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1990 Château Léoville Barton |
| Vintage | 1990 |  Label 1 of 35   | |
| Type | Red | ||
| Producer | Château Léoville Barton (web) | ||
| Variety | Red Bordeaux Blend | ||
| Designation | n/a | ||
| Vineyard | n/a | ||
| Country | France | ||
| Region | Bordeaux | ||
| SubRegion | Médoc | ||
| Appellation | St. Julien |
| Community Tasting History |
Community Tasting Notes (average 92.7 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 103 notes) | |
| Tasted by Khamen on 2/5/2010 & rated 94 points: Bemused by the Caymus SS 2005 we embarked on something a little more classical for round 2 (and yes ok not fair comparing a 2005 with a 1990 so I won't. Well not much). 1 hour decant. Not showing much age at all tbh - the merest hint of bricking. Beautiful evolved nose and the kicker is the fact that the core acidity so missing in the Caymus is laid bare here. Round, expressive and earthy. Classic aromas of cedar and graphite (actually I'm not sure it is cedar and graphite, but someone coined the phrase for these things and as it's now part of the canon who am I to argue?). Complex, deep, classical and compelling nose. Attack is drying before a starburst of elegant and refined fruit with a little touch of nutmeg-attacked -by-a-nail-file. Sorry I'm going back to the Caymus SS 2005 again. That's a bouncer outside a trendy club, the L-B is a gentleman assassin. The balance here is impeccable, and it's still flashing that supporting acidity. Layered, complex finish. A beauty. I think wine Spectator heralded the 2003 as "the greates L-B ever". Guess again. Now and over the next 10-15. Enjoy it, this is special. (230 views) | |
| Tasted by Richard Jennings on 1/17/2010 & rated 94 points: 2010 K&L Fete de Bordeaux Dinner (Montrose, Leoville-Barton, Lynch-Bages) (One Market Restaurant, San Francisco, CA): Slightly bricking, very dark red violet color; deep, redolent, tobacco, tart black fruit, baked plum nose with a hint of smoke; tasty, mature, tart plum, berry, prune, tobacco, pencil lead palate; medium-plus finish (728 views) | |
| Tasted by Anonymous on 1/3/2010 & rated 90 points: The bottle and cork are in perfect shape. The nose is relatively faint but shows some wet earth and black fruit. The palate is softer than I expected. The highlight of the wine, however, is the velvet like mouthfeel. Based on prior experiences with this wine, this bottle is not the best example. The mouthfeel, however, made it enjoyable. (692 views) | |
| Tasted by wineismylife on 12/10/2009 & rated 92 points: thirsty man does Dallas (Suze in Dallas, TX): WIML92 Tasted December 10, 2009 at an offline. Garnet to dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of roses, berries, cherries and a bit of cigar box. Flavors of black berries and black cherries. Medium acidity and tannins, medium to full bodied. Drink or hold. (1071 views) | |
| Tasted by jmg1949 on 11/28/2009 & rated 94 points: (817 views) | |
| Tasted by wineismylife on 11/12/2009 & rated 92 points: mattach visit Dallas (Suze in Dallas, TX): WIML92 Tasted November 12, 2009 at an offline. Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of tobacco, smoke, pencil shavings, a bit of Kirsch, berries and light pepper notes. Later some a note of sandalwood. Solid flavors of black berries, black cherries and plums. Medium acidity, tannins and body. Drink or hold. (1258 views) | |
| Tasted by nskelsey on 9/29/2009 & rated 93 points: Notes not taken at time but was part of a meal that included the 1990, 1989 and 1988 Barton. This wine has it all, but is still very much in it's youth. Everything about it is balanced and in harmony and has one hell of a life ahead of it. Twenty years old and barely out of the starting blocks. I last tried this wine 18 months ago and it hasn't budged an inch. If anything it is more restrained. This has an impressively long life ahead of it. Wonderful wine making. (1838 views) | |
| Tasted by Khamen on 9/28/2009 & rated 94 points: A 2 hour decant for this beauty, and with no apologies the cliches are coming out in abundance. This example is a little bretty but this doesn't detract in the slightest from this extremely classy wine. A real archetype of fine mature claret - delicate but meaty nose with plenty of secondary notes of pencil-lead, earth and cigar box. This wine has balance other wines can only dream of. Sensitive, elegant and lean as a prize fighter this is a great claret by any stretch. Fruit bomb lovers need not apply, but if you want a true glimpse of that elusive beast "terroir" then look no further. Drinking beautifully now. To 2015+? (1747 views) | |
| Tasted by gk on 9/27/2009 & rated 93 points: Dark color with no sign of bricking. Nose of cedar, black currants and asian spices. On palate it has a silky entry with sweet tannins, not fully integrated but not harsh at all, cedar and black fruits. good weight and full bodied with a long finish. 93 pts, W+A suggested that I hold the last bottle for another 5 years. (1691 views) | |
| Tasted by Javachip on 9/24/2009 & rated 89 points: Lovely bouquet, offering much more fruit than 1985 Mouton tasted the same evening. Full bodied, robust, well balanced. I did notice a hint of mustiness on the palate, and a minimal rough edge, which may resolve with more cellaring, or perhaps simply with longer decanting. (1719 views) | |
| Tasted by Prez on 9/1/2009 & rated 93 points: (1428 views) | |
| Tasted by stiang on 8/16/2009 & rated 91 points: (1478 views) | |
| Tasted by Dave Canada on 8/15/2009 & rated 96 points: nose if graphite, cedar, pyrazene and such pure dak berry fruit. Palate has gorgeous black currants, cedar, cassis, wet leaf, earth and is so seemless, weightless and elegant. Finish is long and complex....quintessential bordeaux! (2003 views) | |
| Tasted by Rich S on 8/10/2009 & rated 95 points: Crimson color in the glass. Nose of graphite, forest floor, with some green notes. More graphite and earthy notes on the palate along with some beautiful cherry, cigar box and plum flavors. Medium tannins, silky mouthfeel and long lingering finish. Gorgeous aged bordeaux. (2186 views) | |
| Tasted by reichken on 7/16/2009 & rated 92 points: Rainy London BBQ- decanted for 4-5 hours before dinner. dark color still smelling of mostly dark cherries, some earth. lush and round in the mouth, medium weigt wine. very youthful, not really showing its age at all. silky tannins, long finish, it went really well with the thick T-Bones and enjoyed it very much, almost didn't notice the rain (2237 views) | |
| Tasted by Kdawg on 6/13/2009 & rated 91 points: judgment of chicago-California Cabs vs Bordeaux (Chicago IL, Ward's): nose: took a slight bit to get going as there was a slight dis-jointedness at first, but then came together well with rich tones of black currants, leather, dark cherries, and cedar taste: excellent medium/full feel with good tannins in support, but still present with rich tones of black currants, dark cherries, leather, cigar wrappers and some cedar box tones overall: this grew very well in the glass over the course of about 45 minutes. It most likely would've shown better if decanted for a bit and then poured as this was another random blind wine (2569 views) | |
| Tasted by Spencer on 6/12/2009 & rated 96 points: Another stunning bottle of this wine. Still very young, but immensely enjoyable. I think I'll let my remaining bottles sleep another five to ten years. (2513 views) | |
| Tasted by Templegrafton on 6/9/2009 & rated 90 points: Opened two bottles with rack of lamb. Bottles consistent, only slight hints of aging and great example of a mature Bordeaux from a decent vintage, earthy, leathery, tobacco - rewarded patience and opened beautifully over a couple of hours, certainly worth decanting. (2497 views) | |
| Tasted by hargy on 6/1/2009 & rated 91 points: this wine caught me completely by surprise - quite an even colour still with only a hint of brown - bouquet of coffee and chocolate and then a lovely subtle wine of sweet berries and fully intergrated tannins - delicious! - I would guess at its best - drink now or in the short term (2 to 3 years) (2599 views) | |
| Tasted by Anonymous on 5/4/2009 & rated 92 points: Poured from a 375ml. Initial nose was musty, dank, unpleasant. This blew off quickly in the glass. First taste right out of the bottle seemed all over the place. Smoothed out after an hour in the decanter and glass when the beautiful blue and dark berry fruits emerged, although not as present as I was expecting. Overall an outstanding, lively, smooth wine - but it took a while. Definitely decant, at least 1-2 hours - you will be rewarded. The acid test for me is by the time the 1/2 bottle was finished, I wanted more ! Very nice, long finish. (2754 views) | |
| Tasted by cdunn on 4/30/2009 & rated 91 points: Very characteristic of a fine aging Bordeaux. Earthy tobacco and cassis on nose, slow to open up. Lively, even a bit pungent, on the palate. Medium-bodied, forest floor, ripe dark fruit with an edge that was appealing; wonderful persistence through finish. This wine has further development ahead, but was a great pairing with the rib-eye. (2806 views) | |
| Tasted by cweiss on 4/25/2009: Russian dinner. My first taste of 6 bought as futures, and starting to develop into a nice classic Bordeaux. Plenty of structure, dark fruit still needs some coaxing, startng to develop some nice secondary bouquet. (2871 views) | |
| Tasted by Topper on 3/30/2009 & rated 92 points: I "discovered" a case of this last year hidden behind other things in the cellar. Made a vow to open one a year from 2008 on. This was the second one and, just like the first, seems to be a beautiful, fully mature, slightly soft, classic bordeaux that would be an education for anyone trying to see how a fine but not overly powerful bordeaux from a very good year can develop. Mostly secondary earth and leather flavors with a slight sharpness to the tannins that lend definition to the wine. A nice match for a less powerful meat dish such as a pork roast but might be overpowered by that sirloin. This is not blockbuster, just delicious. (3141 views) | |
| Tasted by LWI on 3/20/2009 & rated 94 points: Mouton Rothschild versus other first growths and second growths (Oslo): Slight development in color. Not much oak, lovely balance and length, fresh. Slightly exotic, not among the most concentrated. 94p Group average: 3.8 (3181 views) | |
| Tasted by jreis on 2/14/2009: Refined earth, white pepper, licorice and tobacco on the nose. Beautifully balanced grape flavors on the palate – like perfect grape jam. Elegantly and opulently textured with a precision from start to finish. My WOTN, #6 for the group. Much better than the last bottle I had! (3175 views) | |
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| Producer website
About red wine The variety Red Bordeaux Blend on CellarTracker implies any blend using any or all of the five traditional Bordeaux varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. As such, this is used worldwide, whether for wines from Bordeaux, Meritages from California and Canada, some Super-Tuscan wines etc. Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia) Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux) | Simple Bordeaux primer Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines. The seventeenth century pioneers Traces are to be found of a Saint-Julien de Rintrac, perhaps Saint-Julien's earliest name, as from the thirteenth century. But we have to wait until the seventeenth century pioneers, urban and rural aristocrats, discover the exceptional merits of these terroirs. Traces of this system still exist today in the structure of estates within the appellation: by the side of the two villages of Beychevelle and Saint-Julien, the large estates are heavily preponderant, representing more than four fifths of the total surface of vineyards. The terrain is practically identical over all the commune. Only the proximity of the estuary, sometimes close, sometimes further away, can cause slight variations in climate. In fact, Saint-Julien-Beychevelle's layer of gravel takes the form of a huge rectangle over 3 miles long and 2 miles wide. And the alluvial deposits are particularly well fragmented into ridges of Garonne gravel of the early Quaternary. Accordingly, the vines are safeguarded from stagnant water. The wines from the Saint-Julien appellation may be recognized by their unparalleled bouquet, particularly harmonious and mild. They have a fine deep colour and combine the finesse of their aromas and a solid constitution. They have body, are very rich in flavour and have a delicious and delicate bouquet. Production conditions (Decree dated November 14, 1936) In order to have the right to the Saint-Julien appellation of controlled origin, red wines must: - come from the commune of Saint-Julien and from precisely defined parcels in the communes of Cussac, and Saint-Laurent, "excluding the parcels situated on recent alluvium and sand on impermeable subsoils", - satisfy precise production conditions: grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare). |
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