2014 Château Léoville Barton

Community Tasting Notes (99) Avg Score: 92.7 points

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  4/13/2024 - Shay.Aldriedge Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.
  
  Fun to do a side by side with the ‘88, and also check in against the Montelena. Profile wise, this leans ripe and modern stylistically. There is a kiss of brett that takes you to Bordeaux but it’s mostly red and black fruit driven with a vanilla pipe tobacco sweetness, leather, cassis and a little bit of a floral note, especially aromatically. Big structure for the vintage, but open for business now if you can give it a few hours in the decanter.

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  4/11/2024 - Arcturus wrote: 92 Points

  92. Rustic. Subtle notes of graphite and cassis on the nose. Palate is balanced with sweet core of fruit and a layered finish.

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  2/23/2024 - Collector1855 wrote: 88 Points

  Bordeaux 2014, 10-years on tasted blind: Hmm, the nose had a lot of prune here, some farmyard funk, rhum pot. Despite the ripeness the palate was a little thin with a bitter finish. Not my cup of tea but the group liked it better. Rank 4/15

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  2/22/2024 - Cailles wrote: 87 Points

  Bordeaux 2014 - 10 Years On - 15 Reds: Fifteen red wines (14 left bank/1 right bank). All tasted blind. The 2014 vintage turned out to be good, but not exceptional. This vintage is characterized by a cool, classic style with an impressive expression of fresh fruit. The wines were rich in blue fruit, supported by a fine mineral backbone, without succumbing to overripeness or overbearing fruitiness. Contrary to expectations, the wines were not overly austere and showed good (excellent at the top) tannin structure, contributing to a classic Bordeaux experience. However, it's important to note that while these wines have commendable qualities, they lack the complexity and, to a lesser extent, the finesse and elegance characteristic of the most celebrated vintages. Many of the wines seemed a bit simplistic. I think they are likely to peak in the early rather than mature into 30, 40, 50-year wines as I don’t think there is enough fruit. My top three were a layered, blue-fruited Ducru Beaucaillou, a strawberry-laden, purity-driven Montrose (both rated 94pts), and an elegant Pichon Lalande (93pts), foreshadowing the great things this estate has produced in vintages since. The group winner was also the Ducru.
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  TN: The wine had some fans around the table due to some brett notes combined with the typical structuredness of the winery. I was not the biggest fan as the balance was off for me with not enough fruit and a touch too much austerity and ruggedness. I'm a big fan of Barton in warmer vintages, where the strict adherence to the classic, old-school style results in fresh, never too ripe or over-the-top wines. In colder years, however, this can lead to wines that are a bit austere and lacking in fruit.
  
  Decanting: Quickly double decanted. Would have needed two hours in the decanter.

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  1/23/2024 - ledocq Likes this wine:

  2014 Bordeaux was the first futures I went in deep for, mostly in .375s with an eye toward drinking in 8-20 years. This was one of those purchases, and it is a freakin' delight. It's bold and complex and yet it has a lot of structure and reserve. Will age for a long time - it's pretty blocky right now, but so delicious it's worth cracking a bottle.

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