April 15, 2024 - Another 2004 horizontal (Hawksmoor Guildhall): A late bonus bottle... glad we opened it. Really dry, dusky, grown-up nose. Deeply savoury on the palate, with the suggestion of cassis and truffle. Again, very dry - not eager to please, but undeniably pleasurable. My #3, the group's WOTN (again).
April 15, 2024 - Jonathan’s/Nick’s 04 Bordeaux (Hawksmoor Guildhall, London): A late entry off the subs bench under the table, so a quick decant and no more. First look at this since purchasing a. Axe on the strength of its showing at the Bibendum 05 and 04 EP tasting at Lords in 2006. Yup, money well spent. Dense ruby. Young but resolved. Served a touch warm but holding itself together nicely, some blackcurrant, sandlewood, very harmonious even after ice cream! ****
April 3, 2024 - Decanted for four hours, this is classic Bordeaux - mid-weight, fruit in a supporting role, cedar and yes oak, but where it should be, at the end, adding just a dash of spice. The palate is nuanced, each piece properly fitted to the next. It’s not a profound Bordeaux, but rather a perfectly correct one. That’s enough to make me happy.
March 25, 2024 - 2004 Bordeaux at Blacklock, City, with NLWTS (Blacklock, City): Pretty dark in the glass! Really expressive and classic cassis nose. Delicious and in a lovely place; vibrant core of sweet black fruit, all developing into some lovely tertiary notes (albeit more in the mushroom/forest floor/umami territory than classic pauillac pencil shavings/leather - best guess would be due to relatively low levels of (perceived) acidity. Lovely.
March 25, 2024 - Bordeaux 2004 20 years on Part 1 (Blacklock City): Great nose. Immediately indicative of a lovely bottle. It confounds my expectations by being more lively than the Chateau normally is, there is not a huge distance, stylistically, separating this from the Poyferré which is a bit unusual. The cool blue fruit ‘signature’ of Barton isn’t really present here but it is none the worse for that and still appears as effortless as usual. Lovely balance, smooth and delicious, and absolutely open for business in a way that many of the other wines were not. More than one person said sexy. What a great name this is, and so keenly-priced versus what you get. Whenever I have a bottle I tend to start thinking about stocking up, and this evening was no different. This placed either first or second from all seven of us, and was my WOTN.
March 25, 2024 - Jonathan's 2004 horizontal (Blacklock City): Such an underpriced wine - clearly brilliant from first sniff. Rather sweet, sexy and full-bodied (especially for a Barton), but retained its essential classicism. More red-fruited than the Poyferre, and surprisingly ripe for the vintage, but everything seemed well-integrated and the wine was drinking beautfully. My and (by far) the group's WOTN.
March 24, 2024 - 2004 Bordeaux at 20 years courtesy of Mark Taylor; 3/23/2024-3/24/2024 (Atlanta, GA): Toasty, espresso, barnyard. Mmmm, really vibrant, firm tannins, lean, focused, taut, not very generous. My #3 and the group #5. Correctly guessed as Leoville Barton.
March 14, 2024 - This opened rather weak but improved in the glass. Understated black currant and smooth toasted oak. 20 years old but just barely opening. Drink of hold. 92-93
March 5, 2024 - Tuesday Night Blind Tasting (Bin 75): Tasted blind. Black olive, green notes, a touch funky with some sweetness & oak on the finish. I thought it was Right Bank Bordeaux.
February 29, 2024 - From 375mL. Deep ruby, minimal bricking; aromatic, black currant, forest floor, some minerality, slight tobacco; palate is full bodied, smooth and integrated tannins, medium-plus acidity, balanced medium alcohol, lovely primary fruit which is well integrated; medium-plus finish. Drinking superbly and enjoyable now. 92