.
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7/10/2013 - Wine_lvr wrote: 89 Points
Still young. Not balanced and did not show too much flavors and complexity. Wait, though I suppose that this will never be a great wine.
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6/27/2013 - johneagle Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still very green, I double decanted at 11am, decanted at 1pm and we drank it (against Daumas Gassac 98) at 2. Needs a lot of time yet. This will never be great but is gong to give great pleasure in about 5 years
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6/24/2013 - WillersC wrote: 91 Points
Very good. Developing some nice complexity at age 15 but still showing a decent amount of structure. I believe that this is just about coming into its drinking window and will probably remain her for another 5-10 years.
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6/15/2013 - Cheungtp wrote: 90 Points
Dark core with pink rim. It took a bit of time to open, with notes of graphite, florals, blackberry, boysenberry, creamy oak, cigar wrapper, hint of vanilla and incense. Yet taste on the palate is a bit linear, there's jam, spice box and raspberry. Tannins are quite noticeable, on the dry side, finishing has good amount of plum juice and tobacco scent. The wine has kept hold of LB's great attributes in structure and balance; however a bit more weight and richness would have made it better. This claret was a distance second to the '98 Pavie Macquin on the table, but it recovered a big chunk once it benefited from the air time and showed great strength.
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5/19/2013 - jmcmchi wrote: 89 Points
Brought out late from cellar so limited time to stand. Decanted and venturi. Sediment not properly cleared so overall disappointing - seemed older than expected given last tasting. Fruit and almonds with persistent tannins.
memo to self; stand 24-48 hours before decanting
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5/18/2013 - cephomer wrote: 91 Points
Dark ruby color, no ready signs of age on the rims. Drank from magnum at X2O and was impressed with the wine. Very aromatic nose of dark fruit & earth. This was likely the wine's best quality. I thought the fruit was a bit unripe at first but, as the wine opened up in the decanter, it became rounder, the fruit more pleasing, and the quality of the wine improved. Good minerality and earth, well balanced, soft tannins, good complexity and nice spiciness. Good length too. I wouldnt' call this a classic, but it was a very enjoyable wine that likely still has some time to go, though I wouldn't expect it to get appreciably better than what it is today.
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3/28/2013 - La Grappe Likes this wine: 88 Points
A deep colour, and quite dense, concentrated fruit, with typical claret character; this is very good indeed, if a little hard and dry on the finish; not quite the succulence and charm of a really good vintage, but a good effort.
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3/18/2013 - Remony wrote: 88 Points
First from a case. Not a typical LB, except for its vigorous dark colour. Quite forward; gentle fruits, tasting more red than black despite the deep colour. Soft but still prominent tannins, but surprisingly forward on the tongue. Not at all watery. But no significant length and no bite. Not a weak wine, but a relatively uninteresting one. No power. Unlikely to improve, but no hurry to drink up. But after an hour, a touch vegetal I'm sorry to report.
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3/16/2013 - Vino Me wrote: 92 Points
Opened by Mark. Deep purple color. Not decanted. The most earthy of the 4 1998 Bordeaux opened. Notes of pencil shavings, cedar box and dark fruit. Still has firm tannins. My favorite of the 4 1998 Left Bank Bordeaux although the Montrose was close. I was excited to try this as I had not had it before. Of the LB's Ive had before, this was better than the 1999 or 2001, about the equal of the 1996 but not as good as the 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009 or 2010. 92 points.
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1/1/2013 - chefdilletante wrote:
In the four or five years since I last tried this wine, not much has evolved. The tannins have softened somewhat; they are tame and the wine is approachable. Coffee, tobacco and soil predominate. Nose is primarily cabernet without oak or cedar aromatics. This is a wonderful wine of subtle claret pedigree. Nothing blockbuster; this is a wine to pair with good roasted meats and share with friends who appreciate likewise.
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12/15/2012 - La Grappe wrote: 86 Points
Slightly disappointing, and not nearly as good as the 2001. It has some style, but is a bit dilute, and weak on the finish. Perhaps a substandard bottle?
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11/22/2012 - bevetroppo wrote: 90 Points
Day later from memory. Can't remember what I said last time I tried this, but I seem to recall I was less than thrilled. Maybe a little green? Oh well, we'll find out soon enough. Tonight it was in the zone, requiring about a half hour to shake off a little dust. Then it was a beautifully representative St. Julien, full of inviting blackberry and cassis fruit, and classic overtones of cedar and tobacco. Ripe but not at all extracted, easy to see it as a midpoint between the perfume of Margaux and the structure of Pauillac, just like it used to be. At its peak and holding for 10-15 years, as a guess.
My cellar used to be dominated by Bordeaux-then came Parker, then auction insanity, domestic and international. Now I almost never buy a bottle of Bordeaux for more than $30, the value just isn't there. A quick check of wine-searcher said today this bottle retails on average for $107 in what was considered an average-to-good left bank vintage, and Leoville Barton has always been fairly priced in comparison to more rapacious chateaux of comparable quality. Net net, I realize it's unlikely I will ever replenish my cellar with wines of breed and finesse like this again-I'll have to start going slow on what remains of the glory of Bordeaux. With crazy prices, modern winemaking trends, and global warming, it's arguable that the entire experience can ever be replenished.
---Looked back and last note was from 2006. Serves me right for not waiting the requisite 10 years. Quite a different story now, and unless it's bottle variation I was flat out wrong 6 years ago. Live and learn, a key lesson being to trust properties that have a long track record for integrity and consistent quality.
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11/5/2012 - scctsui wrote: 92 Points
This wine will not be opened up unless you give it a two hour decant. It was not surprising at first but as the time goes, it will turn into something quite different with much fruitiness and vanilla, with a hint of flower on the nose. However, the only disappointment is that the smell and taste slipped away quickly after reaching its optimal point which is at after two hours of decanting. The quality at its optimal is excellent, still abit young and could wait for a few years more.
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10/16/2012 - swyang wrote: 90 Points
Not yet ready, but will be very classic in a few years. I hope the fruits will survive the years, as for now the tannin, earth is pulling it down, but am hopeful that it will transcend in a few years time.
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9/25/2012 - jeff nowak wrote: flawed
corked. man, this tasting had some bad juju.
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9/25/2012 - kstoddard wrote: flawed
Blind Night (Kevin): Corked
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9/13/2012 - md20 wrote: 89 Points
Hatte selten einen Wein öfters getrunken, da ich mir eine Kiste halbe Flaschen zulegen konnte. Feiner Körper, typischer zurückhaltender Cabernetdurft. Ätherische Öle, leicht alkoholische Note. Haut mich nicht aus den Socken für ein 2e Cru.
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9/2/2012 - Attorney Somm wrote: 93 Points
Poured in decanterd and drank over 3 hours. Dark ruby color. Started out a bit lean, but filled out very nicely and was singing after 60-90 minutes.
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8/12/2012 - La Grappe wrote: 88 Points
Quite ripe, attractive fruit with a touch of sweetness, but on the whole the wine does not seem quite ready. It has not fully knitted together and there is some residual tannin. Potentially fine, but not quite there today.
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4/26/2012 - TheEngineer wrote: 93 Points
Served in the midst of some legendary wines and this actually stood its ground. Reserved nose needs time to open up, texture was surprisingly smooth supple for the vintage, quite fresh still, though lacking in some of the secondary components at this time. Lovely little bottle.
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4/8/2012 - vanpe003 wrote: flawed
Wickedly corked.
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4/2/2012 - dbkitc wrote: 93 Points
Deep ruby. Classic nose of red fruits, stones and a very slight hint of Asian spice. Could only be left bank Bordeaux. In the early stage of maturity. Resolved enough to begin showing a smooth texture, there is energy and depth that promises a long future. Very good. (93)
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3/27/2012 - Rob-Rah wrote: 90 Points
Balanced and tasty. Nice aromatics of fruit. Not much secondary going on yet. Fine, charming, understated. Tannins soft but all held in good balance. A little light in body. Very pleasant. Dare I say though, rather "boring".....? (89-90)
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3/18/2012 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine: 91 Points
Bordeaux blind tasting dinner (Chez L.): mature and open nose with a very classic expression. Still very fresh and well balanced - could probably age further still.
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2/19/2012 - Ibetian wrote:
Opened over dinner, but would have been better if decanted.
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2/5/2012 - prof b wrote: 91 Points
a bit muted though very enjoyable. mild chocolate, very mild dark fruits, granite, silky smooth tannins, long finish.
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1/8/2012 - Maestro wrote: 90 Points
This bottle showed a bit below expectations. The nose is very restrained, and displays cigar box, leather, chocolate and dark fruit. The palate is medium-bodied, but intense enough and balanced. A medium finish follows with notes of chocolate and tobacco. Very nice but not with the usual secondary aromatics and intensity associated with Léoville Barton.
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12/31/2011 - Chapel wrote: 97 Points
We enjoyed this wonderful bottle in Santa Barbara at the Wine Cask. It was carefully decanted but even right out of the bottle this was elegant. you could feel the slight faint pungent earth aroma. It was silky to the initial taste to the end yet it let you know it had structure to it. the strong body was smoothed down of any roughness to it.
we had it with red meat as well as Risotto. This wine was so wonderful and ready. I could not detect if it had peaked yet or would keep on tasting this well for years to come. Highly recommended.
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12/27/2011 - Kbeyer wrote: 92 Points
Drinking very well and will just be even better with time. Big bouquet and fruit forward with a smooth finish.
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10/15/2011 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
The Big Bordeaux Redux: 1986, 1990, 1995 and 1998 (Rocknroller's (Kevin's)): Vary dark red/purple color. Decanted for 5+ hours and drank over 4 hours. Tighter and a bit less complex on the nose, with earth, dark chocolate, cassis, blackberry, anise, cedar. The palate is deeper than the Segla, more modern, but still quite nice with black vruits, slightly firm tannins, medium finish.
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9/23/2011 - IcemanUK wrote: 91 Points
Excellent Bordeaux. Drinking well at the moment, but will age for a whole longer. Leather, blackberry and cassis. Smooth tannins and a finish that lasts an incredible time. Outstanding.
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9/15/2011 - Ibetian wrote: 92 Points
Dark purple. Nose a bit muted, but some cassis and a little smoke. Smooth and tasty on the palate, with red cherries. Well balanced. Mid weight, enjoyable, but still a bit tight.
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9/8/2011 - Rupert wrote: 91 Points
Langoa v Leoville (Les Deux Salons, London): Vigorous, tannic, animale, quite exciting
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9/8/2011 - SimonG wrote:
Les Deux Bartons (Les Deux Salons): A touch tighter on the nose than the 2000 Langoa. Leaner and a bit tighter. Dense though. A little dry on the finish. Decent enough. ***
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7/7/2011 - Stefanos T. wrote: 93 Points
Medium ruby still! not even garnet, transparent and bright with thick legs. Nose has intense aromas of black fruit, leather and cedar. Has reached maturity but is still vibrant with a very long way to go. Palate has medium weight fruit is black and ripe, tannins are of high quality and unintrusive now. Has a wonderful refreshing bitter cedary finish.
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7/4/2011 - G_H Likes this wine: 89 Points
Very full bodied, appeared younger than the 2000 Talbot that we drank next to it. Cherries, cigar box, good tannin, still a lot of life ahead of it!
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7/3/2011 - lawgod Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nose is fantastic. Anise and vanilla. Color is darkish due to age but still nice. Palate is soft and velvety but slightly stingy at finish.
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6/1/2011 - OzRog wrote: 88 Points
From Magnum. Beautiful classic cigar box nose. Fairly good weight on the palate . Can't say it really knocked me out but good enjoyable Bordeaux. Glad I bought it years ago because if I paid today's price I would not feel it was worth it.
I live in Australia so a wine like this is a wonderful change from the overpowering reds made here. Long live restraint!
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4/22/2011 - Darren747 wrote: 90 Points
Fresh, smooth, light and integrated tannin with dark brambly fruit,plums and touch of cedar. Perhaps lacking a touch of body but displays an agreeable balance and elegance with a fine finish of leather and graphite.
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3/1/2011 - clarktoews wrote: 93 Points
what a great example of classic bordeaux. still great dark colour, fantastic nose of fruit and a small hint of earth. Extremely smooth finish and long lasting. I had been turned off Bordeaux for about a yr now but this wine has brought me back. Maybe i was drinking the other ones too early??
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2/23/2011 - vinole wrote: 91 Points
WS Group Mid-Winter Offline (Himmarshee's - Ft. Lauderdale, FL): Decanted about one hour before tasting. I found this still a bit closed with some drying tannins vying with the very dark fruit. My opinion is that this wine would benefit from more aging as I have found 98 Left Banks to be a "hard" vintage much like 95 that require more aging than other vintages. However, others liked this more than I and thought it was drinking nicely. I felt a 96 I drank last year was much more accessible than this right now.
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2/18/2011 - paulst wrote: 95 Points
Lead pencil and leather; textured; structured; opulent; sweet tannins; length; jammy blackberry and currant.
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2/18/2011 - GerryP wrote: 90 Points
Powerful bouquet of blackcurrants. Typical St Julien smoothness well balanced still quite youthful but beginning to drink well.A favourite of mine.
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1/4/2011 - dstraub wrote: 85 Points
Decanted over 4 hours and paired with steak. The entire group rated this the worst of the five wines we had - two Russian River Pinot's and two Napa cabs blew this wine away - and went better with the meal. It wasn't even close. Perhaps a bad bottle, but I doubt it. I have 3 left.
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12/24/2010 - miller3324 wrote: 92 Points
Very nice, well structured wine. Good dose of acidity matched with black fruits. Seems to have the stuffing to last for much longer but is very enjoyable right now. Served with pot roast.
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12/10/2010 - Wine Sparty wrote: 90 Points
Drank with strip steaks. Decanted for about a half hour before first glass, then drank over the next 3 hours. Aroma of mocha, blackberry & earthiness. Taste had dark chocolate and light blueberry - the finish seemed a bit green/minty near the end of the bottle. I'm not sure if it is a bit thin in the mid-palate, or it is just the subtleness of flavors that aged Bordeaux seem to have. I think this still has a decent amount of time left in its drinking window.
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12/5/2010 - mezzasega wrote: 85 Points
Perfect corck. At the nose is too narrow. Just a little better in the mouth. Perfect however the coupèling with lamb.
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11/5/2010 - englishman's claret wrote:
375ml. Garnet robe, disc just beginning to brick. Great nose of blackcurrants, cedar, leather, tobacco and liquorice on decanting. Really classic Bordeaux - hits the spot. Just so comforting and wonderful. I love it. The leather is emphasized a bit more on the palate. Technically the wine is very well balanced for my taste - a healthy dose of tannin, but not too much! Appropriate acidity, medium body. Great finish. Just wonderful. Ready for drinking in half bottle format, might hold off a bit on 750s. Should stay on a plateau for 20 years or so, I'd say.
Solid 4, perhaps 4.5/5 for my taste
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10/24/2010 - dreiffers wrote: 91 Points
Elegant and ready to drink
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10/9/2010 - beezer6 wrote: 90 Points
Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)): Subtle personality. Some earthyness, slightly under ripe dark red and black fruit.
Caramel, stemmyness, black olives, horse saddle and licorice aromas.
The finish is decent, but compared to the other bottlings sampled this awesome day, it fell a bit short - much of this was from the hollow mid palate.
Still quite nice as the score reveals, just not as complete of a wine as I would like to see form this producer - even in this lesser of a vintage.
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10/9/2010 - psmith wrote:
Dark fruits. Somewhat resolved, medium-grain tannins. Bold styling, with a bit of a funky/earthy component. Nice. Still needs time.
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9/24/2010 - CRichards wrote: 92 Points
Decanted four hours before drinking, which was a good move; outstanding, powerful nose, revealed in all its complexity. A relatively light wine but an excellent accompaniment to duck. A delight to drink.
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9/23/2010 - vumansky wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for 4 hours. Ruby color with slightly fading edge. Feels very light in the mouth... nice black fruits and soft tannins. Medium/long finish.
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8/22/2010 - ekenneth wrote: 94 Points
Excellent Bordeaux, tight at first, opens up after an hour or so. I expected a big, tough wine, but got a smooth, medium bodied, but still powerful one. It's not over-oaked, and it has nice Cab black fruit, excellent depth, nice (but not abrasive) tannin and a green, minty edge. There's also a light leather/fig/ spice box element to the flavor you sometimes get with an older Rhone wine, that comes across like a mix of aromatic tea and Persian spices; an unexpected, but welcome surprise.
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7/2/2010 - CTSV157 wrote: 90 Points
Minerals underling flavors. Tannin that is not too chewy or unpleasant . Fruit and layers of herbs are here but not it enormous quantity making this a very good yet understated wine. Moderate finish . These elements are nicely integrated .
It will be interesting to taste it again in a year or two .
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6/30/2010 - Rob MacKay wrote: 92 Points
I was quite surprised by this bottle as it was much more open and ready then I expected. Soft and elegant with nicely resolved tannins and great fruit that isn't too ripe or tart. This wine is in a very nice spot right now.
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6/30/2010 - cgrimes wrote: 92 Points
An Afternoon and Evening with Rob and Lisa (Chez MacKay): Dark ruby to purple. Nose of blackberry, cassis, spice. Fruity palate with some stones. Drinking well now and given the lighter tannins I would not keep this for long-term cellaring. Very enjoyable. Drank with Rob and Lisa at their lovely home.
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6/24/2010 - Norm49 wrote: 97 Points
Soft,smooth! Excellent
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4/18/2010 - kstoddard wrote:
Blackcurrant profile with excessive barnyard. Quite rustic. Fruit is a bit muted or stewed. Seems quite advanced for its age. Suspect provenance? I've haven't had much luck with this wine. Last two were corked. 12.5% alcohol.
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3/3/2010 - Remony wrote: 92 Points
1998 First Growths, Some SuperSeconds and Right Bank Equivalents (Goedhuis 2010 Charity Wine Dinner, Intercontinental Hotel Park Lane): Deep colour; fine Cabernet nose, perhaps still on the dumb side. Less harmonious than the Las Cases at this point, with some unresolved acidity and tannins which catch the back of the throat. Seems a little dry as well. But going to be very good indeed. Needs 5 years.
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2/22/2010 - belfast taxman wrote: 94 Points
Drinking beautifully now - lovely balance of cedar back fruits with almost tarry edge - tannins well balanced - we drank this wine alongside a much more expensive Californian Cab and let's just say France won 1-0 with no handball required - long finish - went especially well with roast partridge - this is a top class effort for the vintage
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2/21/2010 - Tuffdawg wrote: 89 Points
Bottle was opened for 3 hours. Beautiful nose of cedar, pencil lead, faint dark fruit. Very full bodied but very tannic yet. Tasted like a 2 year old wine instead of a 12. Long way to go on this.
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2/16/2010 - jmcmchi wrote: 91 Points
Lovely deep color; somewhat tight nose opening up after 2 hrs in decanter. Nice balance, tannins smooth and unobtrusive, fruit somewhat reserved.
Good for another 10 years, nowhere near its peak
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2/12/2010 - Millercg68 wrote: 91 Points
Definitely a bordeaux. Earth up front, not much fruit to speak of, but well balanced. Still a bit tannic, but not overly so.
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2/11/2010 - mmh wrote: 93 Points
Really great! Huge nose with leather, spices and a touch of dark fruits. The palate still feels a bit young but it has a nice balance and plentiful but smooth tannins. (at the Sampler, London)
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2/6/2010 - Apollo5710 wrote: 92 Points
My experience was largely in-line with other previous notes. 30-60 minutes was needed for the nose to fully emerge. It's a big nose of cedar, mint, forest floor, and a touch of spice and leather. A slight unripe/green note hung in the background though...Still a bit closed in the mouth, and it never really opened up during the course of the night. However, the wine did feature a big, smooth mouthfeel. Powerful and still quite tannic (although it settled down considerably over the course of the night). The nice finish revealed cool flavors of plums, blueberry, and coffee bean. I'd say it's just beginning to wake up but still needs another 3-5 years to evolve. 92+
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1/29/2010 - G.M. wrote: 89 Points
Cabernet Tasting I - Australia & France (G&E's, Melbourne): Nose still very closed. Opened a bit after decant and time in glass, but still a bit underwhelming. Fruit appeared a touch underripe and acid a bit out of balance. Reasonable length and ok complexity. A solid wine, but didn't stack up to it's companions on the night.
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1/12/2010 - ikkaariainen wrote: 91 Points
Had this wine blinded last night as the ringer in the second flite of wines at the first Hickory Wine Club meeting of the year, thrown in with a '94 - '98 Pahlmeyer vertical. Did not guess that this wine was the odd one out. Very good, minimal bordeaux funk on nose, tighter and more austere then expected, not particularly fruit forward at this stage, well structured, plenty of tannins left for at least another 5 years of ageing, medium bodied, reasonable aftertaste. Too expensive to be a reasonable QPR but still definitely highly recommend it, at this point needs a long decant or a little more time. Nose initially muted and then floral with dark fruit and some lilac, primary flavors included hints of cassis, cedar, cigar box, leather with some fruit present later on the palate.
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1/3/2010 - JSwick wrote: 89 Points
pretty much spot on with prior tasting notes. I think this wine is in a dumb phase and will loosen up and gain some weight in another 5. It was a nice wine to drink but it was much more austere than I thought.
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12/20/2009 - Rechrom wrote: 88 Points
More austere than the bottle I had last Spring. Purchased and stored together, however this one had great color, a very nice and well developed nose, but was short of fruit on the palate and finish. Not a bad bottle by any means, but a bit disappointing.
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12/12/2009 - roelof.ligtmans@gmail.com wrote: 90 Points
Very nice quality cork! Almost black. Very fragrant complex classy nose with smoke, elderberry, vanilla and many other components. Quite a mouthful, fresh, sweet attack, black fruit. Finishes with some slightly dry tannins. Medium length. Nice bottle, almost at peak.
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12/7/2009 - i musicisti di boston wrote:
Very good: classic St. Julien, with cedar, cigar box on the nose, along with cassis. Resolved and smooth on the palate, though lacking the ripe fruit of a more exuberant vintage. Still, enjoyed this very much. Near peak for me, though will certainly hold at this level for quite a while.
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12/6/2009 - kstoddard wrote: flawed
Corked.
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11/21/2009 - TT2000 wrote: 92 Points
Very smooth
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11/15/2009 - Ibetian wrote: 89 Points
Double decanted 3 hours before dinner and served with beef bourginon. A little disappointing. Despite the serious decant, it didn't show much. Probably should have waited another couple of years.
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11/11/2009 - jbeauprez wrote: 91 Points
Lovely this time around; classic St Julien nose of violets, cassis, leather, spice box....silky tannins; everything in harmony. acidity has receded a bit; very soft wine now.
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9/13/2009 - Rick-again wrote: 91 Points
initial nose very woody/cedar as it opened it exposed herbs, dirt, color was dark burgundy or plum nice bright light plum at edges
smooth tannins, dark fruit, herbs, little tobacco and chocolate
medium body and moderate finish
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9/6/2009 - Julia7ich wrote: 90 Points
Deep dark way with a fading rim and nearly violet highlights. Classic ripe black currant fruit and graphite on the nose and in the mouth. Quite fine-grained tannins, moderate alcohol and medium body comprise a wonderfully balanced wine. This is classic unadulterated Bordeaux - no modern, perturbing schnick-schnack. Drink now and into the late '20s and early '30s.
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9/4/2009 - TT2000 wrote: 92 Points
Excellent as ever
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8/5/2009 - InternationalWineReport wrote: 92 Points
Always a great wine. Wonderful floral, pain grille, and berry aromas follow through to medium- to full-bodied palate. Medium tannins. Long finish.
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7/11/2009 - cadamson wrote: 89 Points
Not sure if simply closed or is this is good as the 98 will get.... Did open up some as the night went on, eventually a very good nose of cedar, leather and dark fruit. Very deep purple. Medium bodied, currant and earth.
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5/25/2009 - Ibetian wrote: 90 Points
This is drinkable now, but not near its peak. Other than that not much to add to my Feb 08 note. Give it some time and air and drink t now or wait a few years.
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4/13/2009 - Rechrom wrote: 92 Points
Decanted three hours. Red to rim. Developing nose, great entry and palate, worked very well with roast leg of lamb. Red fruit, cassis, sous bois. Good length. Can last (passive cellar, purchased on release) but in a good drinking window now.
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3/18/2009 - KJL473 wrote: 92 Points
Aromas of red fruit, cassis, leather, earth, mineral. Tanins were very strong at first but faded to reveal nice red fruit and mineral flavors after 90 minutes decanting. Medium bodied with a plesent long finish.
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2/27/2009 - gsquireh wrote: 92 Points
Full-bodied brooding purple highly concentrated and full in the mouth wine with flavors of mineral, tobacco, and spicy blackberries. Classic in every respect.
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2/25/2009 - kstoddard wrote: flawed
Corked.
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12/25/2008 - 60ouvrees wrote:
Hard and tannic. Seems like the fruit is buried in there somewhere, but will it ever come around?
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12/8/2008 - Zigman wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for about 75 minutes still a little tight but after about 90 minutes really started to come out. Ruby red/garnet in color. Red currant, cherry, pepper, earth, leather lead to a long finish.
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10/1/2008 - jakob.krummenacher@gmail.com wrote: 90 Points
Tight and tasteless at first but after decanting for an hour it opened up enough to appreciated the aromas. Not much body or depth but nice mid palate of red and dark berries with mild oak spicyness. Enjoyable and ready to drink.
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9/13/2008 - cgrimes wrote: 90 Points
Very similar to the '99 (tasted side by side) but this is a little more open at this stage.
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9/10/2008 - clarktoews wrote: 90 Points
i know it needs more time but i couldn't stay away. was very consistent with the last bottle i drank.
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9/7/2008 - cbuhlman wrote: 90 Points
McKenzies in Philly. ruby red/slight purple, not decanted. a little tight upon opening, tannins a bit strong, but blew off nicely after a little while, clean cabernet fruit, slight tobacco hints with a medium-full bodied structure and good finish. A nice juxtaposition for the overripe Cdr's.
Drinking well now and see no further development.
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9/3/2008 - Henman wrote: 89 Points
The nose was a little closed with some fruit and barnyard.Palate nicely developed,tobacco,fruit and obvious tannins.Still very nice.
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7/25/2008 - NavyGrog wrote: 89 Points
Wonderful bouquet blk fruit abound. Slightly tannic, should have decanted it longer (decanted less than an hour). Just started opening up at the end of meal. No the best bottle of LVB I've had.
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7/21/2008 - clarktoews wrote: 90 Points
when i first opened this bottle thought it had spoiled, the nose was very musty. My first taste also led me to believe the wine had been exposed to heat, the flavours seemed burned. i only had one glass and vacuum sealed it until the next day. The next day it was far better, no more burnt flavours, more fruit but still a bit tannic. i suspect it needs more time.
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3/12/2008 - wineamateur wrote: 90 Points
Jeroboam Club: Ch. Leoville Barton Vertical (Averys, Bristol): Deep purple colour. Less exuberant on the nose than the 1999, but shows a lovely, silky elegance with ripe blueberry and cassis, and pear drops testifying to secondary development. More austere on the palate than the 1999 too, with some rough-edged tannins and a cranberry streak of bitterness. But greater weight here, and better structure. Needs time - not for drinking now- but should be a beauty.
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3/11/2008 - hutch wrote: 91 Points
Red fruits and ceder dominant aromas on nose. Lots of fruit, lots of tannins, and lots of acidity on this wine. Very enjoyable, but no rush to drink. Med+ finish. Great with dinner, and a very enjoyable bottle of wine.
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2/22/2008 - Ibetian wrote: 91 Points
First bottle of two cases purchased several years ago at a good price. Dark purple. At first, bright nose of violets and red fruit, not what I expected. Over a few hours, the red fruit faded a bit, the nose closed, and notes of smoke and leather came through. It also evolved on the palate, with a tannic bite at first that faded with air and time. Overall, drinking better now than I expected. If you have several I wouldn't hesitate to pop one now to calibrate with your tastes. This probably won't peak for a few years, and I'm looking forward to tracking this wines evolution over the next several years.
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2/7/2008 - kstoddard wrote: 90 Points
Dark ruby in color. Nose of black fruit and pencil lead. Tastes of blackberries, black currant, violets, a hint of bell pepper and some nice earthiness. Well balanced with good acidity. Firm tannins. Nice finish. Needs 5 more years of bottle age. Paired exceptionally well with Duck Confit.
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2/3/2008 - Moorese wrote: 92 Points
Surprisingly open and charming. Black currant, and other dark fruits, with some woodsy notes, and enough grip to suggest a long life, but not so much as to make the bottle unpleasant. On the contrary, an agreeable Barton that needs time to develop more nuance.
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1/2/2008 - Winetex wrote: 89 Points
Well-done Bordeaux with decent structure. An above average bottle but I'm not sure these are ever going to be anything more than that. Decanted about 30 minutes and probably could have used more time to open up.
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12/26/2007 - Snookboy wrote: 92 Points
Has aged nicely but still young. Decanted for approximately 2 hours. Opened up nicely. Good fruit. Tannins nice with structure and firmness.
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12/25/2007 - jbeauprez wrote: 89 Points
This is the 4th bottle of this vintage I've drank from my cellar. I enjoyed the first two immensly but the last two have been a bit of a disappointment. I keep wanting to like it more than I do but it's just not giving much right now; and it's well beyond it's dumb phase.
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12/25/2007 - jbeauprez wrote: 85 Points
I decanted this bottle for far too long I think; it was flabby and uninteresting. decanted 8 hours prior to drinking with a good fat rib eye steak.
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12/23/2007 - Omar Khayyam wrote: flawed
winebid.com
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11/21/2007 - cjstrunk wrote: 90 Points
Tightly wound, took over an hour in a decantor to open up plus time in the glass. Once it did the wine showed beautifully. Still young give it3-4 years more to mature. Structured ut smooth and silky tannins. Cedar, a touch of menthol on the nose, dark fruits. Very well made. I will seek out more to add to my collection. Worth buying, but hold for the future.
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11/13/2007 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 88 Points
Leoville-Barton Vertical (Nook): Here's a wine that somehow *smells* tannic, but it performs well and tastes more accessible than the nose suggests. Tastes like a younger and leaner version of the 1986 with its black-fruit profile and sticky grip.
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9/15/2007 - pinotwinelover wrote: 90 Points
I think this still needs some long decanting time, but presents a obvious Bordeaux, pencil box, tobacco, and leather followed by rather large oak and heavy tannins. I have no idea if this will get better with age, because not huge fruit to carry on. Who know but nice food wine to be sure.
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7/16/2007 - bmarshall wrote: 90 Points
Very nice, but still very young. Dark ruby red, purple color. Classic Bordeaux nose of dark fruits, leather and earth. Hugely tannic and very dry on the palate... best to hold for a while longer.
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6/15/2007 - Phin wrote: 92 Points
A steal for a vintage that the press bashed in Bordeaux. I've had a few of these a year for about 4 years in a row now. This year is the time. It's drinking phenomenally. Strong, full, smooth and deep.
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4/18/2007 - Winetex wrote: 87 Points
Thought it was time to give one of these a go. Apparently not...This had quite a bit of brett on the nose and palate that fought with the immense oakiness. Very dry on this finish. Hopefully time will resolve some of these issues.
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4/16/2007 - Mick4oli wrote: 90 Points
Fine bottle, perhaps overpriced ...at least here in Montreal..paid $138 CDN
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3/13/2007 - jmd60611 wrote: 91 Points
Concentrated, very, very dry...Tannic and still very young with a bit of tightness over the 1.5 hours that we had this popped and poured. Great structure and purity with an obvious depth that was not quite showing its wild side, but incredibly tasty none the less
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12/30/2006 - cos82 wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful dark garnet color, and after swirling in the glass, a nice nose of plum, black cherry and leather. Wonderful on the palate with black currant, plum, leather and graphite. A bit of tannin to resolve and a touch of alcohol on the palate. This was quite a surprise, since the ratings on this wine are only in the good-very good range. A fine wine at a great price. Need to get some more, since I think this wine has not hit its peak and should improve and then plateau for at least ten more years.
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12/4/2006 - Spencer wrote: 90 Points
Quite young and closed down, but this has quite a bit of stuffing to it. I thought it marginally more complete and balanced than the '99, but that is splitting hairs. Try again in five years.
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12/4/2006 - ERoss wrote: 87 Points
Leoville Barton Vertical; 12/4/2006-12/5/2006 (Spencer's): More briar and spice on the nose than fruit, not showing particularly well tonight - the more recent vintages perhaps could have benefited from decanting. Still a well made wine, and good representative of the vintage.
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10/4/2006 - tsutton wrote: 88 Points
Not showing much at all. Tannic...drank over several hours and remained the same
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9/28/2006 - shemmy wrote: 87 Points
A bit flat
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9/11/2006 - bevetroppo wrote: 88 Points
No denying the breed present here, but it leaves me wanting more. Graphite, cellar floor and cassis in the nose, still somewhat closed. I don't think it's going to age indefinitely, but it will continue to improve for a while longer. It's nicely balanced and possesses a certain amount of finesse, but tastes a little hollow toward the finish when the dusty tannins take over. Overall a positive wine that will do well with food, but lacks depth.
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9/10/2006 - win wrote: 92 Points
This wine is drinking very well right now--classic nose of black currants mixed with earthy truffles, followed by very smooth consistency involving muted oak, mushrooms and mellow cassis. Incredibly deep red color. After 4 hours, tannins more refined resulting in a smoother finish.
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9/3/2006 - Moorese wrote: 94 Points
While I have 4 or 5 more of these (I think), this is the 1st 98 I've opened, and we drank it alongside the 03 Lascombes. (The LB, however, was given 4 hours to air while the Lascombes was given just one.) At first blush, the nose is unforgiving (shit, it's missing), but surprisingly for such a young LB there is ample and seamless fruit. The color is a much richer purple than the Lascombes (the LB cork is BLACK), but in truth, the wine is more elegant and balanced. (It sounds ridiculous, but side by side, the new age Margaux is the blockbuster, overly ripe culprit.) On the palate, this LB is still lush (but not overdone and sweet) with copious notes of black cherries, plums, and a whiff of tobacco leaf. With each passing minute, the finish improves. It seems as though the wine has formidable power, though it is held in reserve. I'll wait for 3-5 years on the next bottle, but if you've got a few, I'd recommend giving one a try. I did not find this to be a punishingly tannic LB at this stage. On the contrary, this wine has been one of the last week's greatest revelations. Delicious and underrated. (94)
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3/7/2006 - GreenDrazi wrote: 88 Points
Off-line Dinner with Mark Neal & Gove (Atlanta - Bone's): Fully decanted 3 hr’s and recorked. Good, intense, deep nose of black fruits and violets. Dark cassis with some violet flavors and red fruit along with ample minerality and grainy tobacco. Smooth texture on the palate throughout. Good balance with acidity, but a little austere with a faint touch of Brett on the nose.
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1/20/2006 - Barbara B wrote:
Tasted 2006-01-16, AIS
80% CS, 15% M, 5% PV & CF
Black core, ruby rim. Nose: Closed, nothing. Palate: No fruit, all minerality and drying tannins, moderate alcohol (12.5%). Not well balanced; very disappointing. Maybe it's a phase or an off bottle?
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8/12/2005 - AdamJP wrote:
Deep ruby colour, medium at the rim. Fruity aromas. Blackcurrant and plum on the palate. Small amount of sediment. Average.
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6/16/2005 - JDallas wrote:
Impenetrable red color, almost all the way through to the edges. Great nose of black fruit. Inky, very thick wine. Mouth drying tannins somewhat balanced by good fruit concentration. This seems like it would age well, but is still too young now.
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3/19/2005 - Fatty Cat wrote: 92 Points
Mid Mar 2005: dark red color; cassis, cherry, chocolate, vanilla; medium body; fruity texture.
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3/14/2005 - muttt wrote:
Dinner at Landmarc (New York City): Tight, tight, tight. As good as Landmarc is, they have crappy stems... and when I asked that this be decanted, they poured it into a carafe. Oh well.
This wine, even though clearly shut down, showed hints of what it could be as it got some air. I'm not rating it, but I expect it to be a solid bottle of wine in 4 or 5 years.
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11/18/2004 - peternelson wrote: 86 Points
Heritage: OK--lighter earth, not a lot going on.
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6/11/2004 - AdamJP wrote:
Deep ruby colour, medium at the rim. Fine fruity and vanilla aromas. Blackcurrant, plum and vanilla aromas. Small amount of sediment. Average.
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1/18/2003 - peternelson wrote: 93 Points
Red Carpet: Mushroom & wet forest, really hi note body, hotter fin.
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6/9/2001 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 90 Points
Vineyard Gate single blind tasting of five 1998 red Bordeaux, plus a ringer.
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