On opening I found this rather pinched and austere, with a bitter note on the finish, and suspected it could be a faulty bottle, but as it opened up gradually it blossomed from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. There were black fruits and liquorice, underpinned with pleasing mature tannins which melted away to leave a lingering and satisfying finish. This was linear and perfectly proportioned, with nothing unnecessarily overdone. Great winemaking. CHP 94 pts
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I think this was an imperfect bottle that may have seen some heat damage at some point. That said, it was super pleasant mature claret that got better as it was open over the course of a couple hours.
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No detailed notes. Decanted about 1 hour and consumed over another 2 or 3. Very deep, almost opaque color with aromas of crushed leaves, cassis, tobacco, plums, and graphite. Mature and nicely integrated on the palate but seemed a bit angular, without the balance I expect from this estate. Perhaps it was an off bottle, though still delicious and classic in so many ways. Purchased with five others as futures and stored in my cellar since. The was the poorest of the 5 I've drunk to date.
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A classy fully mature St. Julien from a regular bottle in a tasting with the 1994 and 1995, side-by-side. Very enticing nose of gravel, graphite, cherries and just a bit of flowers and italian leather. With that I mean very elegant leather, restrained not tending to horse or manure. Elegance is the trademark of this wine. It has very balanced acidity on the palate supporting its structure. Smooth tannins I think reveal that this wine is ready to go. I think it is at its peak. Both the 1994 and 1995 showed considerably younger. Both of them appeared not to be as elegant as the 89. The 1994 had more forward fruit, a nose of more intense leather and gravel, less cedar elegance. A very drinkable wine that can nonetheless be in the bottle for a bit longer. the 1995 appeared the less compelling of the 3, with some imbalance between its somewhat alcoholic fruit and its acidity living on two separate layers and not enough body to support either. It is a pleasant wine but somewhat (at this point) inferior to the other two. I look forward to compare again some of this wines.
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On its final glide path…. My last bottle from the vintage and still showing beautiful currant on the nose mixed with sandalwood. The fruit is soft and the core very mellow, but such a wonderful gentle glass to savor with a Saturday dinner of New York strips and fixings. Ahhhhhh!
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Classic aroma, a bit on a strict side. Pencil shavings, little amount of barnyard, dark fruit, some bell pepper maybe. Was evolving and opening up during 2 hours in decanter.
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PnP. ABV 12.5%. Clean nose if not overly expressive. Some tannins still hanging around and a bit of dark chocolate type of finish, not the most refine tannins. Plenty of tobacco notes lingering on. From the same case as previous bottle consumed one year ago, but this never showed the elegance . Back to the LB I know.
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Medium red color. Cassis and tobacco bouquet. Soft entry, it has a smooth mid-palate in a medium bodied format. Still has some light tannins in the aftertaste. Definitely mature. Decanted for 4 hours.
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J&A 28th. Began the evening with a 1995 Gloria and followed with the '95 Leoville Barton. Dramatic contrast. LB had purity of color and spectacular balance. Reddish black fruits, fine tannins, ample complexity.
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My bottle was a disappointment . I decanted it and tasted it over two. days and it never opened up. It was rich bu short, sharp and unidimensional- C’est la vin!
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Nicely matured bouquet of black cassis, lead pencil, smoke, leather, nice structure, but slightly shorter than what I expected. But very nice nonetheless. Would buy and drink again.
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12th of 18, opened 80 minutes, perfect cork and level, back on form, fruit absent in June 22 bottle has re-emerged to good effect, now on its maturity plateau, nicely layered and attractive on nose and palate, indeed quite elegant, if still showing some of the austerity of the vintage, limited upside now, 20+ years. F+ (18).
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I'm fortunate to know generous people who are willing to share their lovingly-assembled cellars, and I'm always grateful to try back vintages of this wine- which I find has a house style I can't get enough of, irrespective of vintage. This was cedary, spiced, upright and proper as one would expect from LB. Violets emerge from deep, some cherry, dark chocolate. Certainly not giving or developed in any way. Extremely smooth on the palate with a sense of juiciness.
I see drink dates on CT suggest it's reaching the end of its window but on the basis of this bottle I think it's got years ahead of it.
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Beautiful tertiary Medoc nose with underbrush, dark fruit, earthy elements and tobacco. The palate has melted tannins but still feels a bit rough. Good, but could benefit from better tannins or riper fruit, but that is the Leo Barton style of the past decades and the over-hyped 1995 vintage really.
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Good mature Bordeaux. There is good fruit here of blackcurrant and blackberry, some slight green notes and a good dose of saddle leather, with a slightly dry finish. Still relatively young, with good structure of tannin and acidity, this has plenty of life in front of it. Good length and complex.
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Coravin fun - Bordeaux (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Cedar, Autumn leaves, blackcurrant, earth tends to wet mud, aa little creamy underpin, gains a little more austerity (oddly?) with time; darker note and some blood and liquorice. Juicy, fleshy and the austerity translates to the palate which is quite savoury. Tannins are floury textured and super persistent carrying the fruit. Long. Yum.
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This bottle of totally classic aged Bordeaux opened with a deep crimson colour with red edging and a soaring nose blackcurrant, dark raspberries, dusty cedar and touches of spice and dark chocolate. The palate showed real depth of soft, pure red and black fruits leading into a savoury back palate of cedar, dark chocolate and liquorice that persisted beautifully. There's a real touch of Pall Mall club armchairs and cigars about this wine but the persistence of fresh fruits show that there's plenty of youth and purity still left in play.
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Decanted to remove sediment and opened up beautifully after 15 minutes. Exudes enticing aromas of cedar, mint, camphor, unsweetened black raspberry jam, and hints of cigar ash. Deepened and intensified with air. Medium weight in the mouth offering a delightful combination of minty red fruits, reminiscent of cough drops, and subtle hints of charcoal embers. Masculine, well-balanced and not overpowering, with the rough edges gradually eroding away.
This wine is in a very good spot and will stay there for at least another decade. Lovely showing.
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Medium bodied, with high-toned fresh fruit flavours on the palate and the characteristic cedary, lead pencil bouquet on the nose. When first released this was described as full-bodied, but approaching 30 years on it's much more an elegant middle-weight. When popped and poured the tannins are dry and the fruit slightly acidic in character, but give it an hour in a decanter and everything rounds out beautifully. Classily elegant, but not a blockbuster. It feels like it has already peaked, so on this showing it will probably need to be consumed over the next 3-5 years.
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Really good showing tonight, easily the best bottle from the case. Sweet and smooth tannins, no sign of hard tannins for lots of Bordeaux in this vintage. Smoke, pencil shavings, and oyster shells. Lively with good balance. A sense of elegance I have never experienced with LB before. Truly impressive, probably the best bottle of Leoville Barton I ever come across.
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Still deep red/purple. Opened and let breathe for 2 hours. Great nose of black and red fruits, but finding it difficult to detect much else. Drank over 2 hours. The palate was much the same with softened tannins. A very enjoyable but not great wine. I think it’s in a good place now and I’m not sure if it will improve. 1 bottle left to drink. Maybe I’ll leave it 5 years and curse I haven’t got any more.
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Vertical with 90/95/96. This felt the most ready to drink out of the three as the cedar wood and forest floor had built a beautiful backdrop for the palate staining red and black fruits. The long, sweet and savory finish extend the pleasurable experience another minute or two.
Very enjoyable to drink - I like where it is at right now.
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Decanted for 3 hours, then drank over 1 hour period. Wine is drinking beautifully, with a big earthy, dark fruit bouquet, full bodied rich fruit, Smoot tannins and long delicious finish. Everyone was raving about how smooth and delicious the wine was and asking for more.
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Bob's cellar. Opened the half bottle in the morning and recorked. In the evening decanted off a heavy sediment, and returned to the bottle. Poured. Dark ruby red, almost no evidence of bricking at all. Bright, warm and full nose, brambles, deep menthol, violets, liquorice, clean and fresh after all this time. The brambly blackberries, damsons and other dark forest fruit have mellowed together. Tasting starts with a surprisingly young wine showing bright red fruit, cracked pepper, smooth tannins and an overall brightness. Interestingly sharp, is fine but closed, its darker more earthy depths not showing yet. As it develops, the flavours are long, and tannins occasionally poke through after a while. I like this, it is a challenge of bright redcurrant and blood orange fruit at the beginning, tertiary flavours however begin to appear from the mist, leather and cedar, sweet blackberries - more like it! Unfortunately, a half bottle is too small, and goes too quickly, before it has had time to open up. Luckily there are more bottles and a couple of magnums in the cellar to go..
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Sediment well settled, some orange on the rim, centre translucent dark red. Nose full three hours after opening, age and forest notes mixing with the fruit. Medium weight in the mouth, drying quickly. Delicate and smooth. Long, lingering taste of violets. Past its best for my taste, but still enjoyable. Afternote. Kept half in a Platypus overnight. Smoother and richer, which implies I should have opened earlier yesterday. Less nose, but more fruit in the mouth. Still drying but finish now has more mature claret overtones. Lingers well.
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Decanted 3 hours before dinner. Part of a vertical of the 1995, 1998, 2000 and 2003. Moderately sedimented first time I have had this wine. Crimson color. This showed very well without any signs of fading. Earthy aromas. Notes of black tea, raw meat and plums. Firm tannins. Finished tied for 2nd in the group (3rd for me). 94 points
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This was brilliant. Decanted for about 90 minutes and then consumed over a couple of hours. Smelled wonderful immediately, but did round out with the air - and a trace of fruit eventually appeared too! Mostly tertiary, like smoky leather in a damp cave, with some truffle too. A little bit of cassis on the palate, more truffle, clean and mineral, with a delightful, refreshing twist of Seville orange towards the finish. Didn't want it to end!
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Double decanted at 9am then carried through the day to various locations in NJ before having with dinner at an excellent BYO restaurant in Flemington, NJ (Matt’s Red Rooster Grill). When decanted the nose was effusive with earthy cedar, black currant and some barnyard notes. Later it needed additional air in a decanter after which the barnyard (Brett?) faded considerably but remained a nuance throughout. One could consider it a flaw but it was in this case more of a feature. The wine showed no bricking at all, surprisingly and seems like it could least a good deal longer in a good cellar though I doubt with much improvement. The nose was pretty typical and the palate was red and black fruited, with cedar, leather, and some floral notes with a nice long finish. Silky mouthfeel. Great with a veal chop as well as seared tuna and mushroom risotto. Solid Bordeaux of the old school but not a blowout. Better with lots of air.
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I agree with recent reviews. Lovely. Still stands to paired powerful protein flavors. Won’t get better. A few more years in bottle won’t kill it, but I would recommend drinking up!
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Had this two nights ago at a dinner party. Decanted and tried over two hours. Amazing darkness of color, clear smell of pencil lead, which is the initial impression on the mouth. This is precise and has leather, dried berries and nice tannins, but is overpowered by the pencil lead. My bottle feels like it can go another decade but I doubt that will bring out more fruit flavors.
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The second time I’ve tried this wine - the two occasions over 10 years apart. Against expectations, the wine showed better in the recent tasting. Little in the way of colour change and still fruit on the palate, some tannic grip and a lovely mouthfeel. Classic nicely matured claret and worth the wait
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For Charlotte NC area Queen's Feast restaurant week at Vintage House restaurant in Hickory NC. Drinking superbly and still somewhat youthful which is a testament to a combination of winemaking / terroir, vintage and cellaring. Highly recommend. Drink or hold, definitely leaning on the drink with no further upside to additional cellaring but on the other hand no real hurry - with proper cellaring this still has years to go. Obtained this bottle recently as part of a much larger cellar contents purchase. Opened for ~ 3 hours in bottle and the 1st pour further sat in the glass a bit before consumption and this seemed about right, could also easily do a 60-90 minute decant. Slightly overshadowed by the following '97 Mondavi Napa cab handled similarly. Color and sediment showing the age - reddish purple, peripheral bricking present and heavily sedimented. Completely mature, well integrated, soft mouth feel, medium - full bodied wine, oak and tannins soft but present, fruit going strong. Overall beautiful, elegant and complex with a lovely medium length lingering aftertaste. Nose initially very barnyardy but this blew off rather quickly with aeration and swirling revealing dark fruit, coffee, black pepper and more ethereal almost floral garrigue note. Flavor profile up front classic with oak, dark stone fruit and blackberry giving way to more secondary flavors of earth. stone, graphite and leather and a smokier tobacco finish. Cork pristine when tonged out.
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Decanted for 2 hours. The bottle looked perfect, unfortunately it had a slight cork taste. Nevertheless, the wine was still drinkable. No rating, that would not be fair.
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11th of 18, opened 3 hours, perfect cork and level, for once this tasted older than it looked, the retreat of fruit flavours noted in last bottle in April 21 now in overdrive with unhelpful ash element, relieved by fine structure, balance and interesting layering, if fruit element re-emerges, upside, otherwise drink over next 5 years. A downgraded F (17.5).
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This needs a significant amount of time in the decanter. Right out of the gate is a significant amount of oak/tobacco/cedar. Two hours in decanter mellowed a bit. No real fruit to speak of. Kind of an oak monster. Good, but a tad disappointing if I’m being honest. Perhaps would be better on day 2, but didn’t have that luxury as I was in a restaurant. Cheers!
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Stored in a cold cellar since release. Lovely bouquet of black red fruits with touches of cedar and leather. Tannins resolved. Elegance and breed. Balance, length and depth. Still young. As ever classic Saint Julien. Will last.
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Coravin fun - Leoville Barton; 3/8/2022-3/15/2022 (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Slightly dusty spice, fruit tea, leather, cream a little cassis with agitation it becomes more earthy and savoury but with a brambly underpin. Juicy, lashings of wild blackcurrant up front then the fruit tea, leather and savoury notes join with the drying but quite textured tannins (which persist long). Yum
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Incredible nose is classic Saint Julien - black cherries and cassis are married with notes of graphite, cedar, earth, leather and menthol. Fruit on the palate was more lively and youthful and still gaining weight after 3 hours decanting. This wine should continue to age nicely. 93/100 with upside
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This is a very nice wine. Nose of blackberry, tiny touch of orange peel, dried cherries, menthol, and classic aged Bordeaux notes. Palate is clean, detectable oak but not overpowering. For my palate, I wouldn’t age this further. But next time I would give this a THREE hour decant as it really opened up with time.
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Decanted two hours. Classic St. Julien aroma profile of cedar planks, cassis, pencil shavings, and something on the green spectrum resembling mint. Open and engaging. Delivered in the mouth, too, with unsweetened red berries, more herbal notes, and warmed earth. Medium weight and medium/long finish. Wonderful balance of fruit, minerality, and acid. In a great spot now and will hold for quite some time.
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Final bottle from a full case purchased at auction in 2009. After 26 years, this is now at perfect peak. It's a (slightly) dusty and meaty wine with a distinctly bloody aspect, spicy and masculine, with some floral lift on the finish. The palate is well-balanced and firm, concentrated but with perfect weight (12.5% ABV), the tannins have softened but continue to provide good grip, the gravelly finish displays very good resonance and length. This should go on for quite a while, but it will not improve further. As always, true to type for vineyard, vigneron and vintage.
Drank 20+ year vertical of 1995, 2005 and 2017. 1995 was favorite of the night. Color of medium red, slightly light edges comparatively. Scents of red fruit and slight earthiness. Tastes consistent with scents, and still with lively fruit and very integrated tannins, and with slight earthiness. Starting to show age, which is good, and with plenty more years to go.
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Deep grenade on the core, not very aged. Blackcurrant, black berries, mint, black tea, quite fruity. Medium to full bodied attack, very dry, the tannic structure is a bit dusty, drying out the mouth somewhat. Fruit reemerges on the finish that is quite tart, but the sweet fruit is still there. A hint of alcohol on the end. A warm variant of this wine. 87-88
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So I’m cleaning up the wine cellar by throwing out wooden wine boxes and came upon a case with 7 bottles of this under a stack. A little disturbing that I let these fall through the cracks but thrilled I had 7 more bottles of the two cases I bought in 2010 when the chateau released another batch. Opened a 1/2 hour prior to drinking and then drank for 2 hours with dinner. It was still evolving at the end with mushroom and cigar in a earthy wine with a peppery long finish. Medium bodied and outstanding. 26 years old, older than 2 of our kids and still going strong. It’s amazing.
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We thought this was great. Perhaps not fully mature?? But drinking well now with resolved tannins all but at the end with pebbly grainy texture at the tip of the tongue. Classic left bank. Powerful and youthful dark red berry fruit on the nose and initial placement on the palate made this one stand out.
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Clean sand relatively light on its feet. Plenty of cigar and Cabernet on the nose. Nuanced and balanced. Fragrant on opening but developed a more secondary bouquet and additional subtlety with time. 2 hour decant. Beautiful after 75-90 minutes.
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Been a while I believe I took it to Christie’s with the group Was good but not great Decanted for one hr Not sure this wine will get better with more cellaring
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Perfect cork. Wine was slow oxed for 2 hrs. This btl simply never came around. Delicious but lacking ompf and content. Reading other drinkers' notes, I find reason to be a little bit envious...
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Stereo Night (Wanaka Wedge House, Queensberry, Central Otago, New Zealand): Stunning wine of density, depth and power. Old-school wine making, in that the wine emphasises terroir and fruit, but the elevate comes through in the dark smoky oak notes, which support the intensity of the fruit expression. In early-mid maturity. Absolutely no hurry on this wine, if the bottle are in this condition. Will continue to develop well. 93+
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Everything that I love in Bordeaux. Quite simply a sublime, cedary tasty bottle. A rainy June Sunday brought me the delightful news of pot roast for dinner. Down to the cellar went I. Rhine seemed rough for some reason. Today was going to be Bordeaux. But what is ready? Alas, the constant issue on cellar excursions…. Well there is was—- a few remaining bottles of 1995 from a case purchase. I would like to add the cost— $39!
Well, the cork was even, showed little saturation and pulled smoothly. The wine had a bit of cheese and first pour around 3 pm. I let it andouze until dinner at 6.
Well, it’s just a wonder. Some lovely and tasty with the pencil, cedar shaving and tart berries. Ahh. Anthony Barton you made a great wine! Drink now to 2025.
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Forest floor, wet leaves, cedar, oak, truffles, some black fruit. Mostly secondary and tertiary aromas and flavors. You can tell that its aged however there is still plenty of life yet. Opened two hours before drinking and sipped it for another two.
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From Mag, double decanted for 3h, a classic, significantly less rustic than the last 2 bottles I had, wil not improve further but some life left. However, I preferred the 2000 Gruaud Larose we matched.
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10th of 18, decanted an hour, perfect cork and level, rounder and more settled than last bottle in October 2016 and no sense of excess tannin on exit, bright and youthful rim, but just a hint of fade to the fruit and lack of concentration (it was after all a wet September if not the washout of the 94s), flavours kept lively by acidity higher than current norm, no upside but good for 10+ years. F+ (18).
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Probably didn't let the bottle stand out of the cellar for long enough but still a lovely bottle of aged LB after an hour of air in the decanter. Quite dark colour in the glass with some bricking around the edges and a very fanit whiff of age / funk which didn't affect the wine. On the palate, medium bodied with plenty of dark earthy and slightly smoky fruit. Decent length. Lovely bottle of wine that was still drinking well. I would suggest there is no further room for development and now is a great time to drink this wine.
No detailed notes. Decanted about 2 hours prior to drinking. The color was a deep, almost opaque garnet-red. The nose was classic and a bit restrained. On the palate the wine was nicely balanced and just beginning to reach maturity.
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The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are medium. There is moderate sediment in the bottle. It smells like cherry, forest floor, light toast and rose. It tastes like black currant (cassis) and cherry. The body is medium. The wine has round texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
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Stood up for 24 hours, then decanted 90 minutes. Some sediment, but not overwhelming. Not too bricky with maybe the slightest touch of brown on the rim. This continues to present like an old-style Bordeaux. Mature cedar, leather, herbs and earthy cassis on the nose. On the medium bodied palate this seems to have lost most of its richness, with a dryer finish of cassis dry earth and spices. While still elegant I believe this is just past peak and on the way down. Perhaps its bottle variation, or too long a decant - but recommend you drink up soon.
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Coravin fun - Leoville Barton and new arrivals (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Aromas of blackcurrant, earth, leather, sweet spice, cedar, polished oak, plums, toast. In the mouth the acid/tannin/flavour balance is near perfect. All carry long. Fleshy, savoury, black fruited, grainy, grippy tannins, lovely. Complete.
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This wine shows a deep crimson colour with red edging and an open nose blackcurrant, dark raspberries, dusty cedar and touches of spice and dark chocolate. The palate has real depth of fresh and pure fruit with a nice line of berry pastilles leading into a very soft and persistent finish with a fine and gentle tannic grip. There is a lovely savoury touch balancing the rich fruit in the way of a classic mature claret.
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I’ve had this wine almost two years ago and at that time it was stunning (rated 95, had three bottles in the same restaurant that night). This bottle showed less expressive, layered and less round. Still, it is a wonderful wine that is nicely in its tertiary stage but still shows enough fruit to reach a beautiful balance. This bottle was quite rustic, however, and while that’s a hallmark of the estate, it was a bit too rustic to reach the heights of the previous bottles. In addition it didn’t show as evolved and hence complex as the other bottles.
TN: Medium- expressive on the nose with lots of minerality, some earthy notes, dark fruits and a whiff of tobacco and leather. The palate shows more dimensions with blue, dark and even some hints of red fruit, minerality, herbs tobacco and leather. The precision is not overly high but good enoguh (same is true for the bouquet). The wine has still some edges, the tannins are not yet molten and the acidity was sticking out a bit. It’s fresh and light, pleasurable but without the gravitas of truly great wines. The finish has medium length and shows dark fruits and minerality.
Decanting: PnP at a restaurant. Needed just a bit of swirling in the glass and was ready to go. I guess 1 or 2 hours in the decanter could have soften the wine and improved the experience.
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Drank with Grand Puy Lacoste 1995. Lots of cedar on the nose. Lean on the palate, some strawberry fruit and leather, with dusty tannins and a long finish. More complexity and depth than GPL, and elegant. Not sure, but may need more time still to reach maturity. The structure is there. 92+
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Rather austere and surprisingly bland given its impeccable pedigree. Fruit was reserved, tannins dry and joyless. This wine was like a grumpy uncle sulking in the corner at a fun Christmas party unable to join in with the young folks dancing. For those hanging in there with hopes of some future flowering I have to predict that this one will never come out of the closet. Drink now and don’t expect much.
Opened two bottles for a tasting and there was some variation.
First bottle (89+) had slightly redder fruit, and less intense perfume. Prominent secondary notes of leather, cedar and cigar box with a lighter mouthfeel.
The secmouthful. (92) was much younger in fruit with intense perfumed dark berries, cassis and boysenberry. Accented by cedar, gravel and cigar box in the midpalate and more intensity in the finish.
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Flannery Night (Jordan's, Northbrook IL): Nose: The nose is open-knit and balanced with dark red cherries, cranberries, leather notes, currants, licorice, cedar, pencil lead, and cassis tones.
Taste: The feel is medium bodied with medium acidity and silky, medium tannins. The structure is mostly resolved and poised with dark red cherries, cranberries, leather, currants, licorice, cedar, and cassis tones.
Overall: This is lovely and well balanced. There is an open-knit quality to it that shows off good maturity. There is still some primary quality to the fruit while more secondary and tertiary notes have emerged.
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Agree completely with BOBBUBBABS description and assessment of this wine. It is indeed an uninspiring wine. It's hard to see the '95 going anywhere but maybe I should wait 20 years and hope for a miracle.
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This wine has a lovely colour with dark crimson and touches of red at the edges. The nose jumps out of the decanter with blackcurrant, dark raspberries, cedar and olives with a touch of spice and dark chocolate. The palate has real depth of fresh and pure fruit with a nice line of berry pastilles leading into a very soft and persistent finish with a final gentle tannic grip. Delicious.
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Last bottle from case bought when released. In a good spot, but this is an uninspiring wine. Color fine. Modest nose. A bit of a vegetal taste, without robust fruit (which it never had). Still long numerous ‘95 Bordeaux. Still hoping for more....
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From Coravin. Medium minus intensity aromas of clay and earth, blackberry, quite brambly, black tea, sweet and savoury spice, a touch of pepper, some charcuterie, cedar, cream. A little sour on the palate with black fruits, savoury spice and plenty of medium plus drying, grippy, floury tannins closing down the palate. Hmm.
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Decanted from magnum for a large group. Most crowd already over enjoyed the 2000 GPL Mag just prior. This wine poured much darker in color. No signs of aging on this wine after 24 years! On the nose, dark fruits, lead pencil, tobacco. To die for if a true BDX fan like myself. Taste - big Bordeaux fruit, franc and sauvignon. Tannins still mouth coating. This wine will go another 10 years if large format. One of the best Bordeaux wines ever tasted. No Cali wines would touch this at 24 yrs of age.
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Still some vigor but definitely fully mature. This is a great representation of the vintage, a little lean, powerful, sweet tannin, complex flavors. Old school and I love it. Decant 30 minutes and enjoy.
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Tremendous wine - dark, dense and earthy aromas and flavours, taut and textured tanning backbone, close to extraordinary complexity. This is fully mature, with considerable bottle age, but it will continue to develop positively for 20 more years, based on this bottle. This is still improving.
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Nice nose with ripe dark berries and interesting herbal notes. On the palate some earthy notes, leather, dark pepper, fully ripe cassis and dark cherries. Elegant body with an medium intense structure. Nice depth and a beautiful medium long finish. In my opinion a beautiful classic old-style Bordeaux. Give it a few minutes in the decanter to open up a little. Perfect to drink now but will be nice for at least another 5-10 years.
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I have owned this wine since inception and cellared at 65 degrees. It’s been a wonderful ride but recent tastings showed it to be on the decline. It’s losing depth but still has a great nose. Luckily have just one bottle left. I may purchase another just to see if it’s the cellar temp
A gorgeous, classical old-style Bordeaux. Angular and herbal upon opening, but a 90 minute decant enabled to fruit to pop out! Mature cedar, leather, and earthy cassis wafted from the glass. Deep medium-rich cassis fruit, blackberries and a bit of exotic spices. Medium-long finish that is very elegant. At or maybe just past peak - but delightful!! 93+
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Dusty, earthy nose of tea leaf, humidor, caramel-latte, leather and damp soil. The structured palate echoes the nose but also reveals cedar, graphite, beef blood and dark forest fruit. Tannines are wonderfully rounded and ripe. Medium to full-bodied, this is a gorgeous left-banker.
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Friend brought this to the Ledbury. Funny when a '95 Leoville Barton isn't one of the more exciting wines on the table and yet this was really good. Perfectly aged. Good balance of the fruit and the more secondary.
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This brings back why I love Bordeaux so much! Lovely notes of cedar, dried dark fruits, tobacco pipe and some florals, palate is quite smooth and juicy now, but I expect will continue to soften and become even more pleasurable with 5/7 more year
Perfectly pleasant, fully mature and totally integrated. Was it remarkable? No. The 96 shows more depth, nuance and style. Enjoy these in the next 3-5 years as improvement is unlikely and the wine has plateaued.
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A stylish LB, with great density and fine acidity. The fruit tends toward red rather than black. The tannins are more dusty than polished. This will continue to evolve for at least a decade, but we are squarely in the drinking window now. C’est bon!
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Red rim, dark red centre. Decanted. At its best after an hour. By five hours, fruit going. Surprisingly little nose. Beginning to dry out. Good fruit on the finish. Tannin starting to dominate. Good with beef and cheese but rather disappointing. In theory another two years. Wait and see.
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Mature Bordeaux. Soft pallet with medium fruit. Certainly fading, but passable at the moment. Some cigar box, leather, and predominatly pony barn. Sweet fruit, but clearly only holding on at the moment. Drink up.
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I can't imagine a better window through which to explore this wine. Perfect maturity with fruit quite alive and integrated. Just a hint of dusty tannins remain. Blackberry and plum fruit with hints of leather, pencil, dried herbs. Long in the finish. Decanted for 2 hours.
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Sheldon's 60th Birthday (The Bristol - Chicago IL): Small glass, brief note. Charming aromas of robust black fruit, but disjointed palate I did not enjoy. Too much new oak, too much acidity, and also too tannic for the level of fruit.
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Certainly ready to drink, it is forward for the year, and the estate in general. The nose is its best feature and is wonderfully deep with blackcurrant, ripe plum, and old leather, and could easily be mistaken for a wine 10 years older. The palate has excellent balance and is a classic old school mature Bordeaux. It is not particularly complex, and the finish is on the short side with some bitterness towards the end. However, this is a highly enjoyable wine and ready to drink with only a short time in the decanter needed.
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Full throttle StJ. Decant the sediment and it’s ready to go. This has a great savory note that I find quintessential in St J. IMO 1995 has been a year of mixed success in Medoc, but this is clearly a success story. Enjoy!
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Business event, no formal notes. This wine is in such a perfect place right now. It's fresh with lots of cool dark fruit. Well aged with round and silky tannins and no hard edges. Some tobacco and leather scents to complement the bouquet. Yes, it is not the most complex wine, it’s not THE cerebral wine experience but the structure, the precision and the freshness are impeccable and the balance is superb. We opened bottle after bottle after bottle. I want more.
Decanting: Needed just 10 minutes in the decanter to blossom and to completely blow off a murky cellar smell.
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Coravin fun with Mats & Fredrik part two (Kennards, Waterloo): From Coravin. Dense, aged black berry over blackcurrant, leather, a little closed in fact, cedar, coffee spice. Juicy, fleshy, fruity but with plenty of tannic burr long. Really very good and in a great spot. Yumptious
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Another example of how well made “traditional Bordeaux wines age so well. Just the least hint of brick in this 23 year old wine. Classic Bordeaux nose of leather, graphite and still some dark fruit. Incredibly smooth in the mouth with leather, graphite, a bit of green herbs and dark fruit. Tannins smooth, fruit still present. Will not improve, but certainly not over the hill. Considering the I initial investment and current prices for Bordeaux, a treasure.
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Colour still youthful, Lovely lead pencil/cedary St Julien nose, fruit on the palate has lovely texture but tannins quite firm, not sure these will ever fully integrate. A delicious classic claret but outshone by the 2000 served alongside it which had much more convincing ripeness when it came to the tannins.
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Stood up for a couple of days. 3-hr decant. A small sip shows a tightly-wound, brooding, big-shouldered wine. With dinner (beef wellington, potato gratin with emmentaler, and flat green beans)and in a bigger glass it comes together very nicely. Still remarkably fresh, with full aromatics, and a full but refreshing feel on the palate. Good tannins with some velvet.
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Very dense and proper claret. Still youthful with a fine line of acidity to keep to fresh. This is drinking well with a decant and I am surprised at how young this tastes.
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In same flight as 95 Pichon LaLande. More fruit than Pichon. Group thought it was California style. Chocolate, cigar box, more elegant than Pichon. Wine is terrific.
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Really stupendous. My buddy decanted this about 2-3 hours prior to serving and it showed great body and fruit and was glorious at least another 3 hours. Seems this is in its prime!
Die Hoffnugnn stirbt zuletzt - die Hoffnung das es an der Flasche lag. Hier ist außer bitteren Tanninen und harter, schroffer Säure wirklich nichts mehr zu holen. Schade!
First from OWC purchased on release from then in NYC Sokolin wine merchant. Cork barely stained on the bottom, yet faint smell of cork (taint?) in the wine from beginning to end. Open an hour before tasting, the wine was one dimensional to start, but became more robust over several hours in a decanter. Uninspiring, as our experience with the 1995 bordeaux vintage usually is.
1995 Bordeaux / Cali Cabernet Tasting (Casa de la Mata): Served blind in a 95 Cali/Bdx tasting. Fairly primary and un-evolved nose of plums with notions of herb and tobacco. Tighter with good concentration and still-firm tannins. With time this started to reveal more and flesh out. And according to others at the tasting, it was firing on all cylinders later in the evening. My #4, Group #2 in the flight. Needs even more time.
Upon opening very good core of dark fruit with mature notes in abundance. I decanted and then the wine seemed to close down. After a few hours it became better but never seemed to completely recover. I would not decant this.
I should have kept this in the cellar and opened the 1996 instead. This 1995 was very closed and unrewarding upon opening, even worse after an hour in the decanter (to a point where my wife insisted that it was flawed), and only started to open up after three hours of aeration. After three hours it offered shy aromas of dark flowers, dark fruit, cedar, tobacco, spices, clove and a hint of chocolate. On the palate, the wine now showed red and dark fruit, cherry, blackberry, black currant, spices and tobacco, with good acidity, smooth tannin, a good, full and smooth mouthfeel and very good length of the slightly drying finish. The wine opened-up over night, to also reveal a clean black currant aroma, graphite and a very mild vegetal note on the nose. On the palate, the wine had become fruity, now with graphite and a very mild vegetal note, but less full, and the backend was a little thin. The wine still lacked harmony, and the same was true on day three. As many 1995s, this wine needs more time to unfold and I would start drinking from 2025.That said, I am not fully convinced that this Léoville-Barton will ever truly shine. 89+(?) for now.
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A classic, mature Left Bank Bordeaux. Complex nose with blackcurrants, tobacco leafs, cocoa powder, mushrooms, smoke and hints of mint. Silky and elegant on the palate (only 12.5 % ABV) with all elements at the right place. A wine like a discreete gentleman. No need to hurry.
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Beautiful nose with fruit and several layers of secondary notes. Seems a little out of kilter. medium body with fruit fading a bit and persistent moderate to strong tannins which persist on the finish. Perhaps past it's prime.
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This has come so far it’s amazing. PnP. Mushroom, herbs, earth, currants. Silky smooth, medium bodied, strong finish. Did worry a couple of years ago but it’s come together perfectly. And we have another case!
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Very impressive, it unwinds subtly showing nuance and grace, with a little pyrazine greenness adding to the complexity, it richly rewards time in the glass and will reward more cellar time even more.
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Frenchies at St. Gen (St. Genevieve, Mpls, MN): Very dark red/purple color. Decanted for 5 hours; drank 1 glass over 90 minutes. Drank next to a '95 Poyferre. Lots of cassis and dark berry fruit on the nose, graphite, wood spice, and plenty of earthiness. The palate is more open than the Poyferre, likely the decant time here; very pretty fruit on the palate, cassis, raspberry, graphite, dried earth, dried spice, medium plus body, good length. Typical '95 tannins with some grip. My preference tonight, by a bit.
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Vintage Bordeaux out of OWC tasting (Wine Watch, Fort Lauderdale, Florida): An overall solid performer in the tasting. Creme de cassis, a touch of kirsch, cigar box, cedar, and chocolate were all evident on the nose. A nice balance of red and dark fruits, there is nice elegance on the palate. Tannins were nicely balanced, and not showing the harshness of some other wines from 1995. There was still a nice tannic grip, and a lovely finish that lingered with a nice sweetness. There's no rush to drink this, as there was lots of life left in this bottle.
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A very nice btl of classic mature BDX. The remaining structure needs to further resolve. if possible, for my liking. Based on the btls I've had to date I continue to prefer '96 BDX to '95 for overall balance. Both vintages seem to be in their earlier drinking windows for more classically styled producers like this.
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Tasted blind alongside Ducru and Las Cases. The most ready of the three. Surprising amount of fruit here, but after 40 minutes in the glass the dried herbs took over. At peak now and drink up over the next 2-3 years.
Nose: Cassis, Blackberry, Cedar, Leather, and burly Barton tobacco notes. Classic nose. Palate: Moderate in weight showing good black fruit notes and nicely nuanced complexity of leather, capsicum, sweet earth and dried berries. Just a touch of asphalt minerality. Finish: Good length still and fresh red/black fruit notes. Great tartness to keep the wine fresh with good acidity.
Much better than a bottle tasted earlier this year that seemed to be thinning out, and losing fruit rapidly. Well stored bottles are not to be worried about here.
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I was pleased with this bottle right from opening. It had such a great mouthfeel, fine tannins, and just the right balance of earthiness and black currants. Nothing was overly prominent, and the finish was marvelously extended. Went perfectly with both rillettes and rack of lamb.
Deep colour, no watering. Subdued nose, good red berry flavours, but weak in the mid-palate. Julia detected acetone, but I did not. I wondered about mild TCA, but half a dozen bottles from the same case in 2012 were very similar, so I conclude that this is simply no more than a moderately good wine for its class and reputation. 1995 has been a consistently disappointing red bordeaux vintage for me.
Cork pulled, one hour of air and no decant. Straight there with a lovely taste of dark fruit - very silky with and a long long finish. No hint of too much age - plenty left in this wine so happy to sit on my last one for a while.
From a magnum. Upon opening - lovely blackcurrant aroma. At first still tannic but after 45mins really softened and resolved, then became more pleasurable with every sip for the next 3 hours. Not as distinct as the 99 or 96 but very pleasurable indeed. By the next day the couple of glasses that were left were not nearly as good - had started to taste a bit oxidised.
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Blind konnte der Leoville-Barton 1995 wieder voll überzeugen. Für mich in einer Liga wie der HB 1995, wirklich eine Spur gefälliger und geschmeidiger zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt, typisch Bordeaux. 94
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From memory. We tasted 85/94/95/01 and this one was definitely the tightest of them. Perhaps also the most acidic. Some evolevement on the nose. Palate mostly cherries and red berries. Bit lean. 91
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Blind 1995 Bordeaux at Table, Donkey and Stick (Chicago, IL): Served blind in flights of 1995 Bordeaux. Charred oak on the nose, this came across as a bit flashy. Black fruit, and very dense, this wasn't a particularly nuanced wine. At the end of the day, I did feel as if this had enough earthiness that left bank was still a good guess.
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Vibrant, cherry color. Dominant taste of tomato leaf, with some sweetness of black cherry coming in the end. Vegetative flavor hints of cab franc, though believe this blend has none. Cedar, leather, aged cab flavor. Prefer a younger, fruit driven profile. Drink up.
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PnP. Nice nose, floral and clean. Pencil shavings, sour plums, and burnt cigar. Probably the best bottle from an EP case. Acidity has subsided. Good complexity and length. Enter the prime drinking window now and should last for years. Good bottle. Sipping this while listening to Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty", one of my favorite album.
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From Mag, 3hr decant, perfect cork, took some more time to really open up in the glass but then beautifull expression of a classic st.julien. Has definitely live ahead, tasted blind we would have guessed a 2001 or 2004.
Was tight and closed upon opening, but after 1.5 -2 hrs of decanting, it opened nicely, and was well balanced and even a bit feminine in character. Notes of graphite and cedar, with a very dark fruit profile and some good complexity. Drinking very nicely after proper aeration.
What a let down. This wine has somehow gotten very expensive for a wine that doesn't really justify it. Muted nose for 2+ hours. Very tannic for 2+ hours. If you plan on drinking it soon...decant, decant, decant.
Graphite, black fruits, distant hints of tobacco; smooth, intense, extended, still somewhat tannic and limited fruit, but nevertheless balanced and lovely
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Leoville Barton at Gordon's (Gordons Waltham): color garnet and showing some age on edges. nose has a medicinal earthy stewed vegetable quality. made me wonder about provenance. swishing reveals stern tannin and fading fruit. sipping the same. maybe not a perfect example, but if so would drink up.
This bottle seemed like it did not have the stuffing to handle the oak treatment. It did have charm, but seemed like a departure from the strapping Barton style. I have had better bottles of this.
perfect. The cab sauv, merlot, petit verdot, cab franc blend is very integrated. Tannins are resolved but enough acidity to keep the wine lively. This wine could not be better.
Had this with the 1995 LLC and this lost by a point but still a great wine. Showed more prominent vanilla and also nice black fruit and earthy notes. Drinking well.
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Coravin fun - Leoville Barton trial run (Kennards, Waterloo): From Coravin. Medium minus intensity nose, soft and creamy. Even with agitation not giving much on the nose...with time more leathery and sweet cherry. In the mouth it's juicy with muted cherry and chalky tannins. Finishes with some white pepper notes.
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Decanted and tasted with the 1996, 10th bottle of a case of 12 and the last 2 have been disappointing. All very classic, but the hard tannins and edges of 1995 are still there and I suspect the fruit is beginning to lose the battle. the 1996 was softer with more fruit and classic cedary maturity. I have had other 95s that are also losing fruit but holding tannin structure, so my bet would be drink sooner rather than later as I cant see it improving from here. Needs food.
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Dark garnet turning violet at the rim with a transparent outer rim before a reflective edge. The nose gives off fumes of dark espresso, scorched earth, dark berries. The body is medium to full, dry, and intensely crafted. Flavors of blackberry, black tea, espresso, tobacco, iron filings, and graphite form the core of this built-to-last offering. Finishes with a hint of menthol. Drink now until 2025.
8th and 9th of 18, pnp, apparently perfect level and cork, though first bottle CORKED, slightly fresher and more cassis than my May 15 note, now properly on plateau of maturity, usual weight mid palate with (slight) question over exit dry tannin and attenuation. F+ (18).
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Opened 1 hour prior to drinking. Perfect Bordeaux nose, barnyard, mushroom. Perfectly integrated, medium bodied, elegant. Classic wine 21 years later. Should last for a decade.
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Very good bottle in a nice drinking phase. Fruit still showing, plenty of evolved notes (cigar box, cedar), nice concentration and mouthfeel. Quite persistent.
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Drank undecanted and have notes/thoughts that are similar to many of the other recent reviews. I found this to be a touch softer than most Left Bank wines this age with some very pleasant notes of baking spices, light cigar box framing some sweet tannins and nice acidity. Color was, as you'd expect, a medium garnet but despite very little bricking, I think this is a 5yr wine at this point, 10 years tops. Despite the tannins, the fruit structure is just too soft, so I'd enjoy this in fairly short order. A terrific wine for someone who wants to try and older Bordeaux at a reasonable price.
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wine showed it age but in a good way, balanced, complex, medium bodied but light on its taste, drank with steak, probably will not have another chance to taste again.
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Tasted after the 2000 Grand-Puy-Lacoste, this was also showing really well - a bit more restrained, but still open and expressive. More tannic grip, maybe a little less vibrant, still superbly well balanced. Drink or keep. 91-93
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A little closed still even after an hour's decant. Dusty nose and palate a little flat and tight. Finally opened up through the evening to reveal and lushness that bodes well for its future
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Decanted and served. Decanting helps here. Classic claret , light spice, light herbs, light earth, black fruits, tobacco.still vibrant and a good albeit at time light badlynripe fruit core. Medium bodied and pretty enjoyable. A good 91
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I am grateful for the reviews that encouraged me to open a bottle of this wine. I still have a 1986 that I am saving. I bought and stored this bottle since release and the ullage was still at mid neck. Wonderful mature bordeaux...cedar, smooth tannin, ample fruit and leather integrated with a lingering finish. I agree with the recent reviews...this wine is at its peak...it will likely stay there for quite some time, but it will be difficult not to drink my last few bottles. This wine is the epitome of old style bordeaux and drinking beautifully at age 21. In contrast to Diane (Li), I would actually rate this higher than the 1995 Grand Puy Lacoste in terms of depth and fruit. A pleasant surprise, given other vintages of LB can be difficult to appreciate at times.
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Requires decanting like the classic claret of the 90s this wine is.the Barton philosophy of making a lighter style of wine definitely helped in avoiding the 1995 pitfalls of dry edges and a bit of green tannin we usually come across in this at the time celebrated vintage. This is as classic as it gets, light spice, earthy, blackcurrants, light cedar and a bit herbal. Well round and soft on the tannin, decent fruit. Was a bit short on the finish and we would have liked some more depth but we thoroughly enjoyed this. 91
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Decanted and poured immediately. Red tinged edges. Typical aged Bordeaux aromatics of cedar, black fruits, tobacco, earth. Attractive, without blowing you away. Medium bodied. Well resolved now. Finishes with decent length. On this showing, no need to wait further.
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It started out hard but air brought out the aromatics and then the palate softened and showed beautiful dark cherries. I am hoping time will bring out more complexity. Compared to the 1995 Grand Puy Lacoste we had recently,this one takes a back seat, but it is still a lovely wine.
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Decanted for 1/2 hour before drinking. Deep purple color with slight bricking around edges. Earth, barnyard notes predominating. Well integrated tannins, good finish, medium bodied. Everything I look for in an aged claret. Should plateau for a few years?
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Poured from a 375 with about 3 hours to breathe and open up. Aromas are somewhat closed but there are tones of cedar, brush, cassis and faint incense. On the palate the tannins are dusty. The flavor profile includes cedar, tobacco, blackberries, savory herbs, and charcoal. The fruit takes a back seat to the other flavors. The finish ends somewhat abruptly and dried out. Far less tannic than the 1995 Pavie Macquin we have consumed, this is unlikely to improve. A fine claret but nothing spectacular.
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Jordprega duft med litt solbær, noe lakris som forsvinner, litt pepper. Veldig harmonisk, også i munnen. Rund og god munnfølelse, med fine tanniner. Rik og kompleks munnfølelse hvor smakene har smeltet sammen i en høyere enhet. Fullmoden. Preg av lær, litt anis og modne plommer i ettersmaken. Sitter lenge i. Nydelig, rett og slett. Perfekt match til entrecote med bearnaise. På tross av at tanninene nesten ikke kjennes, er de der og skjærer rett gjennom fettet i munnen.
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Popped and poured. This is a medium red wine with some modest sediment in the final glass. On the nose, I get woods, some slight barnyard, and some assorted stones/rocks. In the mouth, this is crisp and structured, although there is not as much fruit as I would like. Overall, this is classic aged claret in the Leo B. style. I don’t see a benefit in waiting further, so drink up. 92 points.
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Gorgeous wine at its prime stage. Just right timing where the sun and the soil meet and displays a oneness that I appreciate most in a classic wine. Beautiful nose of wet earth, leather, lavender, in a mature fruitful body just starting to lose its gripping tannin. The texture is just transparent yet lush, the taste is silky yet profound. Gorgeous.
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Gorgeous nose of sweet dark fruit, forest floor, oak, smoke and spice box. Multidimensional, complex. Medium/full bodied. Tannins resolving/just a tad remaining. Balanced. Long finish. Very enjoyable.
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Color of dark cherry, vibrant, with no sign of bricking. Fragrant aroma of aged cedar, tobacco and tomato leaf, evolving further into perfumed aromatics of balsa wood and crushed spices. Reminds of a mature Barolo. Aged fruit -- neither lush nor overtly sweet -- is balanced by an overall acidity, wit a hint of tannins in the finish. The taste lingers mostly on the tip of the tongue, adding to the overall structured and somewhat lean feel. Drink now.
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savory, tobacco notes on a core of red fruit. not many signs of aging. Smooth, medium bodied and seems quite far from being over the hill at 20 years. delish.
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Decanted. Sound cork and 1/2 neck fill. Medium-dark ruby. Medium body/weight. Classic Barton; well structured with plenty of round, deep fruit and acidity to add freshness. Unforgiving on opening the bottle but opened very gradually in the decanter over 2 hours (needed 60+ minutes to start to show itself). Enjoyed it, but doesn't appear to be on a down curve as of yet; I'd suggest a long decent or give it more cellar time. Much less evolved than the '85 I had the evening before.
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La Fête du Bordeaux (Park Hyatt, Chicago): Dark rosewood, with the faintest hint of bricking. A restrained nose, though deep inhalation reveals sandalwood and ash notes. The palate is juicy upfront, with the red fruit flavors quickly overtaken by strict tannins, persisting through the long finish. Consistent with the bottle I tasted in September of last year, this needs more time to mature and should see its 30th birthday in good condition.
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Clean and floral, quite good on the nose. Still slightly high in acidity, grainy tannins, dry mid-palate, could use more time. Decent showing and fairly promising. No hint of alcohol. Cigar box, oyster shell, faint level of oak, well integrated. Food wine rather than on its own due to the acidity level. But this bottle shows some hope for further development and improvement. Should last another 10 years with ease.
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Pristine bottle, level into neck. Compared to previous experiences, this is a quite charming rendition of the 1995 Barton. The nose is very chalky, deep and completely classical but not very inviting; the palate is slender, again very classical but relatively supple, fresh and lively, medium weight; flavoursome and long. Fully mature, no reason to keep this much longer, even though it will.
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On our 20th wedding anniversary, we opened this 20-year-old Bordeaux to celebrate. Double-decanted; light-to-moderate sediment; both fill and cork were excellent. Took this to a restaurant for dinner and failed to make notes that night. Second day: A faint hint of browning around the edges of a nice ruby color. Nose of dark fruit and a trace of cedar. Bold fruit--plums perhaps--on the palate, well balanced by the acids. Lengthy finish with smooth tannins. Probably will not improve in future years, but I can imagine enjoying my remaining 11 bottles over the next 10 years.
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It's very young tho it's already 20 years of age. The colour is ruby red and the rim is tight. At nose, hint of cedar and a bit of earthiness and smokiness right opened. After decanting for an hour more fruits comes out, both red and black. On palate it's fruity with significant but not overwhelming acidity. Tannin is a bit rough but quickly balanced by its acidity. Noticeable alcohol makes the wine less smooth. The structure is firm and the finish is long (around 30s). This wine will improve by cellaring.
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Showed remarkably well for a '95, especially as this was just popped and poured at the table. Very savoury, with a core of rich black currants and other dark berried fruit framed by lots of cedar, graphite, tobacco and slightly bitter earthy elements. Powerful and still a touch tannic, but showing a lot of complexity with air, and a great match with the duck.
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Lovely complex compote of red Fruits and bramble on the nose, sandalwood, pepper, tobacco, minerals; smooth palate, great concentration, lovely silky weight. Deep note of liquorice, stony minerality. Excellent.
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7th of 18, perfect fill and cork, decanted 90 minutes, previous notes fine or better - deep, bright garnet, scarcely any development; initially very primary blackcurrant around iron core, slightly dusty and earthy fruit, tended to mulberry in the glass after 2 hours; medium bodied, good length, expressive mid palate but showing trace of attenuation at end and slightly over acid making it refreshing but not quite rich enough to carry it (just a sense of too much under-ripe fruit in cuvee - a bit of a miracle vintage after September storms after all!). Benefit of doubt fine plus (18/20).
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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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A private dinner at a friend's: The 1995 is a classic, masculine and structured Barton, tannic and quite bloody, but this bottle has more soft ripe fruit and more succulence than the difficult and austere one tasted in December 2014. I think this is now fully mature, but I find it difficult to predict how time will treat this wine in the next two decades. There is not a lot of flesh, so it may go from muscular to sinewy to skeletal. But if the (recently tasted) Las Cases 1975 is anything to go by, it may also find a balance and wisdom that it did not have before.
Dull red, rim still red and black centre. Solid settlement in bottle. Lovely blackcurrant nose, tannic finish emerging. Beginning to dry out, but lovely lingering fruit overrides it. Great value, peaking around the 15 year point, although will go on to more delicate enjoyment for another 15.
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Tom's Bday dinner: next to 95's : Insignia, Pichon Baron, Comtesse Baron. First bottle was only OK but at end we had another one, which was much better. probably peak drinking now. Still great color, great medium nose and on palate just a good bordeaux. it always amazes that after 20 years something can still look and taste young. Comtesse won the night.
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Good nose, cool, complex and mineral, a little bloody iron. Very complex actually; lovely fruit on the palate and good structure, tannins still noticeable but not in a bad way. Good refreshment, very good indeed. Lovely.
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Triple Birthday Dinner (Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand): Tasted just after the stunning Craggy Range Sophia 2007, this beautiful wine shared similarities in terms of its gorgeous fruit ripeness (allowing for the difference in cepage). Distinctly leaner than the CR and obviouly echt-Bordeaux in style, this is a true vin-de-garde which (to my tastes) is only just coming into maturity. Very vibrant in the mouth, very structured. Some wonderful tertiary nuances of fall foliage and cedar bring lovely resonance to the proceedings. During the course of the evening this wine opened in wonderful ways and expressed itself to a deeper level than the (also outstanding ) CR - even though both wines were within a whisker of each other in terms of ultimate quality. Drinking now - 2035, based on tonight's showing - hard to imagine this is already 20 years of age.
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Belle couleur rubis avec ocelle brique. Moyennement brillant. Assez lourd. Très joli nez de fruits noirs (cassis) et de violette. Joli boisé vanillé très intégré. Fond de cendre avec pointe de bois de cèdre, d'eucalyptus et de thym. Très belle minéralité. Attaque ronde et tapissante sur les fruits rouges et noirs. Fond minéral, réglissé et légèrement herbacé. Milieu de bouche un tout petit peu court, mais beaucoup de fraicheur ! Grande et belle finale sur les fruits et quelques aromes empyreumatiques modérés. Très jolis tanins gourmands et belle acidité résiduelle. Vin d'une extrême jeunesse n'ayant pas pris une ride. Intégration et équilibre parfait. Un Barton irréprochable comme ce château en produit depuis la nuit des temps.
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Good but disappointing, not the usual flair that Léoville-Barton normally has. I've read that others are waiting for it to come together better but after 20 years I just don't see that happening.
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We really enjoyed this tonight. Graphite, mineral, focused, linear, if a bit dusty. Prominent but integrated oak, black fruit. Good balance and structure, silky tannins. Will show more complexity with age, but i don't think I will enjoy it more. Showed best after 2-3 hours in decanter.
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From Mag, 30min decant, dark & masculine compared to the Smith Haut Lafite 98 we drank in parallel, earthy notes, tannins already well integrated but no signs of aging...
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Pristine bottle, perfect level (into neck), label and cork (no seepage whatsoever). A very classic and masculine Saint-Julien profile, earth, spice and blackcurrants on the nose; quite lean and tannic on the palate, bursting with mineral energy, but there seems to be little stuffing, austere; very good length. A powerful wine, but when is it going to come together? Nineteen years do not seem to have been enough?
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Dinner at Park Palace with the IT guys (Park Palace): A mistake that we had this after all the very nice mellow wines preceding it. Earthly, dark-fruited nose... But on the palate, this came across as lean and tannic, with some indian-ink. Austere's the word. Needs a lot more time in bottle.
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this wine keeps surprising me. 1995 comes out as a vintage with many too austere wines, possibly not fully ready yet despite near 20 years of age. but this Leo Barton has a great fruity background that combines really well with its tannins making it incredibly well balanced. The nose carries is all about violet. After one day, Leo B 95 gets better with chocolate notes as well. great wine and great value.
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Red fruit driven nose, this a rounder style for the vintage on approach, less structured and softer, black fruit predominant, but the core is still tight and only started to open up after a few hours. This underperformed, but I think it just needs a bit more time.
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Another winner from Leoville Barton. Took very little time to open up. Lots of dark fruit here, with notes of tobacco and leather. Nose was very typical St. Julien. Not quite as structured as the 96, but more so than the 94. Less funk than the 96 has as well. The fruit continued to concentrate over the ensuing 4 hours. Long finish with soft tannins. This is a wine in its prime drinking window, but should continue to drink well for several years.
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Immediately after opening: Nice fruit. Round and soft. Open. One hour later, after decanting: The fruit is less upfront. It becomes more complex. Obviously, it will become better with more aging. The tannin's still need to melt further. Still, with lamb, it already is a great, complex, fruity wine. With time, air, it becomes fuller, broader. Surely a sign that it will improve.
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Popped and poured, this had a nose of potpourri and acetone, with a tight, tart palate. With a few hours of decanting, the nose evolves a rich aroma of cherry compote. The palate echoes this with a bold, fruity profile. Despite 20 years in the bottle, this remains mostly primary. Three hours of aeration did not soften the still grippy tannins. If the 1985 Léoville Barton is an indication, there are manifold wonderful dimensions of this wine waiting to reveal themselves over the next decade. Would expect my comparatively modest score to trend upwards over time.
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wow! this is now a taste explosion! eventually the tannins have softened and the blackberry fruit flavour is singing out with all the complexity that you would want from a great left bank wine. great weight on the wine , fantastic viscosity and a flavour that goes on and on. top stuff! 95 might be unfair!
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Just outstanding. Wonderful nose, plenty of fruit balanced with tannins. Graphite, some leather, some dirt. Nice long finish. Plenty of life ahead, wish I had more.
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R&D slipped one into Saturday's tasting which ended up being flawed so they stood one up so that we could try it, having only two in our cellar. Popped & poured, this had a light meniscus but deep crimson core. The bouquet featured aromas of black currants and plum with earthy/funky undertones. Plum, red berry and forest floor tones on the palate. Integrated and balanced, on the light side of medium-bodied; almost feminine on the palate. With time in the glass, aromas of saddle leather and dried tobacco emerged. An feminine, elegant vintage, much softer and lighter than I expected. Really a wine for a meal. Based on this bottle, I do not see too much improvement, rather, a long window of terrific drinking. Drink now-2020 with a meal.
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Another great showing for LB. Started off with some funk but that blew off fast and opened up to that prefect balance between secondary and primary profiles that I have come to love with 1995!
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There's a lot fruit left here. The fruit is red- and blue-toned with marks of cassis, perhaps a bit polished a well. Classic notes of cedar and tobacco, lacks a bit character perhaps. All in a good Leoville, perfectly enjoyable now and many years ahead, maybe with even more to come.
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Good, but nothing great. Black fruit, some cedar notes, smooth sides. To me, shows a leanness typical of ‘95, especially compared with the fuller ‘96 Barton that has more material, more heft. Rothmann's with Vinotas, the Wilfords and Roy H.
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This is a real worry. Hopefully it is a one off but this is definitely past it. Clear signs of oxidation on the nose and the palate. As feared (if not a one off) the fruit was not strong enough to outlast the tannins.
Similar to other notes: decanted a mag for 2 hours, reticent nose of cedar, tobacco & cassis; medium bodied, supple, balanced palate with a hint of lose-grained tannin on the finish. Nice now, might improve a bit but I can't see how this could become earth moving.
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375. Beautiful nose of cedar and earth in the decanter but markedly less pronounced in the glass. Dark fruit. Not the most complex but on balance, the classicism makes it enjoyable. The palate borders on austere at first but fleshes out nicely with a couple hours in decanter. Definite resemblance to the '98... and both are still young.
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The tannins are beginning to soften here and the fruit is holding up. There is just an outside possibility that the fruit may win! I hope so, there is a gem of a wine in there somewhere!
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Decanted and poured immediately, which was, with hindsight a mistake. Initially closed and surprisingly tannic. Opened out beautifully over the course of an hour, although still with those grippy tannins. Sweet with a medium finish. No hurry at all to drink up and may get even better if those tannins fade
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Best showing from a case bought during EP so far. Maybe tasting alongside a so-so L'arrosee 96' has something to do with it. Acidity seems to have settled down, shows good balance and length. Fairly enjoyable. LB usually is good value but I have never come across any exciting bottle unlike LLC. 91- 93 pts.
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Red rim, full blackcurrant nose and balanced mouthful. Tannic finish. Robust now, but will it thin. Dries the, teeth, but aftertaste I,s currants. Lovely. Robust with food.
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Young. Black current, plum, cedar, graphite, minerals - classic left bank. Great concentration and line across the palate. Tannins are slightly dusty and provide excellent grip to the finish, but there are signs they are resolving. Serious stuff here and still pretty tight. No funk in this bottle. This was consumed after a 1 hour decant (over about 2 hours) - in hindsight, probably not long enough. Let this sleep for another 7-10 years.
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Three hour decant and paired with grilled strip steaks. Classic Bordeaux in its prime drinking window. Big and ripe with lots of juicy fruit and a touch of classic left bank panache. I am sure this has at least ten years left, but I will not hesitate to keep opening these. In a single word: "very good but not phenomenal".
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LB delivers again, and this one should be in its optimal drinking window. Clear ruby red with slight browning near the rim. Nose is seductive, with graphite, red fruits, coffee, creamy cassis and floral. Very round, silky on the palate, with savory notes of plum juice, tobacco, red cherry, the secondary nuances have developed nicely. Medium bodied, tannins are very fine, soft and smooth, adding just a right touch to the structure. Excellent finish with length, dried fruits, smoke and wood. What a nice bottle.
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enjoyed out of styrofoam cup, ha! big juicy core of red fruit, with pencil shavings and forrest floor. there was a tiny bit of astringency that i think will go away with some more time drink now through 2023...
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Drank over the course of 3 hours. Cork broke off in the bottle. There was some kind of funk around the edge the entire time so I think this bottle was defective.
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Translucent ox-blood colour. Nose of damp loam, wet hay, blackcurrant pastilles. Palate is slightly sharp but very nice middle-aged classic St. Julien…..cedar, earth, pine needles, damp cedar woods undergrowth, white mushrooms. Most of the fruit has faded. Middleweight and slightly dilute. Not much length. Pleasant Englishmen's claret but not memorable. This was a gift from a friend and judging from the badly faded label this may not have been optimally stored. Certainly disappointing compared to a bottle I drank a year ago.
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On openning - not much nose. But will come. Palette - as above. Abit dusty. Abit of tannin. After 45 minute decant. Nose - Musty fruit. Palette - musty fruit. Abit of tannin.
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nose had a combination of a bit of barnyard (initially) with some nice fruit. On the taste, it was quite austere. We opened this at the end of dinner and I think this would show better with food. The nose and taste were very different
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Rather disappointing bottle. Subtle nose with high acidity level, not very good balance overall. It's already 17 years old, this wine may never turn the corner. 88-90 pts.
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Didn't take formal notes as it was tasted at a party so I'm going to editorialize. My favorite bottle of the night and up against some big hitters (Dunn HM, Beringer Napa Cab and other like wines that I am too fuzzy to remember). Many people loved it and I did too. Don't rush, folks, it's not going anywhere anytime soon...
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Dark ruby. Relatively closed, ethereal nose of menthol. Palate of muted dark cherry, bitter red preserves with seeds, licorice, some cedar wood, lead pencil, earth. Juicy, citric acidity livens up the exit. Classic and reserved in expression.
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La Commanderie de Bordeaux à Vancouver - Gala Dinner (Fairmont Pacific Rim): This is a hammer of a wine—big, structured, tight and backward. Very tannic with excellent acidity. The tannins were somewhat bitter and astringent. The wood needs to integrate further as well. This needs a lot of time. Judgement reserved at this point but if everything comes together should be a really nice wine.
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Commanderie de Bordeaux: Gala Dinner (Fairmont Pacific Rim - Vancouver, BC): Initially quite tight and restrained on the nose, with aromas of bright red fruits, cassis, lead pencil shavings, graphite, anise, and a touch of charred oak. Fairly muted on the palate as well, displaying more red cherries, black pepper and clove spice, bitter red currants, menthol, and the typical lead pencil shavings. Lots of acidity coupled with hard gritty tannins. Medium length finish ending on notes of tart red currants and lead pencil. This clearly is in an awkward spot right now and is hard as nails. Astringent, tart, and bitter, but the foundation is in place. I wouldn't try again for at least 3 years. With time, very good.
A great bottle. The previous one, in December of 2011 was the weakest of the case, and this was clearly the best. Only one left. Opened the bottle and poured 4 glasses which we didn't taste for about 15 minutes. In that time, this bright, youthful looking wine got right up to speed. Unmistakably Bordeaux, this had everything going - fruit, mellow tannins and acid, soft mouth-feel, and most importantly, to me, at least, the instant recognition that it was something special.
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We tasted this wine last evening and it was not open on the nose or the taste. It is very tightly constructed and possibly going through a dumb period in its development. It was the least accessible and least favorite wine of the four we tasted.
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on a root day; allowed half hour bottle breath at bottom should level and then served after a hour; balanced and classic aroma; much more aromatic and open than expected; fairly good structure; finish is rather simple and short
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Six bottles to the Burgoyne for the grouse dinner with the Donnersmarck party. Excellent levels, good colour and initial nose. But it is diffuse in mid-palate, and ultimately a little weak. A touch watery. After so many examples, in my view 1995 is an over-rated vintage in Bordeaux.
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Decanted for four hours, drank with roast lamb. very deep colour but still youthfull. Nose of tar and damp woodlands. Pleasent mouthfull of warm black fruits, chocolate, nuts, good weight, well balanced, with just a hint of tannin towards the end.
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Surprise! This wine was ready for consumption, not what I would expect normally from Leoville Barton. Uncorked and poured . Notes of raspberry, sour plum, cassis, and spicy mint. Medium-bodied and palate was relatively angular for St Julien (maybe a bit unfair as I love Leoville Las Cases and Ducru Beaucaillou). It surely did not have the complexity and structure of the Ducru Beaucaillou 95' I had recently. Fine tannins and very little hints of alcohol. It was not quite as balance as I would like due to slightly higher acidity level but still very enjoyable. First bottle of a case bought during EP.
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Still brooding dark opaque black-red colour. Nose is very restrained but classic lean black currant and a nice integrated high toned nail polish remover. Palate is lean and light but really gorgeous classic St. Julien. The best is probably still to come.
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Nose was tight, with leather and purple berry tones. Medium-full bodied. First sip revealed pleasurable sweet blackberry flavor; second and third sips came across as a tad musty, with some spice, leather, and mineral. Good acidity; fine tannin; needs time to come together -- has the goods to do this. As this sat in my glass, I became convinced this was every-so-slightly corked: I didn't notice it on the Nose, but rather on the palate entry. Nonetheless, it was still a very nice bottle to drink, and it's obvious that un-tainted bottles of this wine have a bright future before them. Still a couple years out from its drink window.
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Slow-O 3 hours, aerate to decanter 1 hr. Full ruby core, slight transitions - this is ageing slowly. Currant, cigar leaf, dark spice, black berries, a touch of vanilla. Sensibly full-bodied frame, with considerable structure and above-average purity. Very fine tannins, long, clean finish. This is at a crossroads of youth and experience, and I suspect whatever greatness is intended for this wine, it has yet to show itself. Drink thru 2023, score: A- (upside noted)
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My third bottle from a case. Not as good as hoped. Plainly a quality St Julien, but from a vintage which, to me, is increasingly proving a disappointment. Some of the telltale Leoville Barton strength and firmness, but a diffuse element in mid-palate rather than the intensity characteristic of this wine in other vintages, and a vegetal note in the aftertaste. I have found all three Leovilles in 1995 relatively disappointing, although in fairness this bottle had traces of ingrained residue internally on one underside, suggesting overheating (possibly at sea). Perhaps I was sold a poor case, but cork, capsule and level were all fine.
Feiner, harmonischer Cabernetdurft. Der Wein hat mittlere bis feine Struktur, ist jedoch fantastisch ausgeglichen und mit guter Finesse. Sehr spannend, braucht Konzentration. Sehr empfehlenswert.
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Drunk with 2009 Caymus SS as an interesting comparison. Cedar, smoke, and tobacco, and plenty of fruit left. Drinking beautifully. Held its own next to the young Napa fruit bomb. With KC and MP at their house.
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A very classical wine with a deep and luxurious bouquet with cassis and cedar. On the palate a lot of cassis, other black forest fruits, licorice and graphite. Almost like a Pauillac. Very juicy still with good tannin. A great and complex, youthful wine, which needs at least another 5 - 7 years of ageing to show its real potential. In fact I was really impressed. 93 for now and it will add some points with more ageing. Wait at least until 2017.
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App: Dark purple red Aroma: Bullion, oak, touch of blackcurrant, touch of sulfid, horse sweat, barn Full-bodied and great structure. Available tannins. Very good length
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Totally shut down right now. Giving very little on the nose, just some base cassis notes on the palate and a clipped finish. After a few hours in the decanter, it started to show some signs of life, but it looks to be a long way from being in the sweet spot.
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Still young looking in the glass... Nose: dark fruit, leather, Forrest floor and crushed rock.. Palate much of the same notes as on the nose..The finish was medium with grippy tannins. This Barton got a ways to go no need to rush uncorking one.. Cheers
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Had friends up to the lake for dinner. Opened the bottle 4 hours before dinner and then decanted 1/2 hour. This wine hasn't changed much since last year. Thin, angular upon opening evolving into classic Bordeaux over 5 hours. This time I got cedar, cigar predominating the nose. Medium bodied, good finish. This is a long term cellaring wine even now.
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Retail purchase, held 3 years. Decanted and enjoyed over several hours. Perfect cork and color that seems impossible for 16 year old wine. Mature secondary nose of leather, St julien gravel beds and a warm embrace on entry. Beautiful wine slow to release all it can show. Medium full, very long. Mouth watering, bright finish. Nice 1995 showing well, long way to go.
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Did injustice to this long lived beauty by opening maybe 10 years early. Decanted for 10 hours and the nose seems to give away a Pauillac identity, absolutely awesome nose with nuances of ripe black fruits, lead and truffles, exhibiting a much more engaging aroma than the Ducru-Beaucaillou '95 opened together. It was uncanny that it tasted like a wine fresh from market release. Alcohol was very present and even after another 5 hours of aeration, the taste didn't rise beyond a young tannin, robust body. There is definitely immense potential but may only surface in another 10 years time. No rating given.
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Quite lovely, but I was expecting more. Color just starting to show a bit of age. Maybe a little over-the-hill, or is it too young? Or is it nothing more than a pretty good wine? Whatever, a nice wine is a nice wine and this is certainly enjoyable.
Immer noch jung und etwas ungestüm, dunkel, mit Aromen von Cassis, Pfeffer, Paprika, erdigen Noten und Tabak; mittlerer Körper, ausgewogen, aber nicht ausgesprochen elegant; etwas trocknend im Abgang, Schokolade auf der Zunge, aber gute Länge; abwarten
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I found pencil shavings, anise and white pepper aromas on the nose. The palate is full bodied with well integrated tannins. It shows good balance and lovely dark berry fruit.
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8.5/10 - Agree fully with Paul S' tasting note (as always)... so my note will look suspiciously like a poor paraphrasing of his. Like him, I'm getting the damp earth / leaf component with nice blackcurrant. Soft and gentle tannins. Great balance. Clean and structured. Decent length. Could do with some time as the fruit could be a little more robust. But I am very much enjoying this now. And so does my wife, so that's a huge plus.
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Excellent quality as always, but I get the feeling this is too young right now - it is not exactly coiled up, but neither has the fruit really stretched its legs either. The tannins and structure are still fairly evident and dominate the fruit. Brilliant quality but really just needs a few more years.
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59th birthday dinner. Good balance, but lacked some of the depth of the 95 Rausan that was also opened. A bit more tannic also. Still very nice, but could use a year or two.
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Nose: Plum, Blackberry, Cassis and Tar. Elements of Mint, Chocolate and Red Fruits. Hint of Oak/Vanilla that is somewhat concealed. Palate: Elegant on entry with nice tanin structure, but they have become silky. Black Cherry, Cassis, Ripe Blackberry and red berries. This hits everywhere on the palate. Permeating all corners of the mouth. Finish: Loaded with Black Tea, Plums, Blackberry and sweet tobacco and oak. Faint vanilla shows up in the background.
This is a very exceptional bottle of wine with a very long life ahead of it.
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Just htink this is too young to drink and will get better. Nice red cherry fruit and cassis. Great food wine, lots of acidity that worked well with meaty dish. Finish was a bit clipped. Decanted for one hour.
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2011 Simple Dinner Series 3 :: Mark visit (Jade Palace Seafood Restaurant, The Forum Shopping Mall, Orchard Road): Lovely powerful nose of blackcurrant, tobacco, earth and roasted herb that very much like a st-stephe to me. Still rather young and tight, big, broad shoulder, with very good acidity to keep this full bodied, firmly structure, powerful wine in precise and focus in precise and focus, with fine grained tannin that leads to the firm, powerful finish with grounded coffee, dark chocolate aftertaste. This is clearly not ready but I pretty much like it, give it another 5-7yrs. Buy - Maybe.
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2011 Simple Series III: Dinner with Mark Robertson of Goedhuis (Jade Palace, Forum Galleria): This divided opinions around the table. I for one really liked it. It had a lovely left-bank nose of wet leaf, damp earth, sweet cassis and just a touch of rolled cigar. Could well have been a Pauillac. You could say the same thing about the palate, where the scents on the nose were taken up in the mouth - it was only the round sweetness of the cassis fruit that spoke more of St Julien. There was a nice sense of concentration to the wine's clean, clear flavours and a nice sense of structure. The tannins were still there, still frim, but they have just started to soften, so that the wine seemed very well behaved for a 1995. Finely structured, but not brawny or tough. The finish had a satifying warmth to it and a nice bit of length. Very young still but very nice. I feel that this will be a surprisingly good wine in another 5-6 years' time.
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Dinner with Goedhuis (Jade Palace, Forum): Somehow this did not impress me as much as the others. Tobacco on the nose, but not overwhelmingly. Short finish and quite anonymous. I've had better classic clarets in this price range.
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3 hour decant brought this to where it was hitting on all cylinders. Nose and palate of rich, dark fruits. Still a bit tannic, but balanced with the strong fruit and good acid. Attack, mid-palate and finish, all singing in harmony. Still lot of life ahead. Drank with an '89 that was even better. This one has a good chance of tasting similar to the 89 in 5 or 6 years.
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Good colour but very closed nose. A bit of fruit and some leather on the pallet, no real ballance however. Quite a few tannins, maybe there'll be some improvement, I doubt it some how.
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Bordeaux night in San Antonio (Home of David B.): Second time having this wine this year, with similar results, but this bottle slightly more forward. Decanted maybe an hour before serving. Great nose that was slightly tarry, with mint/eucalyptus and red berries. Lush palate, with slightly austere tannins still present. This leaves the palate slightly dry, but with a wonderful finish of tobacco and leather mixed with cedar spice. A lovely Leoville Barton that really needs a few more years, though enjoyable now.
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spell binding. Constantly evolved in the glass over a period of 5 hours. Citrus, cranberry, spice Box, red fruits, and attic. I drank the whole bottle it was just in such a good place I didn't want to miss anything by saving some for day 2. Silky fully integrated tannins. It can probably last a few more years, but it is in a sweet spot right now. What a wine!
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Vorweihnachtliche 90er Bordeaux Probe (Herr Schmöll, Hamburg St. Pauli): 4 Stunden belüftet, aber schon nach zwei Stunden sehr zugänglich. Opulente, mit der Zeit changierende Nase. Dunkle Beeren, Tabak, Vanille und Karamell, gelegentlich auch florale Noten und pfefferige Würze. Am Gaumen rund und schmeichelnd, leichte Säure, tolle, komplexe Frucht mit hoher Extraktsüße, Kirsche, Pflaume süßes und perfekt integriertes Tannin. Gute Struktur, ein verführerischer, femininer Wein mit ewig langem 20 Sekunden-Finish. Für mich ein ganz großer, klassischer St.Julien, den man auch noch bezahlen kann.
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3 hr decant. Consistently the weakest of the three Leovilles. Astringent; not well balanced; some blackberry at times; some leather and earth. So many 90s comments here. It must be me.
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Was at my favorite wine store and met the distributor rep who handles Bordeaux for the state. Ended up with a list of his entire Bordeaux inventory. I couldn’t resist buying two cases of this. Opened one to take to dinner and noticed wine had seeped to the top of the cork. Not willing to take a chance, I opened a second bottle and decanted it for 2 hours then poured back into bottle for 1 hour prior to taking to dinner. Upon opening, the wine had a nose of funk and was thin and angular. After decanting, the wine had begun opening and put on some weight. When we poured this at the restaurant, I was amazed. It was a totally different wine. Nose of truffle, dark fruit, dark chocolate. Taste of herbs, pepper, bitter chocolate, sour cherry. Strong finish, medium bodied wine. We loved it. In fact, we came home, started the first fire of the season and started working on the first bottle I had opened which was great though not as open since it had not been decanted. We’ll finish that one tonight. Pretty good night.
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decanted for four hours, utilizing a funnel. The colour is classic Barton; violet and garnet core, with a lessening rim. Blackberry, hot rocks, tobacco, rose petals and light vanilla bean. Still tight on both the palate and aromatics. The Las Cases (96 pts) is even more open than this youthful Bordeaux. Despite the unyielding qualities, This is still enticing. Elegantly full-bodied and a thirty second finish with classicism and authority. Roundly soft tannins that still have grip. I suggest waiting for some time with the ageless Barton being as backward as it is. Drink 2015 -.
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3/10/2010 Three bottles consumed at our Golden Wedding celebration, decanted for four hours, Still youthfull dense garnet colour, Nose of ripe fruits, dark chocolate, tar, damp forrest floor, pepper. Soft entry that opens up in the mouth, rich herbs and spices, nut chocolate. hit of tannin towards the end. good ballance, very long. will only get better over the next 4/5 years. Then it should be extraordinary (24 views)
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Old World Reds at Edina CC (Edina Country Club, MN): Nose: Subtle herbs and red fruits (raspberry) and gravel minerality. Palate: Spice and red fruits up front with good balancing acidity and a rather short but very clean finish. Nice wine.
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Decanted 1hr prior. Gorgeous nose, but the palate was still quite closed. Very fresh, good acidic and tannic structure. Hardly any decoloring at the rim. Still very young. Probably need another 3-5 years. The tannins are quite soft now so probably quite drinkable, but it would be quite a waste considering the potential a few years down the road. A wine to hold. 91 for now.
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This wine is still a deep garnet which shimmers in the glass. The nose is filled with the scents of roses and cherries marinated in kirsch. The taste is fairly balanced, complex and intense with breed and elegance. The finish is long on ripe black cherries.
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At San Antonio vertical. Nice Bordeaux but fails in comparison to the 1996. More red fruit than black with lighter floral nose with wooden hints. A more feminine vintage in comparison to the other wines of the night. Has finesse and with some moderately tannic grip and acidity. Uninspiring for me.
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San Antonio Wine Geeks - Leoville Barton Vertical (Steve's house): Slow O’ed for 24hrs at cellar temp. Nose was less expressive than most but showed a strong element of mint and the only wine to have a strong element of bell pepper. Palate seemed tight with cedar/wood elements mixed with a little cassis and prominent but fine tannins. Come across as rather boring. Flavor profile was very similar to the ’86 and I can see this evolving into something like it.
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Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. The fun stops here...this wine was mildly corked. Too bad. I've had this wine on more than one occasion in the past and it's one of the few 1995s that I've really enjoyed.
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CT Texas Offline; 5/21/2010-5/23/2010 (San Antonio): This bottle featured the worst of the 1995 vintage: coarse tannins, greenness, lack of stuffing. No score, this bottle may have been off, or just falling apart by the time I got around to tasting it.
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Nose: Upon opening Mint and Chocolate dominated this wine, however, as the wine opened Blackberry, Black Cherry, Smoke, and Herbal flavors developed. Midpalate: Nice mix of black fruits, smokley toibcco and porccini mushroom. E#volved very nicely, high degree of complexity. Finish: Medium Length, grippy tanins still in this one. Black Currant and Earth flavirs linger.
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Subtle, subdued and elegant. No fruit-bomb here, well balanced medium to full bodied great complement to a steak. This wine is showing no age whatsoever. It is drinking well now, but shows no color or taste of nearing its peak.
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Three hour decant. When this bottle was opened it filled the kitchen with aromas of flowers and spice. On the palate this was pure pleasure, with herbs, smoke, plum, and vanilla. Smooth, silk tannins with layers of fruit. Complex and full-bodied, with a long finish. Not sure you can ask for more from Bordeaux (at this price point, especially).
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It may surprise a few to learn that I used to buy a bit of Bordeaux, with the 95 vintage being the last of my substantial purchases before being totally consumed by the Cote d’Or (although I did buy a few cases of the wonderful 00’s).
Onto the wine in question…plenty of espresso notes on the nose along with liqueur plum and cedar. In the mouth it is rich and dense with a creamy texture and finishes with quite chewy tannins. In general I tend to like the structure of the 95’s and the 95 Leoville Barton’s tannins are just releasing their once iron like grip on the wine allowing the drinker to derive much pleasure as we close in on the wine’s 15th birthday (frightening thought really that the 95's are nearly 15 years old).
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Garnet robe, not as deep as the 94, just a bit of bricking at the edge. Extremely classical nose of sweet black currants, cedar, leather, underbrush/forest floor, and a bit of funk (not horsey). Medium bodied, tannic, good acidity. Still some notes of new oak, especially on the finish. Seems to be to be just at the beginning of its drinking window but I wonder if this will ever develop into something truly exciting. All of the components are there, but a 3/4 helping of everything. Evolved a bit after two hours, showed more earth, tobacco and blackberries. All in all, a charming, very traditional claret, but don't expect to be swept off your feet. Surprisingly, dropped off a bit after two and a half hours in a closed decanter.
I think this might just need more time. Will open another around 2015
4/5 for fans of tradition.
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Short decant. Nice limpid ruby colour with no sign of bricking yet. After an extremely voluptuous ornellaia 1999 the nose here is a little more subdued and elegant. Classic cedar and tobacco with a heap of graphite showing some good secondaries. Fine tannins here and good concentration, but more about elegance and depth than flashy fruit. Lean, with excellent balance and a little barnyard in here. Some nice minerality to the mid-palate and finish. Drinking very nicely now in the reserved, calm manner of the better 1995 left banks. Am leaning towards a drink it now and over the next 2-3 years - it will keep longer but room for improvement questionnable?
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Color still solid, no sign of brick. Classic bordeaux nose, although not incredibly expansive. In the mouth the tannins have settled down, the wine is well-balanced. We did not decant, and it seemed surprisingly acidic for the first hour or so, but then very smooth. It seemed to us a classic bordeaux with the usual graphite, leather, even cedar elements. The fruit was there. Not a big wine and I don't think it will improve markedly. But, it is a real bordeaux--can't be gotten any other way than to start with a solid example, let it sit 10-15 years. We enjoyed it greatly.
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A surprising disappointment. Rather harsh tannins disrupted the fruit .This wine tasted even bitter on the finish. Will leave it alone for another 12 months and see what happens.
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When I opened it, the nose was not so strong, little herbs and mild fruity smell. After decanting for 1/2 hour, I started my first bite, it was not so impressive but was a typical Bordeaux, good balance, elegant and gentle. The thing I do not like is the finishing too dry and not so smooth. After two and half hours, it still tight and not so open, may be I need to decante another bottle for three hours up or need to store it into my celler for another couple of years.
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Earthy and elegant, with ample fruit and tannins that are nearly fully resolved. Still, it seemed a little reticent, hesitant on the nose and tight on the palate, a quiet wine that keeps a somewhat low profile.
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Quite lively. Rich and plush.Sweet acidity. A lot of charcter. A rich core. Long dry finish.Sublte hints of cedar,roast nuts,light spices,cassis/berry/ripe fruit/vanilla. Silk tannins. What's not to like?
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Poured into decanter and consumed over the next 3-4 hours. Ruby red color, no bricking at all, surprisingly little sediment. Aromatic nose upon opening of red fruits--cassis and currants, being more subtle over the next few hours with tobacco, cedar box becoming more prominent. Palate was smooth and round wit well integrated tannins though still perceptible. Plush mouthfeel. Finish with a little flint and mineral, some red fruits, though a little simple and short compared to the complex nose and palate. A very nice balanced Bordeaux, very pretty and I think entering its drinking window. Not a blockbuster but quite enjoyable.
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Claret in the refined more austere style, a well balanced wine, with earthy minerality and the green notes that you often find from leoville barton. A wine that impresses the longer you linger over it- elegant wine making here, excellent!
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From memory. Opened and decanted about 2 plus hours before serving. Somewhere in the dark garnet to purple color range, clear hue throughout. Still a little tight on the nose and palate with mostly black cherries and berries coming throughout. Also some cedar notes on the nose. Still good acidity, tannins and fruit. I don't know if the fruit will outlast the acidity in this wine but I'd likely continue to open one bottle every couple of years to keep monitoring and hoping she blossoms further. At the moment I'd say it's drinking around the WIML92 mark (which is within 1 point of my last tasting of this wine) but that could go up or obviously down with more time in bottle.
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Decanted for 90 minutes. Leather and cedar on the nose, with nice complexity developing. Velvety, round mouthfeel with cassis and tobacco dominating and herbal notes accenting. Fairly long finish. Should still have quite a few more years ahead of it.
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This wine is finally coming around. Last evening it showed signs of complexity with flavors of black cherries, cassis, currants and earthy mushrooms. It might now be going to a peak and maybe coming out of a long dumb period.
I served this wine again on 6-20-08 and it was just a wonderful, chewy, earthy phenom. It was a JWL 95 based on the last tasting.
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Jeroboam Club: Ch. Leoville Barton Vertical (Averys, Bristol): Deep plum colour. Attractive, sweet, fruity nose, with complexity from secondary development. Pear drops, cassis, mocha. Lighter bodied than the 1996, with less grip, and a bit watery in comparison. Some slightly tart but still attractive fruit (sour plums). The flavours develop in the mouth, but there's a slightly dusty, floor polish note on the finish.
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From a Bordeaux tasting at BBR. Only a quick sketchy note taken at the time. Circa €105 per bottle. Brooding nose of black fruits. Layers of complexity, both on the nose and the palate. Full-bodied and powerful with firm tannic core, but not austere. Really very good indeed. This was probably my second favourite wine tonight, second only to the 1996 Lynch Bages (also tasted were 2004 Villa Bel Air Blanc, 2001 Berry's Own St Estephe (Phelan-Segur), 2001 du Tertre, 1997 Magdelaine, 1994 Trotanoy, and 2002 Berry's Own Sauternes (Suduiraut)).
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Hart Davis Hart Wine Co Comparative Bordeaux Tasting Vintages 1995 & 1996 (Newberry Library, Chicago IL): My first comment was after reading the notes from Parker (provided at the tasting to accompany the wines) that I was so impressed as to how Parker really nails Bordeaux tasting notes. This was a great wine with what I term a classic Leoville Barton nose. Color: Dark red Smell: Worn leather, saddle, wood notes of cedar and spice box. Taste: nice medium body. Drinks really nice. I have to say that in the end, I actually did like the 1996 slightly better.
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Classic Bordeaux nose with wonderful berried fruit hiding behind a rich earthy front which dimished over time to reveal even more black berry and tar notes.
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A step up in density from the Solaia. Bigtime cassis, dark chocolates, and violets. Fabulously textured with stony fruits and cassis, with baking chocolate and a long finish. Delish and just entering peak. 93 pts.
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Had his bottle one night following the Heitz Cellars Martha's Vineyard Caberbet from 1996. This wine was stunning, velvety and rich and in my opinion prime for drinking. These two wines are good comparables of new world and old, both awesome and drinking well. They would make a good blind tasting.
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Tasted July 21, 2007. Opened and glass decanted at least 90 minutes before serving in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Purple color in the glass, slightly opaque throughout. Nose of cedar, smoke, dark fruits, berries and plums. Flavors of red cherries and berries. Medium to full acidity, firm tannins, medium to full body. Hold. No where near ready.
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We had this wine last evening with a wonderful Allen Bros filet. It is still complex with flavors of red and black cherries and casis with a hint of cigar box. However, it is still relatively austere.
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wonderful nose- cassias, ceder, cigar and palmagranate. big and strong mouth. still with tannins, but they are coming around. plenty of fruit. a complexity of herbs, fruit, acidity and a touch of bitterness on mid palate. a nice long finish of fruit, tobacco and chocolate. has many years ahead. decanted for 3 hours.
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Soft, with a few tannins remaining. Still solid but not abundant fruit (black cherries) and no indication of drying out. Should be Very Good to Outstanding for another few years, even if it never matures to and Extraordinary wine.
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Much better than I expected from this vintage. This bottle did not have the hard astringency and lean fruit profile I have come to associate with 1995 Bordeaux. Still young and quite tannic, it's fairly tough going at the moment, but this has enough depth, ripe fruit and balance that I have no doubt that it will eventually come around. I would wait another ten years before drinking another, but this is one '95 that I'm happy to have in my cellar.
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Tasted with Langoa Barton 96 and 01. Color: Deep Garnet with medium legs. Aroma started out with not much, evolved into violet, cherry, mint, pencil shavings. Taste was very forward with lots of fruit, cherry, and cassis. Structure was Firm with full velvety tannins on the front mid and back palate. Long Finish..
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2004 Vintage Fête du Bordeaux (The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas): Had alongside the 1995 Ch Lynch-Bages and the 1995 Ch Cos d'Estournel. Just did not seem as deep as the other two. I actually preferred the style of the younger 2004 Leoville Barton. Seemed to have a bit of background caramelized sugar sweetness on the finish that was interesting.
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1995 / 19956 Bordeaux Offline (Alba, London): Cassis and cedar. A bit more poise and focus on nose. A touch of vegemite? Nicer on palate. rounded, smooth. Guess 1995 Leoville Barton.
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Bordeaux 94/95 @ Peter V. (Netherlands): Perky and fresh, sultry red and black fruit, lots of stuffing yet very refined. Good acidity, still on the young side. 16.5/20
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Was hoping for more. Opened and decanted 2 bottles. One bottle had a lovely nose and tasted quite smooth and ready to dring. The second didn't have much of a nose and was somewhat closed and bitter. After an hour and a half funnelled back to take to Joe's Steak and Seafood (Chicago). First bottle had improved just a little. Not much fruit showing through but still very tasty and balanced. The second needed almost an hour more air and never got quite as good.
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Opened and poured. Wrong! Very little if any nose. Deep dark fruit with classic cassis flavors, dominated by tannin. Did not inprove much after 3 hours. Good future, possible slightly higher score, 2 to 5 years away, min.
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Opened on Sunday 6/4/06 and drank with my wife. Outstanding nose with Christmas spice and beautiful dark fruits. One of the best noses I've witnessed in some time. Unfortunately, the wine was somewhat flabby on the attack, with resolved tannins and a short finish for a wine of this pedigree and vintage. With 20 minutes of swirling, the wine gained some interest, then began to fade. If you're holding some, I'd definitely drink one now for a reference point from your cellar, as I'm calling this wine at its peak. 88 points.
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TOOK A LONG TIME TO START OPENING UP, AND STILL A BIT CLOSED. BLACK CHERRIES, CURRANTS, AND LEATHER IN THE NOSE, WITH BLACK BERRIES AND BLACKCURRANTS IN THE FLAVOR. LONG FINISH.
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Read the note here and double decanted nearly 2 hours before funneling back into the bottle for the ride to Joe's (Chicago). The aroma in the decanter showed great promise, but the taste just befor leaving home was thin and disappointing. Gladly, by the meal-time it had opened and softened to reveal a still light to medium body that had great balance but not great depth or complexity. I was hoping for more, especially as this was the first from the case. Still very good, but was expecting great.
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Superbowl afternoon cabernet tasting (Home in Boston): Deep dark red color, some bricking. Earthy nose with some flowers, medium-bodied Bordeaux flavor with small hints of earth and licorice (?), nice medium length finish. Overall, excellent, but should last for at least a few more years.
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I decanted and sampled over a 6 hour period. The wine seemed to really open up and show its earthy, classic Bordeaux character after about 4 1/2 hours. It is still very dark and concentrated with a hint of bricking on the edge. The nose was earthy, chewey with floral whaffs. It started out very tight but flavorful dark fruit and earthy undertones emerged- smooth long finish, will only improve with time. Last sip was the best- 92+.
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Decanted (giving up a little bit of sediment) for 2 1/2 hours but really didn't start to open up for another hour at least. After 4 hours it put on weight and impressed. The nose was bright red fruits with spice and cedar. The finish is long and almost sweet! The palate was luscious gaining some darker fruits and a little caramel . Very nice! It will gain an additional point after several more years of development.
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1995 Leoville Barton - 8:00 a.m. CST - I opened this bottle and immediately decanted. Full bottle, dark burgundy to purple in color. Nose in the decanter was beautiful and robust dark fruit with currant, dark cherry and some oak. Poured one small bit into the Reidel Vinum stems. On the palate, this wine is austere, thin, tannic, tart and green. At this point, I double decant back into the bottle and re-cork. Back in the cellar she goes.
1:30 p.m. CST - 95 Leoville Barton - has put on a good deal of weight thankfully since this morning. On the nose, still some powerful dark fruit, but noticeable creme brulee appears too. On the palate, mouth drying tannins are very prevalent, but at the same time, there is a sense of elegance that was sadly missing this morning. Cherry fruit abounds in my mouth.
Day 2, nothing more to add.
On the whole, not a bad wine, but did not show to me the greatness that Leoville Barton can show. I've had the 94 before, and the 94 is a much better wine. 87/88
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This wine is now beginning its peak period. The nose is richly scented with cherries, roses and casis. The taste is generous with flavors of currants, red and black cherries and casis. This is a wine you can chew on yet it has elegance and breed.
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Blair's Burgundy and Bordeaux Blowout: Lost in the crowd but still a very nice Bordeaux showing very well after being open (not decanted) for over five hours.
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An easy afternoon with close friends (@ FD): Deep bouquet. Liquorice, black currants, little strawberry. Oak. Young firm tannin and good bitter en sweetness in the finish. Wait a few years.
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Slightly reserved nose of cabernet fruit, tobacco and leather. A very deep and rich plum-red color. Medium body, and a long and still firmly tannic finish. This isn't ready yet, I'll wait another two years before trying more.
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1995 Vintage Bordeaux Tasting-7 wines (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Nice, coffee nose with a hint of vanilla, on the palate, big body, rich taste, shows good fruit, feminine, opened nicely, nice, long, sweet finish with an edge that shows it needs 3 more years in the cellar. My #2, Group #6.
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4/20/2024 - HOS wrote: 93 Points
Left to air 30 minutes in the bottle. It is starting to show its age so we’ll drink our last bottle quickly.
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4/9/2024 - platpeeps Likes this wine: 94 Points
On opening I found this rather pinched and austere, with a bitter note on the finish, and suspected it could be a faulty bottle, but as it opened up gradually it blossomed from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. There were black fruits and liquorice, underpinned with pleasing mature tannins which melted away to leave a lingering and satisfying finish. This was linear and perfectly proportioned, with nothing unnecessarily overdone. Great winemaking. CHP 94 pts
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3/24/2024 - YagerWine Likes this wine: 91 Points
I think this was an imperfect bottle that may have seen some heat damage at some point. That said, it was super pleasant mature claret that got better as it was open over the course of a couple hours.
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3/17/2024 - tomandlu wrote: 89 Points
No detailed notes. Decanted about 1 hour and consumed over another 2 or 3. Very deep, almost opaque color with aromas of crushed leaves, cassis, tobacco, plums, and graphite. Mature and nicely integrated on the palate but seemed a bit angular, without the balance I expect from this estate. Perhaps it was an off bottle, though still delicious and classic in so many ways. Purchased with five others as futures and stored in my cellar since. The was the poorest of the 5 I've drunk to date.
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3/9/2024 - atbarbar Likes this wine: 91 Points
A classy fully mature St. Julien from a regular bottle in a tasting with the 1994 and 1995, side-by-side. Very enticing nose of gravel, graphite, cherries and just a bit of flowers and italian leather. With that I mean very elegant leather, restrained not tending to horse or manure. Elegance is the trademark of this wine. It has very balanced acidity on the palate supporting its structure. Smooth tannins I think reveal that this wine is ready to go. I think it is at its peak. Both the 1994 and 1995 showed considerably younger. Both of them appeared not to be as elegant as the 89. The 1994 had more forward fruit, a nose of more intense leather and gravel, less cedar elegance. A very drinkable wine that can nonetheless be in the bottle for a bit longer. the 1995 appeared the less compelling of the 3, with some imbalance between its somewhat alcoholic fruit and its acidity living on two separate layers and not enough body to support either. It is a pleasant wine but somewhat (at this point) inferior to the other two. I look forward to compare again some of this wines.
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3/9/2024 - BradA Likes this wine: 91 Points
On its final glide path…. My last bottle from the vintage and still showing beautiful currant on the nose mixed with sandalwood. The fruit is soft and the core very mellow, but such a wonderful gentle glass to savor with a Saturday dinner of New York strips and fixings. Ahhhhhh!
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3/9/2024 - Aleksei_Baushev Likes this wine:
Classic aroma, a bit on a strict side. Pencil shavings, little amount of barnyard, dark fruit, some bell pepper maybe. Was evolving and opening up during 2 hours in decanter.
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3/3/2024 - pclin wrote: 92 Points
PnP. ABV 12.5%. Clean nose if not overly expressive. Some tannins still hanging around and a bit of dark chocolate type of finish, not the most refine tannins. Plenty of tobacco notes lingering on. From the same case as previous bottle consumed one year ago, but this never showed the elegance . Back to the LB I know.
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1/23/2024 - VinhoVerde wrote: 91 Points
Medium red color. Cassis and tobacco bouquet. Soft entry, it has a smooth mid-palate in a medium bodied format. Still has some light tannins in the aftertaste. Definitely mature.
Decanted for 4 hours.
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12/22/2023 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
In a warm, soft, super smoothed place.
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11/5/2023 - crewald wrote:
J&A 28th. Began the evening with a 1995 Gloria and followed with the '95 Leoville Barton. Dramatic contrast. LB had purity of color and spectacular balance. Reddish black fruits, fine tannins, ample complexity.
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10/31/2023 - Vascular46 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Maintains dark ruby color With cassis and vanilla on the nose and palate.
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9/26/2023 - Vancouver Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drinking amazing at year 27+ !
Still a nice medium ruby appearence.
Textbook aromas of black fruits, lead pencil, vanilla and even some violets and baking spice.
Medium bodied still super fresh on the plate with surprising structure and acidity. The finish is medium plus to long, savory and delicious.
This will not likely improve, but who knows how long it will last in a cold cellar....
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9/23/2023 - brianakrin wrote:
My bottle was a disappointment . I decanted it and tasted it over two. days and it never opened up. It was rich bu short, sharp and unidimensional- C’est la vin!
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9/17/2023 - parkline_wine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nicely matured bouquet of black cassis, lead pencil, smoke, leather, nice structure, but slightly shorter than what I expected. But very nice nonetheless. Would buy and drink again.
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9/10/2023 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
12th of 18, opened 80 minutes, perfect cork and level, back on form, fruit absent in June 22 bottle has re-emerged to good effect, now on its maturity plateau, nicely layered and attractive on nose and palate, indeed quite elegant, if still showing some of the austerity of the vintage, limited upside now, 20+ years. F+ (18).
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8/31/2023 - Joshvoulters Likes this wine: 92 Points
I'm fortunate to know generous people who are willing to share their lovingly-assembled cellars, and I'm always grateful to try back vintages of this wine- which I find has a house style I can't get enough of, irrespective of vintage. This was cedary, spiced, upright and proper as one would expect from LB. Violets emerge from deep, some cherry, dark chocolate. Certainly not giving or developed in any way. Extremely smooth on the palate with a sense of juiciness.
I see drink dates on CT suggest it's reaching the end of its window but on the basis of this bottle I think it's got years ahead of it.
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8/6/2023 - Collector1855 wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful tertiary Medoc nose with underbrush, dark fruit, earthy elements and tobacco. The palate has melted tannins but still feels a bit rough. Good, but could benefit from better tannins or riper fruit, but that is the Leo Barton style of the past decades and the over-hyped 1995 vintage really.
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7/5/2023 - Philip67 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Good mature Bordeaux. There is good fruit here of blackcurrant and blackberry, some slight green notes and a good dose of saddle leather, with a slightly dry finish. Still relatively young, with good structure of tannin and acidity, this has plenty of life in front of it. Good length and complex.
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6/30/2023 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Bordeaux (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Cedar, Autumn leaves, blackcurrant, earth tends to wet mud, aa little creamy underpin, gains a little more austerity (oddly?) with time; darker note and some blood and liquorice. Juicy, fleshy and the austerity translates to the palate which is quite savoury. Tannins are floury textured and super persistent carrying the fruit. Long. Yum.
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6/29/2023 - drjb Likes this wine: 94 Points
This bottle of totally classic aged Bordeaux opened with a deep crimson colour with red edging and a soaring nose blackcurrant, dark raspberries, dusty cedar and touches of spice and dark chocolate. The palate showed real depth of soft, pure red and black fruits leading into a savoury back palate of cedar, dark chocolate and liquorice that persisted beautifully. There's a real touch of Pall Mall club armchairs and cigars about this wine but the persistence of fresh fruits show that there's plenty of youth and purity still left in play.
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6/17/2023 - townjbc Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice colour, bouquet and palate. Good length. But was it worth the cost and the wait of 25+ years? No!
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6/4/2023 - drmarclevine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted to remove sediment and opened up beautifully after 15 minutes. Exudes enticing aromas of cedar, mint, camphor, unsweetened black raspberry jam, and hints of cigar ash. Deepened and intensified with air.
Medium weight in the mouth offering a delightful combination of minty red fruits, reminiscent of cough drops, and subtle hints of charcoal embers. Masculine, well-balanced and not overpowering, with the rough edges gradually eroding away.
This wine is in a very good spot and will stay there for at least another decade. Lovely showing.
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5/7/2023 - nskelsey wrote: 91 Points
Medium bodied, with high-toned fresh fruit flavours on the palate and the characteristic cedary, lead pencil bouquet on the nose. When first released this was described as full-bodied, but approaching 30 years on it's much more an elegant middle-weight. When popped and poured the tannins are dry and the fruit slightly acidic in character, but give it an hour in a decanter and everything rounds out beautifully. Classily elegant, but not a blockbuster. It feels like it has already peaked, so on this showing it will probably need to be consumed over the next 3-5 years.
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4/3/2023 - pclin wrote: 94 Points
Really good showing tonight, easily the best bottle from the case. Sweet and smooth tannins, no sign of hard tannins for lots of Bordeaux in this vintage. Smoke, pencil shavings, and oyster shells. Lively with good balance. A sense of elegance I have never experienced with LB before. Truly impressive, probably the best bottle of Leoville Barton I ever come across.
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2/20/2023 - JohnLI Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still deep red/purple. Opened and let breathe for 2 hours. Great nose of black and red fruits, but finding it difficult to detect much else. Drank over 2 hours. The palate was much the same with softened tannins. A very enjoyable but not great wine. I think it’s in a good place now and I’m not sure if it will improve. 1 bottle left to drink. Maybe I’ll leave it 5 years and curse I haven’t got any more.
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2/19/2023 - SH Wu wrote: 93 Points
Vertical with 90/95/96. This felt the most ready to drink out of the three as the cedar wood and forest floor had built a beautiful backdrop for the palate staining red and black fruits. The long, sweet and savory finish extend the pleasurable experience another minute or two.
Very enjoyable to drink - I like where it is at right now.
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1/9/2023 - hectic wrote: 88 Points
Disappointing.
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12/19/2022 - NY Wino Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted for 3 hours, then drank over 1 hour period. Wine is drinking beautifully, with a big earthy, dark fruit bouquet, full bodied rich fruit, Smoot tannins and long delicious finish. Everyone was raving about how smooth and delicious the wine was and asking for more.
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11/24/2022 - Cremuel Likes this wine: 93 Points
Bob's cellar. Opened the half bottle in the morning and recorked. In the evening decanted off a heavy sediment, and returned to the bottle. Poured. Dark ruby red, almost no evidence of bricking at all. Bright, warm and full nose, brambles, deep menthol, violets, liquorice, clean and fresh after all this time. The brambly blackberries, damsons and other dark forest fruit have mellowed together. Tasting starts with a surprisingly young wine showing bright red fruit, cracked pepper, smooth tannins and an overall brightness. Interestingly sharp, is fine but closed, its darker more earthy depths not showing yet. As it develops, the flavours are long, and tannins occasionally poke through after a while. I like this, it is a challenge of bright redcurrant and blood orange fruit at the beginning, tertiary flavours however begin to appear from the mist, leather and cedar, sweet blackberries - more like it! Unfortunately, a half bottle is too small, and goes too quickly, before it has had time to open up. Luckily there are more bottles and a couple of magnums in the cellar to go..
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11/22/2022 - rupertg Likes this wine: 91 Points
Sediment well settled, some orange on the rim, centre translucent dark red. Nose full three hours after opening, age and forest notes mixing with the fruit. Medium weight in the mouth, drying quickly. Delicate and smooth. Long, lingering taste of violets. Past its best for my taste, but still enjoyable. Afternote. Kept half in a Platypus overnight. Smoother and richer, which implies I should have opened earlier yesterday. Less nose, but more fruit in the mouth. Still drying but finish now has more mature claret overtones. Lingers well.
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11/12/2022 - Vino Me wrote: 94 Points
Decanted 3 hours before dinner. Part of a vertical of the 1995, 1998, 2000 and 2003. Moderately sedimented first time I have had this wine. Crimson color. This showed very well without any signs of fading. Earthy aromas. Notes of black tea, raw meat and plums. Firm tannins. Finished tied for 2nd in the group (3rd for me). 94 points
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11/2/2022 - rinnocenzi wrote: 94 Points
Drinking great
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10/19/2022 - paujokal Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still singing! Wonderful fruit. Pencil shavings. Leather.
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9/25/2022 - NickA Likes this wine: 94 Points
This was brilliant. Decanted for about 90 minutes and then consumed over a couple of hours. Smelled wonderful immediately, but did round out with the air - and a trace of fruit eventually appeared too! Mostly tertiary, like smoky leather in a damp cave, with some truffle too. A little bit of cassis on the palate, more truffle, clean and mineral, with a delightful, refreshing twist of Seville orange towards the finish. Didn't want it to end!
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9/24/2022 - oldwines Likes this wine: 92 Points
Double decanted at 9am then carried through the day to various locations in NJ before having with dinner at an excellent BYO restaurant in Flemington, NJ (Matt’s Red Rooster Grill). When decanted the nose was effusive with earthy cedar, black currant and some barnyard notes. Later it needed additional air in a decanter after which the barnyard (Brett?) faded considerably but remained a nuance throughout. One could consider it a flaw but it was in this case more of a feature. The wine showed no bricking at all, surprisingly and seems like it could least a good deal longer in a good cellar though I doubt with much improvement. The nose was pretty typical and the palate was red and black fruited, with cedar, leather, and some floral notes with a nice long finish. Silky mouthfeel. Great with a veal chop as well as seared tuna and mushroom risotto. Solid Bordeaux of the old school but not a blowout. Better with lots of air.
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9/9/2022 - 79bulldog Likes this wine: 93 Points
I agree with recent reviews. Lovely. Still stands to paired powerful protein flavors. Won’t get better. A few more years in bottle won’t kill it, but I would recommend drinking up!
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8/29/2022 - MAC49 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Had this two nights ago at a dinner party. Decanted and tried over two hours. Amazing darkness of color, clear smell of pencil lead, which is the initial impression on the mouth. This is precise and has leather, dried berries and nice tannins, but is overpowered by the pencil lead. My bottle feels like it can go another decade but I doubt that will bring out more fruit flavors.
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8/27/2022 - Nohedes wrote: 93 Points
The second time I’ve tried this wine - the two occasions over 10 years apart. Against expectations, the wine showed better in the recent tasting. Little in the way of colour change and still fruit on the palate, some tannic grip and a lovely mouthfeel. Classic nicely matured claret and worth the wait
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8/19/2022 - dougie Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted for an hour. Rustic. Big wine. Like someone recently stated on this wine- will the fruit last?
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7/29/2022 - ikkaariainen Likes this wine: 94 Points
For Charlotte NC area Queen's Feast restaurant week at Vintage House restaurant in Hickory NC. Drinking superbly and still somewhat youthful which is a testament to a combination of winemaking / terroir, vintage and cellaring. Highly recommend. Drink or hold, definitely leaning on the drink with no further upside to additional cellaring but on the other hand no real hurry - with proper cellaring this still has years to go. Obtained this bottle recently as part of a much larger cellar contents purchase. Opened for ~ 3 hours in bottle and the 1st pour further sat in the glass a bit before consumption and this seemed about right, could also easily do a 60-90 minute decant. Slightly overshadowed by the following '97 Mondavi Napa cab handled similarly. Color and sediment showing the age - reddish purple, peripheral bricking present and heavily sedimented. Completely mature, well integrated, soft mouth feel, medium - full bodied wine, oak and tannins soft but present, fruit going strong. Overall beautiful, elegant and complex with a lovely medium length lingering aftertaste. Nose initially very barnyardy but this blew off rather quickly with aeration and swirling revealing dark fruit, coffee, black pepper and more ethereal almost floral garrigue note. Flavor profile up front classic with oak, dark stone fruit and blackberry giving way to more secondary flavors of earth. stone, graphite and leather and a smokier tobacco finish. Cork pristine when tonged out.
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7/17/2022 - Romol wrote: flawed
Decanted for 2 hours. The bottle looked perfect, unfortunately it had a slight cork taste. Nevertheless, the wine was still drinkable. No rating, that would not be fair.
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6/26/2022 - liber Likes this wine: 91 Points
11th of 18, opened 3 hours, perfect cork and level, for once this tasted older than it looked, the retreat of fruit flavours noted in last bottle in April 21 now in overdrive with unhelpful ash element, relieved by fine structure, balance and interesting layering, if fruit element re-emerges, upside, otherwise drink over next 5 years. A downgraded F (17.5).
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5/20/2022 - Hawkeye_Addict Likes this wine: 91 Points
This needs a significant amount of time in the decanter. Right out of the gate is a significant amount of oak/tobacco/cedar. Two hours in decanter mellowed a bit. No real fruit to speak of. Kind of an oak monster. Good, but a tad disappointing if I’m being honest. Perhaps would be better on day 2, but didn’t have that luxury as I was in a restaurant. Cheers!
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5/13/2022 - AKC65 wrote:
Tbd
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3/21/2022 - Thoughtful Likes this wine: 94 Points
Stored in a cold cellar since release. Lovely bouquet of black red fruits with
touches of cedar and leather. Tannins resolved. Elegance and breed.
Balance, length and depth. Still young. As ever classic Saint Julien.
Will last.
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3/8/2022 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Leoville Barton; 3/8/2022-3/15/2022 (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Slightly dusty spice, fruit tea, leather, cream a little cassis with agitation it becomes more earthy and savoury but with a brambly underpin. Juicy, lashings of wild blackcurrant up front then the fruit tea, leather and savoury notes join with the drying but quite textured tannins (which persist long). Yum
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3/6/2022 - jondrinkswine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Incredible nose is classic Saint Julien - black cherries and cassis are married with notes of graphite, cedar, earth, leather and menthol. Fruit on the palate was more lively and youthful and still gaining weight after 3 hours decanting. This wine should continue to age nicely. 93/100 with upside
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2/5/2022 - tak4 Likes this wine:
This is a very nice wine. Nose of blackberry, tiny touch of orange peel, dried cherries, menthol, and classic aged Bordeaux notes. Palate is clean, detectable oak but not overpowering. For my palate, I wouldn’t age this further. But next time I would give this a THREE hour decant as it really opened up with time.
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1/8/2022 - Diane (LI) wrote:
In a very good place now. Cherries, tobacco, a little gaminess. Still plenty of tannins that decanting helped soften.
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12/31/2021 - drmarclevine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted two hours. Classic St. Julien aroma profile of cedar planks, cassis, pencil shavings, and something on the green spectrum resembling mint. Open and engaging. Delivered in the mouth, too, with unsweetened red berries, more herbal notes, and warmed earth. Medium weight and medium/long finish. Wonderful balance of fruit, minerality, and acid. In a great spot now and will hold for quite some time.
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12/16/2021 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 93 Points
Final bottle from a full case purchased at auction in 2009. After 26 years, this is now at perfect peak. It's a (slightly) dusty and meaty wine with a distinctly bloody aspect, spicy and masculine, with some floral lift on the finish. The palate is well-balanced and firm, concentrated but with perfect weight (12.5% ABV), the tannins have softened but continue to provide good grip, the gravelly finish displays very good resonance and length. This should go on for quite a while, but it will not improve further. As always, true to type for vineyard, vigneron and vintage.
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12/5/2021 - dase13 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank 20+ year vertical of 1995, 2005 and 2017. 1995 was favorite of the night.
Color of medium red, slightly light edges comparatively.
Scents of red fruit and slight earthiness.
Tastes consistent with scents, and still with lively fruit and very integrated tannins, and with slight earthiness. Starting to show age, which is good, and with plenty more years to go.
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11/21/2021 - Justinneal654 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Just delicious. Earthy, integrated, full of life and acidity. Some deep fruit, mostly dried fruit. Amazing with the smoked prime rib roast.
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11/5/2021 - dagij wrote: 87 Points
Deep grenade on the core, not very aged. Blackcurrant, black berries, mint, black tea, quite fruity. Medium to full bodied attack, very dry, the tannic structure is a bit dusty, drying out the mouth somewhat. Fruit reemerges on the finish that is quite tart, but the sweet fruit is still there. A hint of alcohol on the end. A warm variant of this wine. 87-88
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10/17/2021 - HOS wrote: 95 Points
So I’m cleaning up the wine cellar by throwing out wooden wine boxes and came upon a case with 7 bottles of this under a stack. A little disturbing that I let these fall through the cracks but thrilled I had 7 more bottles of the two cases I bought in 2010 when the chateau released another batch. Opened a 1/2 hour prior to drinking and then drank for 2 hours with dinner. It was still evolving at the end with mushroom and cigar in a earthy wine with a peppery long finish. Medium bodied and outstanding. 26 years old, older than 2 of our kids and still going strong. It’s amazing.
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10/11/2021 - andreask888 wrote: 92 Points
We thought this was great. Perhaps not fully mature?? But drinking well now with resolved tannins all but at the end with pebbly grainy texture at the tip of the tongue. Classic left bank. Powerful and youthful dark red berry fruit on the nose and initial placement on the palate made this one stand out.
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9/25/2021 - AudunG wrote: 94 Points
A perfect bottle of Leoville-Barton. Light weighted and subtle, but also some evident 1995 tannins.
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9/17/2021 - aChave wrote: 93 Points
Clean sand relatively light on its feet. Plenty of cigar and Cabernet on the nose. Nuanced and balanced. Fragrant on opening but developed a more secondary bouquet and additional subtlety with time. 2 hour decant. Beautiful after 75-90 minutes.
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9/12/2021 - redknife Likes this wine: 90 Points
Been a while
I believe I took it to Christie’s with the group
Was good but not great
Decanted for one hr
Not sure this wine will get better with more cellaring
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9/11/2021 - StefanAkiko wrote: 85 Points
Perfect cork. Wine was slow oxed for 2 hrs. This btl simply never came around. Delicious but lacking ompf and content.
Reading other drinkers' notes, I find reason to be a little bit envious...
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8/7/2021 - Duncan H Likes this wine: 93 Points
Absolutely superb. Probably a point. Thorough enjoyed by all our dinner guests. Finally one of my mature clarets actually lives up to expectations!
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7/2/2021 - Marc wrote: 93 Points
Stereo Night (Wanaka Wedge House, Queensberry, Central Otago, New Zealand): Stunning wine of density, depth and power. Old-school wine making, in that the wine emphasises terroir and fruit, but the elevate comes through in the dark smoky oak notes, which support the intensity of the fruit expression. In early-mid maturity. Absolutely no hurry on this wine, if the bottle are in this condition. Will continue to develop well. 93+
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6/6/2021 - BradA Likes this wine: 92 Points
Everything that I love in Bordeaux. Quite simply a sublime, cedary tasty bottle. A rainy June Sunday brought me the delightful news of pot roast for dinner. Down to the cellar went I. Rhine seemed rough for some reason. Today was going to be Bordeaux. But what is ready? Alas, the constant issue on cellar excursions…. Well there is was—- a few remaining bottles of 1995 from a case purchase. I would like to add the cost— $39!
Well, the cork was even, showed little saturation and pulled smoothly. The wine had a bit of cheese and first pour around 3 pm. I let it andouze until dinner at 6.
Well, it’s just a wonder. Some lovely and tasty with the pencil, cedar shaving and tart berries. Ahh. Anthony Barton you made a great wine! Drink now to 2025.
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4/24/2021 - KeithAkers wrote: flawed
A evening of 20+ year old Bordeaux (Wilmette Harbor Club, Wilmette IL): Boooooo. I had a beautiful bottle of this back in september, but this one has just too much VA to really enjoy it.
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4/13/2021 - houstonjeff@hotmail.com Likes this wine: 92 Points
Forest floor, wet leaves, cedar, oak, truffles, some black fruit. Mostly secondary and tertiary aromas and flavors. You can tell that its aged however there is still plenty of life yet. Opened two hours before drinking and sipped it for another two.
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4/13/2021 - Stefan75 wrote: 91 Points
From Mag, double decanted for 3h, a classic, significantly less rustic than the last 2 bottles I had, wil not improve further but some life left. However, I preferred the 2000 Gruaud Larose we matched.
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4/8/2021 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
10th of 18, decanted an hour, perfect cork and level, rounder and more settled than last bottle in October 2016 and no sense of excess tannin on exit, bright and youthful rim, but just a hint of fade to the fruit and lack of concentration (it was after all a wet September if not the washout of the 94s), flavours kept lively by acidity higher than current norm, no upside but good for 10+ years. F+ (18).
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3/29/2021 - DFBW Likes this wine: 93 Points
Probably didn't let the bottle stand out of the cellar for long enough but still a lovely bottle of aged LB after an hour of air in the decanter. Quite dark colour in the glass with some bricking around the edges and a very fanit whiff of age / funk which didn't affect the wine. On the palate, medium bodied with plenty of dark earthy and slightly smoky fruit. Decent length. Lovely bottle of wine that was still drinking well. I would suggest there is no further room for development and now is a great time to drink this wine.
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3/17/2021 - tomandlu wrote: 92 Points
No detailed notes. Decanted about 2 hours prior to drinking. The color was a deep, almost opaque garnet-red. The nose was classic and a bit restrained. On the palate the wine was nicely balanced and just beginning to reach maturity.
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1/30/2021 - Geoff Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful nose with dark fruit, cedar, wisps of smoke and oak, sweet tannins, smooth mouthfeel, long finish. Delightful.
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1/15/2021 - Working Man’s Cellar Likes this wine: 93 Points
The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are medium. There is moderate sediment in the bottle. It smells like cherry, forest floor, light toast and rose. It tastes like black currant (cassis) and cherry. The body is medium. The wine has round texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
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12/28/2020 - BHRH Likes this wine: 91 Points
Stood up for 24 hours, then decanted 90 minutes. Some sediment, but not overwhelming. Not too bricky with maybe the slightest touch of brown on the rim. This continues to present like an old-style Bordeaux. Mature cedar, leather, herbs and earthy cassis on the nose. On the medium bodied palate this seems to have lost most of its richness, with a dryer finish of cassis dry earth and spices. While still elegant I believe this is just past peak and on the way down. Perhaps its bottle variation, or too long a decant - but recommend you drink up soon.
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12/21/2020 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Leoville Barton and new arrivals (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Aromas of blackcurrant, earth, leather, sweet spice, cedar, polished oak, plums, toast. In the mouth the acid/tannin/flavour balance is near perfect. All carry long. Fleshy, savoury, black fruited, grainy, grippy tannins, lovely. Complete.
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12/4/2020 - drjb Likes this wine: 94 Points
This wine shows a deep crimson colour with red edging and an open nose blackcurrant, dark raspberries, dusty cedar and touches of spice and dark chocolate. The palate has real depth of fresh and pure fruit with a nice line of berry pastilles leading into a very soft and persistent finish with a fine and gentle tannic grip. There is a lovely savoury touch balancing the rich fruit in the way of a classic mature claret.
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11/26/2020 - Cailles wrote: 92 Points
I’ve had this wine almost two years ago and at that time it was stunning (rated 95, had three bottles in the same restaurant that night). This bottle showed less expressive, layered and less round. Still, it is a wonderful wine that is nicely in its tertiary stage but still shows enough fruit to reach a beautiful balance. This bottle was quite rustic, however, and while that’s a hallmark of the estate, it was a bit too rustic to reach the heights of the previous bottles. In addition it didn’t show as evolved and hence complex as the other bottles.
TN: Medium- expressive on the nose with lots of minerality, some earthy notes, dark fruits and a whiff of tobacco and leather. The palate shows more dimensions with blue, dark and even some hints of red fruit, minerality, herbs tobacco and leather. The precision is not overly high but good enoguh (same is true for the bouquet). The wine has still some edges, the tannins are not yet molten and the acidity was sticking out a bit. It’s fresh and light, pleasurable but without the gravitas of truly great wines. The finish has medium length and shows dark fruits and minerality.
Decanting: PnP at a restaurant. Needed just a bit of swirling in the glass and was ready to go. I guess 1 or 2 hours in the decanter could have soften the wine and improved the experience.
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11/14/2020 - jmdickeyiv Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened for three hours. Initial cheese and floral up front wonderful. Nicely aged. Brilliant finish. Light tannins. Great with beef Bourgogne.
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10/11/2020 - davergny Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank with Grand Puy Lacoste 1995.
Lots of cedar on the nose. Lean on the palate, some strawberry fruit and leather, with dusty tannins and a long finish. More complexity and depth than GPL, and elegant. Not sure, but may need more time still to reach maturity. The structure is there. 92+
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10/5/2020 - billcow wrote: 88 Points
Rather austere and surprisingly bland given its impeccable pedigree. Fruit was reserved, tannins dry and joyless. This wine was like a grumpy uncle sulking in the corner at a fun Christmas party unable to join in with the young folks dancing. For those hanging in there with hopes of some future flowering I have to predict that this one will never come out of the closet. Drink now and don’t expect much.
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10/4/2020 - RockinCabs wrote: 91 Points
Opened two bottles for a tasting and there was some variation.
First bottle (89+) had slightly redder fruit, and less intense perfume. Prominent secondary notes of leather, cedar and cigar box with a lighter mouthfeel.
The secmouthful. (92) was much younger in fruit with intense perfumed dark berries, cassis and boysenberry. Accented by cedar, gravel and cigar box in the midpalate and more intensity in the finish.
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10/4/2020 - HarveyManfrenjensenden Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very definitely on the slow fade to obscurity but remains an elegant and restrained wine. Drink now and perhaps for several more years.
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10/1/2020 - HOS Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted 1/2 hour. Solid bordeaux but more muted then previous bottles. Down versus previous bottles. Last bottle of 2 cases. Time to move on.
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9/23/2020 - KeithAkers wrote: 92 Points
Flannery Night (Jordan's, Northbrook IL): Nose: The nose is open-knit and balanced with dark red cherries, cranberries, leather notes, currants, licorice, cedar, pencil lead, and cassis tones.
Taste: The feel is medium bodied with medium acidity and silky, medium tannins. The structure is mostly resolved and poised with dark red cherries, cranberries, leather, currants, licorice, cedar, and cassis tones.
Overall: This is lovely and well balanced. There is an open-knit quality to it that shows off good maturity. There is still some primary quality to the fruit while more secondary and tertiary notes have emerged.
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8/23/2020 - MariusA wrote: 87 Points
Agree completely with BOBBUBBABS description and assessment of this wine. It is indeed an uninspiring wine. It's hard to see the '95 going anywhere but maybe I should wait 20 years and hope for a miracle.
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7/27/2020 - drjb Likes this wine: 93 Points
This wine has a lovely colour with dark crimson and touches of red at the edges. The nose jumps out of the decanter with blackcurrant, dark raspberries, cedar and olives with a touch of spice and dark chocolate. The palate has real depth of fresh and pure fruit with a nice line of berry pastilles leading into a very soft and persistent finish with a final gentle tannic grip. Delicious.
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5/24/2020 - shaferguy91 wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 30 minutes.
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5/12/2020 - bobbubbabs wrote: 88 Points
Last bottle from case bought when released. In a good spot, but this is an uninspiring wine. Color fine. Modest nose. A bit of a vegetal taste, without robust fruit (which it never had). Still long numerous ‘95 Bordeaux. Still hoping for more....
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3/16/2020 - Justinneal654 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Beautiful. So delicious and mature with the beef we had it was nicely paired.
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2/19/2020 - SteelerFan wrote: 94 Points
Drinking beautifully. Smooth tannins, classic claret profile of cherry, tobacco, tar. Mature but still very youthful. Very pleasurable.
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12/11/2019 - chatters wrote:
From Coravin. Medium minus intensity aromas of clay and earth, blackberry, quite brambly, black tea, sweet and savoury spice, a touch of pepper, some charcuterie, cedar, cream. A little sour on the palate with black fruits, savoury spice and plenty of medium plus drying, grippy, floury tannins closing down the palate. Hmm.
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11/30/2019 - BradA Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very fine, medium in body with a decent length on the finish. A true Englishman’s claret. I would drink now thru 2025.
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11/20/2019 - bordeauxmartini wrote: 92 Points
Dark crimson colour, very forest floor, tobacco and oak. Always enjoy this wine. Will go on for at least another 5-10 years at peak drinking.
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11/16/2019 - SCM Fan Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted from magnum for a large group. Most crowd already over enjoyed the 2000 GPL Mag just prior. This wine poured much darker in color. No signs of aging on this wine after 24 years! On the nose, dark fruits, lead pencil, tobacco. To die for if a true BDX fan like myself. Taste - big Bordeaux fruit, franc and sauvignon. Tannins still mouth coating. This wine will go another 10 years if large format. One of the best Bordeaux wines ever tasted. No Cali wines would touch this at 24 yrs of age.
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11/12/2019 - Paul D wrote: 92 Points
Ian's 1995 Dinner (Noize, London): Quite youthful nose, blackcurrant, gravelly mineral, smoke. Medium bodied, dark fruit, mineral, firm acidity, firm but fine tannins, good length earthy, minerally finish. Classic Barton!
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11/2/2019 - O'Meara Likes this wine:
Still some vigor but definitely fully mature. This is a great representation of the vintage, a little lean, powerful, sweet tannin, complex flavors. Old school and I love it. Decant 30 minutes and enjoy.
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10/26/2019 - Marc wrote: 95 Points
Tremendous wine - dark, dense and earthy aromas and flavours, taut and textured tanning backbone, close to extraordinary complexity. This is fully mature, with considerable bottle age, but it will continue to develop positively for 20 more years, based on this bottle. This is still improving.
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10/19/2019 - DrZett wrote: 92 Points
Nice nose with ripe dark berries and interesting herbal notes. On the palate some earthy notes, leather, dark pepper, fully ripe cassis and dark cherries. Elegant body with an medium intense structure. Nice depth and a beautiful medium long finish. In my opinion a beautiful classic old-style Bordeaux. Give it a few minutes in the decanter to open up a little. Perfect to drink now but will be nice for at least another 5-10 years.
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10/5/2019 - Jean Martin Likes this wine: 91 Points
I have owned this wine since inception and cellared at 65 degrees. It’s been a wonderful ride but recent tastings showed it to be on the decline. It’s losing depth but still has a great nose. Luckily have just one bottle left. I may purchase another just to see if it’s the cellar temp
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9/30/2019 - dlduchon Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice old refined Bordeaux, at a great point. Just the right amount of austerity, fruit and earth.
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9/14/2019 - BHRH Likes this wine: 93 Points
A gorgeous, classical old-style Bordeaux. Angular and herbal upon opening, but a 90 minute decant enabled to fruit to pop out! Mature cedar, leather, and earthy cassis wafted from the glass. Deep medium-rich cassis fruit, blackberries and a bit of exotic spices. Medium-long finish that is very elegant. At or maybe just past peak - but delightful!! 93+
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9/1/2019 - jkoenen wrote: 94 Points
Dusty, earthy nose of tea leaf, humidor, caramel-latte, leather and damp soil. The structured palate echoes the nose but also reveals cedar, graphite, beef blood and dark forest fruit. Tannines are wonderfully rounded and ripe. Medium to full-bodied, this is a gorgeous left-banker.
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8/23/2019 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Friend brought this to the Ledbury. Funny when a '95 Leoville Barton isn't one of the more exciting wines on the table and yet this was really good. Perfectly aged. Good balance of the fruit and the more secondary.
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6/16/2019 - eoinhharkins wrote: 94 Points
This brings back why I love Bordeaux so much! Lovely notes of cedar, dried dark fruits, tobacco pipe and some florals, palate is quite smooth and juicy now, but I expect will continue to soften and become even more pleasurable with 5/7 more year
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5/4/2019 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nice mature Bordeaux!
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4/27/2019 - BradA wrote: 89 Points
Perfectly pleasant, fully mature and totally integrated. Was it remarkable? No. The 96 shows more depth, nuance and style. Enjoy these in the next 3-5 years as improvement is unlikely and the wine has plateaued.
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4/24/2019 - O'Meara Likes this wine:
A stylish LB, with great density and fine acidity. The fruit tends toward red rather than black. The tannins are more dusty than polished. This will continue to evolve for at least a decade, but we are squarely in the drinking window now. C’est bon!
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4/20/2019 - rupertg Likes this wine: 91 Points
Red rim, dark red centre. Decanted. At its best after an hour. By five hours, fruit going. Surprisingly little nose. Beginning to dry out. Good fruit on the finish. Tannin starting to dominate. Good with beef and cheese but rather disappointing. In theory another two years. Wait and see.
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3/27/2019 - Jimaronson wrote: 91 Points
Mature Bordeaux. Soft pallet with medium fruit. Certainly fading, but passable at the moment. Some cigar box, leather, and predominatly pony barn. Sweet fruit, but clearly only holding on at the moment. Drink up.
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3/24/2019 - tom_wine Likes this wine: 92 Points
I can't imagine a better window through which to explore this wine. Perfect maturity with fruit quite alive and integrated. Just a hint of dusty tannins remain. Blackberry and plum fruit with hints of leather, pencil, dried herbs. Long in the finish. Decanted for 2 hours.
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3/16/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Sheldon's 60th Birthday (The Bristol - Chicago IL): Small glass, brief note. Charming aromas of robust black fruit, but disjointed palate I did not enjoy. Too much new oak, too much acidity, and also too tannic for the level of fruit.
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2/24/2019 - djhammond Likes this wine: 92 Points
Certainly ready to drink, it is forward for the year, and the estate in general. The nose is its best feature and is wonderfully deep with blackcurrant, ripe plum, and old leather, and could easily be mistaken for a wine 10 years older. The palate has excellent balance and is a classic old school mature Bordeaux. It is not particularly complex, and the finish is on the short side with some bitterness towards the end. However, this is a highly enjoyable wine and ready to drink with only a short time in the decanter needed.
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1/30/2019 - Cognacblanc Does not like this wine: 81 Points
HArd tannic and drying
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1/28/2019 - O'Meara Likes this wine:
Full throttle StJ. Decant the sediment and it’s ready to go. This has a great savory note that I find quintessential in St J. IMO 1995 has been a year of mixed success in Medoc, but this is clearly a success story. Enjoy!
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1/25/2019 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
Business event, no formal notes. This wine is in such a perfect place right now. It's fresh with lots of cool dark fruit. Well aged with round and silky tannins and no hard edges. Some tobacco and leather scents to complement the bouquet. Yes, it is not the most complex wine, it’s not THE cerebral wine experience but the structure, the precision and the freshness are impeccable and the balance is superb. We opened bottle after bottle after bottle. I want more.
Decanting: Needed just 10 minutes in the decanter to blossom and to completely blow off a murky cellar smell.
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1/19/2019 - HOS wrote: 95 Points
PnP. Continues to drink very well. Did improve an hour after opening. Not much upside here. Dec 2017 note still holds.
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12/29/2018 - Zorg wrote:
Coravin. 92p.
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12/29/2018 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun with Mats & Fredrik part two (Kennards, Waterloo): From Coravin. Dense, aged black berry over blackcurrant, leather, a little closed in fact, cedar, coffee spice. Juicy, fleshy, fruity but with plenty of tannic burr long. Really very good and in a great spot. Yumptious
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12/21/2018 - Horichdaslicht Likes this wine: 94 Points
Silky Smooth with layers of flavour & supple tannin. Appears to be right at it's best
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12/15/2018 - amred Likes this wine: 92 Points
Another example of how well made “traditional Bordeaux wines age so well. Just the least hint of brick in this 23 year old wine. Classic Bordeaux nose of leather, graphite and still some dark fruit. Incredibly smooth in the mouth with leather, graphite, a bit of green herbs and dark fruit. Tannins smooth, fruit still present. Will not improve, but certainly not over the hill. Considering the I initial investment and current prices for Bordeaux, a treasure.
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12/3/2018 - Chimer Likes this wine: 93 Points
Colour still youthful, Lovely lead pencil/cedary St Julien nose, fruit on the palate has lovely texture but tannins quite firm, not sure these will ever fully integrate. A delicious classic claret but outshone by the 2000 served alongside it which had much more convincing ripeness when it came to the tannins.
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12/2/2018 - kiichli wrote:
Stood up for a couple of days. 3-hr decant. A small sip shows a tightly-wound, brooding, big-shouldered wine. With dinner (beef wellington, potato gratin with emmentaler, and flat green beans)and in a bigger glass it comes together very nicely. Still remarkably fresh, with full aromatics, and a full but refreshing feel on the palate. Good tannins with some velvet.
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10/31/2018 - O'Meara Likes this wine:
Very dense and proper claret. Still youthful with a fine line of acidity to keep to fresh. This is drinking well with a decant and I am surprised at how young this tastes.
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10/25/2018 - darren81 Likes this wine:
8.5/10 - refer to prior note. same flight as 76 pape clement, 98 GPLacoste, and 95 Lalande. drinking very well now. pity it was my last bottle!
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10/18/2018 - Jimaronson Likes this wine: 95 Points
In same flight as 95 Pichon LaLande. More fruit than Pichon. Group thought it was California style. Chocolate, cigar box, more elegant than Pichon. Wine is terrific.
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8/22/2018 - G_H wrote: 97 Points
Celebrations on Lake Como - Martin’s Night: Awesome! Graphite, cigarbox, tobacco, warm, long, incredible power-vs-elegance play
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7/12/2018 - Paul D wrote: 93 Points
1995 Bordeaux (Piccolino, Exchange Square, London): Deep ruby/garnet. Smoky black fruit, mineral, cedar. Classic claret nose. Medium/full bodied, minerally black fruit, vibrant acidity, long, still slightly firm finish. Excellent/outstanding.
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7/12/2018 - SimonG wrote: 93 Points
1995 Bordeaux: Classic Barton. Cedar. Dark fruited. Serious nut resolved on the attack. Just s little tannin still on the finish. Proper. ****
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5/6/2018 - miadelt Likes this wine: 97 Points
Fantastic mature Bordeaux. Great flavors, nose, solid body, and a long finish.
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4/15/2018 - VoteferPedro Likes this wine: 94 Points
Really stupendous. My buddy decanted this about 2-3 hours prior to serving and it showed great body and fruit and was glorious at least another 3 hours. Seems this is in its prime!
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4/15/2018 - Christian von Dresky Does not like this wine: 80 Points
Die Hoffnugnn stirbt zuletzt - die Hoffnung das es an der Flasche lag. Hier ist außer bitteren Tanninen und harter, schroffer Säure wirklich nichts mehr zu holen. Schade!
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3/28/2018 - Alex Choi Likes this wine: 90 Points
Rudy colour with orange edge, nose of black fruits, medium acid and coffee, smooth and medum tannins, dry and long finish. No need to decant.
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3/23/2018 - bobbubbabs wrote: 89 Points
First from OWC purchased on release from then in NYC Sokolin wine merchant. Cork barely stained on the bottom, yet faint smell of cork (taint?) in the wine from beginning to end. Open an hour before tasting, the wine was one dimensional to start, but became more robust over several hours in a decanter. Uninspiring, as our experience with the 1995 bordeaux vintage usually is.
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1/28/2018 - Nanda wrote: 91 Points
1995 Bordeaux / Cali Cabernet Tasting (Casa de la Mata): Served blind in a 95 Cali/Bdx tasting. Fairly primary and un-evolved nose of plums with notions of herb and tobacco. Tighter with good concentration and still-firm tannins. With time this started to reveal more and flesh out. And according to others at the tasting, it was firing on all cylinders later in the evening. My #4, Group #2 in the flight. Needs even more time.
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1/28/2018 - miadelt Likes this wine: 96 Points
So f'in good. Drinking great marvelously right now, why wait.
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1/13/2018 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 91 Points
Graham/Barton tasting-cum-lunch (Restaurant Bak, Amsterdam, NL): Still a firm tannic structure, restrained style, medium weight, dark pitch, good spicy depth, solid but not very expressive.
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1/2/2018 - olalar wrote: 90 Points
Upon opening very good core of dark fruit with mature notes in abundance. I decanted and then the wine seemed to close down. After a few hours it became better but never seemed to completely recover. I would not decant this.
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12/30/2017 - PSPatrick wrote: 89 Points
I should have kept this in the cellar and opened the 1996 instead. This 1995 was very closed and unrewarding upon opening, even worse after an hour in the decanter (to a point where my wife insisted that it was flawed), and only started to open up after three hours of aeration. After three hours it offered shy aromas of dark flowers, dark fruit, cedar, tobacco, spices, clove and a hint of chocolate. On the palate, the wine now showed red and dark fruit, cherry, blackberry, black currant, spices and tobacco, with good acidity, smooth tannin, a good, full and smooth mouthfeel and very good length of the slightly drying finish. The wine opened-up over night, to also reveal a clean black currant aroma, graphite and a very mild vegetal note on the nose. On the palate, the wine had become fruity, now with graphite and a very mild vegetal note, but less full, and the backend was a little thin. The wine still lacked harmony, and the same was true on day three. As many 1995s, this wine needs more time to unfold and I would start drinking from 2025.That said, I am not fully convinced that this Léoville-Barton will ever truly shine. 89+(?) for now.
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12/29/2017 - depdoc Likes this wine: 89 Points
Dark fruit nose. Fruit is rather subdued. Tannins are very smooth.
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12/25/2017 - Balthasar wrote: 94 Points
A classic, mature Left Bank Bordeaux. Complex nose with blackcurrants, tobacco leafs, cocoa powder, mushrooms, smoke and hints of mint. Silky and elegant on the palate (only 12.5 % ABV) with all elements at the right place. A wine like a discreete gentleman. No need to hurry.
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12/20/2017 - Geoff Likes this wine: 89 Points
Beautiful nose with fruit and several layers of secondary notes. Seems a little out of kilter. medium body with fruit fading a bit and persistent moderate to strong tannins which persist on the finish. Perhaps past it's prime.
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12/18/2017 - HOS wrote: 95 Points
This has come so far it’s amazing. PnP. Mushroom, herbs, earth, currants. Silky smooth, medium bodied, strong finish. Did worry a couple of years ago but it’s come together perfectly. And we have another case!
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11/17/2017 - MikeATL Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very impressive, it unwinds subtly showing nuance and grace, with a little pyrazine greenness adding to the complexity, it richly rewards time in the glass and will reward more cellar time even more.
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11/16/2017 - rocknroller wrote: 93 Points
Frenchies at St. Gen (St. Genevieve, Mpls, MN): Very dark red/purple color. Decanted for 5 hours; drank 1 glass over 90 minutes. Drank next to a '95 Poyferre. Lots of cassis and dark berry fruit on the nose, graphite, wood spice, and plenty of earthiness. The palate is more open than the Poyferre, likely the decant time here; very pretty fruit on the palate, cassis, raspberry, graphite, dried earth, dried spice, medium plus body, good length. Typical '95 tannins with some grip. My preference tonight, by a bit.
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11/16/2017 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 93 Points
Vintage Bordeaux out of OWC tasting (Wine Watch, Fort Lauderdale, Florida): An overall solid performer in the tasting. Creme de cassis, a touch of kirsch, cigar box, cedar, and chocolate were all evident on the nose. A nice balance of red and dark fruits, there is nice elegance on the palate. Tannins were nicely balanced, and not showing the harshness of some other wines from 1995. There was still a nice tannic grip, and a lovely finish that lingered with a nice sweetness. There's no rush to drink this, as there was lots of life left in this bottle.
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11/16/2017 - chablis28 wrote: 92 Points
A very nice btl of classic mature BDX. The remaining structure needs to further resolve. if possible, for my liking. Based on the btls I've had to date I continue to prefer '96 BDX to '95 for overall balance. Both vintages seem to be in their earlier drinking windows for more classically styled producers like this.
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10/14/2017 - Rani Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tasted blind alongside Ducru and Las Cases. The most ready of the three. Surprising amount of fruit here, but after 40 minutes in the glass the dried herbs took over. At peak now and drink up over the next 2-3 years.
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9/23/2017 - RockinCabs wrote: 92 Points
Nose: Cassis, Blackberry, Cedar, Leather, and burly Barton tobacco notes. Classic nose. Palate: Moderate in weight showing good black fruit notes and nicely nuanced complexity of leather, capsicum, sweet earth and dried berries. Just a touch of asphalt minerality. Finish: Good length still and fresh red/black fruit notes. Great tartness to keep the wine fresh with good acidity.
Much better than a bottle tasted earlier this year that seemed to be thinning out, and losing fruit rapidly. Well stored bottles are not to be worried about here.
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9/23/2017 - portman63 Likes this wine: 93 Points
I was pleased with this bottle right from opening. It had such a great mouthfeel, fine tannins, and just the right balance of earthiness and black currants. Nothing was overly prominent, and the finish was marvelously extended. Went perfectly with both rillettes and rack of lamb.
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9/11/2017 - oncocyte Likes this wine: 94 Points
Best bottle to date. Tobacco cedar nose, sweet cassis, integrated tannins, long finish. No rush to finish this case.
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9/5/2017 - Remony wrote: 90 Points
Deep colour, no watering. Subdued nose, good red berry flavours, but weak in the mid-palate. Julia detected acetone, but I did not. I wondered about mild TCA, but half a dozen bottles from the same case in 2012 were very similar, so I conclude that this is simply no more than a moderately good wine for its class and reputation. 1995 has been a consistently disappointing red bordeaux vintage for me.
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8/7/2017 - DFBW Likes this wine: 92 Points
Cork pulled, one hour of air and no decant. Straight there with a lovely taste of dark fruit - very silky with and a long long finish. No hint of too much age - plenty left in this wine so happy to sit on my last one for a while.
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6/18/2017 - J R Grimley Likes this wine: 93 Points
From a magnum. Upon opening - lovely blackcurrant aroma. At first still tannic but after 45mins really softened and resolved, then became more pleasurable with every sip for the next 3 hours. Not as distinct as the 99 or 96 but very pleasurable indeed. By the next day the couple of glasses that were left were not nearly as good - had started to taste a bit oxidised.
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6/16/2017 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 94 Points
Blind konnte der Leoville-Barton 1995 wieder voll überzeugen. Für mich in einer Liga wie der HB 1995, wirklich eine Spur gefälliger und geschmeidiger zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt, typisch Bordeaux. 94
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5/31/2017 - HOS wrote: 93 Points
Amazingly, this takes 1 1/2 hours of decanting to really start showing its stuff.
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4/29/2017 - BSA wrote: 91 Points
From memory. We tasted 85/94/95/01 and this one was definitely the tightest of them. Perhaps also the most acidic. Some evolevement on the nose. Palate mostly cherries and red berries. Bit lean. 91
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4/26/2017 - acyso wrote: 88 Points
Blind 1995 Bordeaux at Table, Donkey and Stick (Chicago, IL): Served blind in flights of 1995 Bordeaux. Charred oak on the nose, this came across as a bit flashy. Black fruit, and very dense, this wasn't a particularly nuanced wine. At the end of the day, I did feel as if this had enough earthiness that left bank was still a good guess.
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4/4/2017 - swapdoc wrote:
Vibrant, cherry color. Dominant taste of tomato leaf, with some sweetness of black cherry coming in the end. Vegetative flavor hints of cab franc, though believe this blend has none. Cedar, leather, aged cab flavor. Prefer a younger, fruit driven profile. Drink up.
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4/2/2017 - pclin wrote: 92 Points
PnP. Nice nose, floral and clean. Pencil shavings, sour plums, and burnt cigar. Probably the best bottle from an EP case. Acidity has subsided. Good complexity and length. Enter the prime drinking window now and should last for years. Good bottle. Sipping this while listening to Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty", one of my favorite album.
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2/27/2017 - Stefan75 Likes this wine: 91 Points
From Mag, 3hr decant, perfect cork, took some more time to really open up in the glass but then beautifull expression of a classic st.julien. Has definitely live ahead, tasted blind we would have guessed a 2001 or 2004.
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2/24/2017 - flwino wrote: 92 Points
decanted one hour plus
Great nose, solid color, good fruit
low tannins
Super finish
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2/23/2017 - vinole wrote: 93 Points
Was tight and closed upon opening, but after 1.5 -2 hrs of decanting, it opened nicely, and was well balanced and even a bit feminine in character. Notes of graphite and cedar, with a very dark fruit profile and some good complexity. Drinking very nicely after proper aeration.
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2/18/2017 - GA Old World Guy wrote: 90 Points
What a let down. This wine has somehow gotten very expensive for a wine that doesn't really justify it. Muted nose for 2+ hours. Very tannic for 2+ hours. If you plan on drinking it soon...decant, decant, decant.
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2/6/2017 - wineappreciation wrote: 92 Points
Graphite, black fruits, distant hints of tobacco; smooth, intense, extended, still somewhat tannic and limited fruit, but nevertheless balanced and lovely
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1/25/2017 - mattiasjansson wrote: 90 Points
Barton tasting with Damien Barton Sartorius (Gordon's): Elegant, but a hint of sourness
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1/25/2017 - chcook Likes this wine:
Leoville Barton at Gordon's (Gordons Waltham): color garnet and showing some age on edges. nose has a medicinal earthy stewed vegetable quality. made me wonder about provenance. swishing reveals stern tannin and fading fruit. sipping the same. maybe not a perfect example, but if so would drink up.
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1/25/2017 - RockinCabs wrote: 90 Points
Leoville Barton Tasting Seminar - (1986 - 2011) (Gordon's Wines - Waltham, MA): Nose: Leather, Oak, Cherry Cola and some sweaty horsey notes. Palate: Elegant red fruited approach with oak, tobacco and vanillin. Tannin is quite drying. Finish: Tart fruit, leather, coffee and oak.
This bottle seemed like it did not have the stuffing to handle the oak treatment. It did have charm, but seemed like a departure from the strapping Barton style. I have had better bottles of this.
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1/1/2017 - zut alors! Likes this wine: 96 Points
perfect. The cab sauv, merlot, petit verdot, cab franc blend is very integrated. Tannins are resolved but enough acidity to keep the wine lively. This wine could not be better.
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12/24/2016 - Sixchips600 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Had this with the 1995 LLC and this lost by a point but still a great wine. Showed more prominent vanilla and also nice black fruit and earthy notes. Drinking well.
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11/28/2016 - HOS wrote: 93 Points
PnP. Most pronounced barnyard funk I've ever had which blew off to solid Bordeaux profile. Doubt it gets any better.
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11/12/2016 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Leoville Barton trial run (Kennards, Waterloo): From Coravin. Medium minus intensity nose, soft and creamy. Even with agitation not giving much on the nose...with time more leathery and sweet cherry. In the mouth it's juicy with muted cherry and chalky tannins. Finishes with some white pepper notes.
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10/17/2016 - latimer wrote: 90 Points
Decanted and tasted with the 1996, 10th bottle of a case of 12 and the last 2 have been disappointing. All very classic, but the hard tannins and edges of 1995 are still there and I suspect the fruit is beginning to lose the battle. the 1996 was softer with more fruit and classic cedary maturity. I have had other 95s that are also losing fruit but holding tannin structure, so my bet would be drink sooner rather than later as I cant see it improving from here. Needs food.
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10/14/2016 - Life At Your Leisure 🍷 wrote: 94 Points
Dark garnet turning violet at the rim with a transparent outer rim before a reflective edge. The nose gives off fumes of dark espresso, scorched earth, dark berries. The body is medium to full, dry, and intensely crafted. Flavors of blackberry, black tea, espresso, tobacco, iron filings, and graphite form the core of this built-to-last offering. Finishes with a hint of menthol. Drink now until 2025.
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10/1/2016 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
8th and 9th of 18, pnp, apparently perfect level and cork, though first bottle CORKED, slightly fresher and more cassis than my May 15 note, now properly on plateau of maturity, usual weight mid palate with (slight) question over exit dry tannin and attenuation. F+ (18).
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9/4/2016 - HOS wrote: 95 Points
Opened 1 hour prior to drinking. Perfect Bordeaux nose, barnyard, mushroom. Perfectly integrated, medium bodied, elegant. Classic wine 21 years later. Should last for a decade.
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9/3/2016 - Andrea1975 wrote: 92 Points
Very good bottle in a nice drinking phase. Fruit still showing, plenty of evolved notes (cigar box, cedar), nice concentration and mouthfeel. Quite persistent.
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8/21/2016 - hrazdiiv Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank undecanted and have notes/thoughts that are similar to many of the other recent reviews. I found this to be a touch softer than most Left Bank wines this age with some very pleasant notes of baking spices, light cigar box framing some sweet tannins and nice acidity. Color was, as you'd expect, a medium garnet but despite very little bricking, I think this is a 5yr wine at this point, 10 years tops. Despite the tannins, the fruit structure is just too soft, so I'd enjoy this in fairly short order. A terrific wine for someone who wants to try and older Bordeaux at a reasonable price.
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8/2/2016 - shaferguy91 wrote: 92 Points
1 hour decant.
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7/17/2016 - RussK wrote: 92 Points
Russk.WSW at Robs condo WA st Bx blends vs those from Bx. Rob's opening wine and the WOTN. Thx Rob!
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6/21/2016 - mwneil Likes this wine: 93 Points
wine showed it age but in a good way, balanced, complex, medium bodied but light on its taste, drank with steak, probably will not have another chance to taste again.
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5/10/2016 - rossi.wine wrote: 92 Points
Tasted after the 2000 Grand-Puy-Lacoste, this was also showing really well - a bit more restrained, but still open and expressive. More tannic grip, maybe a little less vibrant, still superbly well balanced. Drink or keep. 91-93
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4/23/2016 - Wrighty Likes this wine: 91 Points
A little closed still even after an hour's decant. Dusty nose and palate a little flat and tight. Finally opened up through the evening to reveal and lushness that bodes well for its future
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4/6/2016 - Papies wrote: 91 Points
Decanted and served. Decanting helps here.
Classic claret , light spice, light herbs, light earth, black fruits, tobacco.still vibrant and a good albeit at time light badlynripe fruit core. Medium bodied and pretty enjoyable. A good 91
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3/31/2016 - SlimShaney wrote: 91 Points
Velvet socks. Warn. Comfortable. Slip in and feel at home.
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3/20/2016 - garymouton wrote: 95 Points
I am grateful for the reviews that encouraged me to open a bottle of this wine. I still have a 1986 that I am saving. I bought and stored this bottle since release and the ullage was still at mid neck. Wonderful mature bordeaux...cedar, smooth tannin, ample fruit and leather integrated with a lingering finish. I agree with the recent reviews...this wine is at its peak...it will likely stay there for quite some time, but it will be difficult not to drink my last few bottles. This wine is the epitome of old style bordeaux and drinking beautifully at age 21. In contrast to Diane (Li), I would actually rate this higher than the 1995 Grand Puy Lacoste in terms of depth and fruit. A pleasant surprise, given other vintages of LB can be difficult to appreciate at times.
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3/19/2016 - Papies wrote: 91 Points
Requires decanting like the classic claret of the 90s this wine is.the Barton philosophy of making a lighter style of wine definitely helped in avoiding the 1995 pitfalls of dry edges and a bit of green tannin we usually come across in this at the time celebrated vintage.
This is as classic as it gets, light spice, earthy, blackcurrants, light cedar and a bit herbal. Well round and soft on the tannin, decent fruit. Was a bit short on the finish and we would have liked some more depth but we thoroughly enjoyed this. 91
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2/24/2016 - fizz wrote: 91 Points
Decanted and poured immediately. Red tinged edges. Typical aged Bordeaux aromatics of cedar, black fruits, tobacco, earth. Attractive, without blowing you away. Medium bodied. Well resolved now. Finishes with decent length. On this showing, no need to wait further.
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2/21/2016 - Diane (LI) wrote:
It started out hard but air brought out the aromatics and then the palate softened and showed beautiful dark cherries. I am hoping time will bring out more complexity. Compared to the 1995 Grand Puy Lacoste we had recently,this one takes a back seat, but it is still a lovely wine.
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2/18/2016 - HOS Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for 1/2 hour before drinking. Deep purple color with slight bricking around edges. Earth, barnyard notes predominating. Well integrated tannins, good finish, medium bodied. Everything I look for in an aged claret. Should plateau for a few years?
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2/6/2016 - COWineLover wrote: 90 Points
Poured from a 375 with about 3 hours to breathe and open up. Aromas are somewhat closed but there are tones of cedar, brush, cassis and faint incense. On the palate the tannins are dusty. The flavor profile includes cedar, tobacco, blackberries, savory herbs, and charcoal. The fruit takes a back seat to the other flavors. The finish ends somewhat abruptly and dried out. Far less tannic than the 1995 Pavie Macquin we have consumed, this is unlikely to improve. A fine claret but nothing spectacular.
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2/5/2016 - daghaug Likes this wine:
Jordprega duft med litt solbær, noe lakris som forsvinner, litt pepper. Veldig harmonisk, også i munnen. Rund og god munnfølelse, med fine tanniner. Rik og kompleks munnfølelse hvor smakene har smeltet sammen i en høyere enhet. Fullmoden. Preg av lær, litt anis og modne plommer i ettersmaken. Sitter lenge i. Nydelig, rett og slett. Perfekt match til entrecote med bearnaise. På tross av at tanninene nesten ikke kjennes, er de der og skjærer rett gjennom fettet i munnen.
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1/17/2016 - whitmanlholt Likes this wine: 92 Points
Popped and poured. This is a medium red wine with some modest sediment in the final glass. On the nose, I get woods, some slight barnyard, and some assorted stones/rocks. In the mouth, this is crisp and structured, although there is not as much fruit as I would like. Overall, this is classic aged claret in the Leo B. style. I don’t see a benefit in waiting further, so drink up. 92 points.
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1/3/2016 - Kellch wrote: 90 Points
Not as good as the other bottle I had most recently. Less fruit and more acidity.
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12/24/2015 - swyang wrote: 95 Points
Gorgeous wine at its prime stage. Just right timing where the sun and the soil meet and displays a oneness that I appreciate most in a classic wine. Beautiful nose of wet earth, leather, lavender, in a mature fruitful body just starting to lose its gripping tannin. The texture is just transparent yet lush, the taste is silky yet profound. Gorgeous.
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12/12/2015 - winelover1808 wrote: 93 Points
savory tobacco and red fruit. Medium bodied and far from being over the hill at 20 years of age.
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12/7/2015 - Dough Boy Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drinking terrifically now, this wine is a true top Bordeau, a rich balance of cassis, dark fruit and earth.
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11/28/2015 - Geoff Likes this wine: 91 Points
Gorgeous nose of sweet dark fruit, forest floor, oak, smoke and spice box. Multidimensional, complex. Medium/full bodied. Tannins resolving/just a tad remaining. Balanced. Long finish. Very enjoyable.
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11/26/2015 - swapdoc wrote:
Color of dark cherry, vibrant, with no sign of bricking. Fragrant aroma of aged cedar, tobacco and tomato leaf, evolving further into perfumed aromatics of balsa wood and crushed spices. Reminds of a mature Barolo. Aged fruit -- neither lush nor overtly sweet -- is balanced by an overall acidity, wit a hint of tannins in the finish. The taste lingers mostly on the tip of the tongue, adding to the overall structured and somewhat lean feel. Drink now.
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11/21/2015 - j30 wrote:
From memory. Still incredibly youthful and fruity. Fine tannins. Great to open this wine.
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11/14/2015 - winelover1808 wrote: 93 Points
savory, tobacco notes on a core of red fruit. not many signs of aging. Smooth, medium bodied and seems quite far from being over the hill at 20 years. delish.
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11/7/2015 - aChave Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted. Sound cork and 1/2 neck fill. Medium-dark ruby. Medium body/weight. Classic Barton; well structured with plenty of round, deep fruit and acidity to add freshness. Unforgiving on opening the bottle but opened very gradually in the decanter over 2 hours (needed 60+ minutes to start to show itself). Enjoyed it, but doesn't appear to be on a down curve as of yet; I'd suggest a long decent or give it more cellar time. Much less evolved than the '85 I had the evening before.
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11/7/2015 - redknife Likes this wine: 90 Points
Its been several weeks since I drank it. It was good with about 1 1/2 hr decant. Don't recall much; took it to Smith and Wollensky
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10/25/2015 - NineteenEightyTwo Likes this wine: 91 Points
La Fête du Bordeaux (Park Hyatt, Chicago): Dark rosewood, with the faintest hint of bricking. A restrained nose, though deep inhalation reveals sandalwood and ash notes. The palate is juicy upfront, with the red fruit flavors quickly overtaken by strict tannins, persisting through the long finish. Consistent with the bottle I tasted in September of last year, this needs more time to mature and should see its 30th birthday in good condition.
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10/21/2015 - pclin wrote: 92 Points
Clean and floral, quite good on the nose. Still slightly high in acidity, grainy tannins, dry mid-palate, could use more time. Decent showing and fairly promising. No hint of alcohol. Cigar box, oyster shell, faint level of oak, well integrated. Food wine rather than on its own due to the acidity level. But this bottle shows some hope for further development and improvement. Should last another 10 years with ease.
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10/10/2015 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 Points
Pristine bottle, level into neck. Compared to previous experiences, this is a quite charming rendition of the 1995 Barton. The nose is very chalky, deep and completely classical but not very inviting; the palate is slender, again very classical but relatively supple, fresh and lively, medium weight; flavoursome and long. Fully mature, no reason to keep this much longer, even though it will.
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8/28/2015 - wculpepper Likes this wine: 92 Points
On our 20th wedding anniversary, we opened this 20-year-old Bordeaux to celebrate. Double-decanted; light-to-moderate sediment; both fill and cork were excellent. Took this to a restaurant for dinner and failed to make notes that night.
Second day: A faint hint of browning around the edges of a nice ruby color. Nose of dark fruit and a trace of cedar. Bold fruit--plums perhaps--on the palate, well balanced by the acids. Lengthy finish with smooth tannins. Probably will not improve in future years, but I can imagine enjoying my remaining 11 bottles over the next 10 years.
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8/23/2015 - Wine_lvr wrote: flawed
°°° Bordeaux 1995 °°°: Unfortunately a tainted bottle. There seems to be a youthful and good wine hiding below the TCA. Need to retaste
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8/14/2015 - ETT95 wrote: 92 Points
It's very young tho it's already 20 years of age. The colour is ruby red and the rim is tight. At nose, hint of cedar and a bit of earthiness and smokiness right opened. After decanting for an hour more fruits comes out, both red and black. On palate it's fruity with significant but not overwhelming acidity. Tannin is a bit rough but quickly balanced by its acidity. Noticeable alcohol makes the wine less smooth. The structure is firm and the finish is long (around 30s). This wine will improve by cellaring.
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7/29/2015 - salil wrote: 92 Points
Showed remarkably well for a '95, especially as this was just popped and poured at the table. Very savoury, with a core of rich black currants and other dark berried fruit framed by lots of cedar, graphite, tobacco and slightly bitter earthy elements. Powerful and still a touch tannic, but showing a lot of complexity with air, and a great match with the duck.
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7/18/2015 - vespasian wrote:
Lovely complex compote of red Fruits and bramble on the nose, sandalwood, pepper, tobacco, minerals; smooth palate, great concentration, lovely silky weight. Deep note of liquorice, stony minerality. Excellent.
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6/22/2015 - johnh1001 wrote: 87 Points
Dark fruit, earth, leather, gravel and the burnt rubber note. Soft and open but one dimensional and short.
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5/30/2015 - liber Likes this wine: 92 Points
7th of 18, perfect fill and cork, decanted 90 minutes, previous notes fine or better - deep, bright garnet, scarcely any development; initially very primary blackcurrant around iron core, slightly dusty and earthy fruit, tended to mulberry in the glass after 2 hours; medium bodied, good length, expressive mid palate but showing trace of attenuation at end and slightly over acid making it refreshing but not quite rich enough to carry it (just a sense of too much under-ripe fruit in cuvee - a bit of a miracle vintage after September storms after all!). Benefit of doubt fine plus (18/20).
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5/24/2015 - 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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4/25/2015 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 Points
A private dinner at a friend's: The 1995 is a classic, masculine and structured Barton, tannic and quite bloody, but this bottle has more soft ripe fruit and more succulence than the difficult and austere one tasted in December 2014. I think this is now fully mature, but I find it difficult to predict how time will treat this wine in the next two decades. There is not a lot of flesh, so it may go from muscular to sinewy to skeletal. But if the (recently tasted) Las Cases 1975 is anything to go by, it may also find a balance and wisdom that it did not have before.
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4/12/2015 - rupertg Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dull red, rim still red and black centre. Solid settlement in bottle. Lovely blackcurrant nose, tannic finish emerging. Beginning to dry out, but lovely lingering fruit overrides it. Great value, peaking around the 15 year point, although will go on to more delicate enjoyment for another 15.
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3/28/2015 - MichielV wrote: 91 Points
Tom's Bday dinner: next to 95's : Insignia, Pichon Baron, Comtesse Baron. First bottle was only OK but at end we had another one, which was much better. probably peak drinking now. Still great color, great medium nose and on palate just a good bordeaux. it always amazes that after 20 years something can still look and taste young. Comtesse won the night.
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2/20/2015 - vespasian Likes this wine:
Good nose, cool, complex and mineral, a little bloody iron. Very complex actually; lovely fruit on the palate and good structure, tannins still noticeable but not in a bad way. Good refreshment, very good indeed. Lovely.
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2/5/2015 - Marc wrote: 93 Points
Triple Birthday Dinner (Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand): Tasted just after the stunning Craggy Range Sophia 2007, this beautiful wine shared similarities in terms of its gorgeous fruit ripeness (allowing for the difference in cepage). Distinctly leaner than the CR and obviouly echt-Bordeaux in style, this is a true vin-de-garde which (to my tastes) is only just coming into maturity. Very vibrant in the mouth, very structured. Some wonderful tertiary nuances of fall foliage and cedar bring lovely resonance to the proceedings. During the course of the evening this wine opened in wonderful ways and expressed itself to a deeper level than the (also outstanding ) CR - even though both wines were within a whisker of each other in terms of ultimate quality. Drinking now - 2035, based on tonight's showing - hard to imagine this is already 20 years of age.
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1/28/2015 - OW_SOSPEL Likes this wine: 92 Points
Belle couleur rubis avec ocelle brique. Moyennement brillant. Assez lourd.
Très joli nez de fruits noirs (cassis) et de violette. Joli boisé vanillé très intégré. Fond de cendre avec pointe de bois de cèdre, d'eucalyptus et de thym. Très belle minéralité.
Attaque ronde et tapissante sur les fruits rouges et noirs. Fond minéral, réglissé et légèrement herbacé. Milieu de bouche un tout petit peu court, mais beaucoup de fraicheur !
Grande et belle finale sur les fruits et quelques aromes empyreumatiques modérés. Très jolis tanins gourmands et belle acidité résiduelle.
Vin d'une extrême jeunesse n'ayant pas pris une ride. Intégration et équilibre parfait. Un Barton irréprochable comme ce château en produit depuis la nuit des temps.
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1/2/2015 - ctc wrote: 92 Points
Good but disappointing, not the usual flair that Léoville-Barton normally has. I've read that others are waiting for it to come together better but after 20 years I just don't see that happening.
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12/25/2014 - Sixchips600 Likes this wine: 93 Points
We really enjoyed this tonight. Graphite, mineral, focused, linear, if a bit dusty. Prominent but integrated oak, black fruit. Good balance and structure, silky tannins. Will show more complexity with age, but i don't think I will enjoy it more. Showed best after 2-3 hours in decanter.
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12/18/2014 - Stefan75 wrote: 91 Points
From Mag, 30min decant, dark & masculine compared to the Smith Haut Lafite 98 we drank in parallel, earthy notes, tannins already well integrated but no signs of aging...
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12/16/2014 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 91 Points
Pristine bottle, perfect level (into neck), label and cork (no seepage whatsoever). A very classic and masculine Saint-Julien profile, earth, spice and blackcurrants on the nose; quite lean and tannic on the palate, bursting with mineral energy, but there seems to be little stuffing, austere; very good length. A powerful wine, but when is it going to come together? Nineteen years do not seem to have been enough?
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12/3/2014 - etyc wrote:
Dinner at Park Palace with the IT guys (Park Palace): A mistake that we had this after all the very nice mellow wines preceding it. Earthly, dark-fruited nose... But on the palate, this came across as lean and tannic, with some indian-ink. Austere's the word. Needs a lot more time in bottle.
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11/23/2014 - CyroW Likes this wine: 95 Points
this wine keeps surprising me. 1995 comes out as a vintage with many too austere wines, possibly not fully ready yet despite near 20 years of age. but this Leo Barton has a great fruity background that combines really well with its tannins making it incredibly well balanced. The nose carries is all about violet. After one day, Leo B 95 gets better with chocolate notes as well. great wine and great value.
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10/19/2014 - Bill Bucklew wrote:
Red fruit driven nose, this a rounder style for the vintage on approach, less structured and softer, black fruit predominant, but the core is still tight and only started to open up after a few hours. This underperformed, but I think it just needs a bit more time.
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10/5/2014 - DrinkBordeaux Likes this wine: 93 Points
Another winner from Leoville Barton. Took very little time to open up. Lots of dark fruit here, with notes of tobacco and leather. Nose was very typical St. Julien. Not quite as structured as the 96, but more so than the 94. Less funk than the 96 has as well. The fruit continued to concentrate over the ensuing 4 hours. Long finish with soft tannins. This is a wine in its prime drinking window, but should continue to drink well for several years.
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9/21/2014 - jcoleman Likes this wine: 95 Points
as before
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9/9/2014 - Grand Amateur Likes this wine: 93 Points
Immediately after opening: Nice fruit. Round and soft. Open. One hour later, after decanting: The fruit is less upfront. It becomes more complex. Obviously, it will become better with more aging. The tannin's still need to melt further. Still, with lamb, it already is a great, complex, fruity wine. With time, air, it becomes fuller, broader. Surely a sign that it will improve.
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9/7/2014 - NineteenEightyTwo Likes this wine: 91 Points
Popped and poured, this had a nose of potpourri and acetone, with a tight, tart palate. With a few hours of decanting, the nose evolves a rich aroma of cherry compote. The palate echoes this with a bold, fruity profile. Despite 20 years in the bottle, this remains mostly primary. Three hours of aeration did not soften the still grippy tannins. If the 1985 Léoville Barton is an indication, there are manifold wonderful dimensions of this wine waiting to reveal themselves over the next decade. Would expect my comparatively modest score to trend upwards over time.
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8/24/2014 - jcoleman Likes this wine: 95 Points
wow! this is now a taste explosion! eventually the tannins have softened and the blackberry fruit flavour is singing out with all the complexity that you would want from a great left bank wine. great weight on the wine , fantastic viscosity and a flavour that goes on and on. top stuff! 95 might be unfair!
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8/22/2014 - benny wrote: 93 Points
Not changed much in three years.
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7/16/2014 - AccaDacca Likes this wine: 94 Points
Just outstanding. Wonderful nose, plenty of fruit balanced with tannins. Graphite, some leather, some dirt. Nice long finish. Plenty of life ahead, wish I had more.
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6/30/2014 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
R&D slipped one into Saturday's tasting which ended up being flawed so they stood one up so that we could try it, having only two in our cellar. Popped & poured, this had a light meniscus but deep crimson core. The bouquet featured aromas of black currants and plum with earthy/funky undertones. Plum, red berry and forest floor tones on the palate. Integrated and balanced, on the light side of medium-bodied; almost feminine on the palate. With time in the glass, aromas of saddle leather and dried tobacco emerged. An feminine, elegant vintage, much softer and lighter than I expected. Really a wine for a meal. Based on this bottle, I do not see too much improvement, rather, a long window of terrific drinking. Drink now-2020 with a meal.
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6/28/2014 - AllRed wrote: flawed
4th Saturday Brown Bagger (Sue & Mike's): Corked.
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5/4/2014 - PASimon wrote: 92 Points
Another great showing for LB. Started off with some funk but that blew off fast and opened up to that prefect balance between secondary and primary profiles that I have come to love with 1995!
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5/3/2014 - pbaek wrote:
There's a lot fruit left here. The fruit is red- and blue-toned with marks of cassis, perhaps a bit polished a well. Classic notes of cedar and tobacco, lacks a bit character perhaps. All in a good Leoville, perfectly enjoyable now and many years ahead, maybe with even more to come.
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4/26/2014 - fatfishzsy wrote: 90 Points
黑色浆果，花香强于90，回味过酸从而掩盖住了其他香味，平衡度弱于90
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4/6/2014 - Pknut wrote:
Good, but nothing great. Black fruit, some cedar notes, smooth sides. To me, shows a leanness typical of ‘95, especially compared with the fuller ‘96 Barton that has more material, more heft.
Rothmann's with Vinotas, the Wilfords and Roy H.
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3/8/2014 - rdsboca Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank side by side with 1996. A bot angular, dark red cherry fruit, narrower flavors than the 1996, structure will give it age. Delish.
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2/4/2014 - jcoleman wrote: flawed
This is a real worry. Hopefully it is a one off but this is definitely past it. Clear signs of oxidation on the nose and the palate. As feared (if not a one off) the fruit was not strong enough to outlast the tannins.
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1/29/2014 - CloserIam2Wine wrote: 89 Points
Similar to other notes: decanted a mag for 2 hours, reticent nose of cedar, tobacco & cassis; medium bodied, supple, balanced palate with a hint of lose-grained tannin on the finish. Nice now, might improve a bit but I can't see how this could become earth moving.
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1/2/2014 - englishman's claret wrote: 92 Points
375. Beautiful nose of cedar and earth in the decanter but markedly less pronounced in the glass. Dark fruit. Not the most complex but on balance, the classicism makes it enjoyable. The palate borders on austere at first but fleshes out nicely with a couple hours in decanter. Definite resemblance to the '98... and both are still young.
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12/23/2013 - jcoleman wrote: 90 Points
The tannins are beginning to soften here and the fruit is holding up. There is just an outside possibility that the fruit may win! I hope so, there is a gem of a wine in there somewhere!
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11/9/2013 - simonj wrote: 89 Points
Mellowing out but still quite closed. Great length however.
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10/20/2013 - elledeca wrote:
Vintage Bordeaux dinner; 10/19/2013-10/20/2013 (chez nous): very tightly wound, red fruit, mint, more polished and longer than the previous wines. wait.
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9/21/2013 - Bromie Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted and poured immediately, which was, with hindsight a mistake. Initially closed and surprisingly tannic. Opened out beautifully over the course of an hour, although still with those grippy tannins. Sweet with a medium finish. No hurry at all to drink up and may get even better if those tannins fade
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9/5/2013 - Jhcwine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nose - Typical St. Julien nose. Palette - As above. But still needs afew years aging. 93.
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8/18/2013 - chbeaumont wrote: 91 Points
Full of colour ; initially lacks interest, this blossoms; well built, with air a complete wine; balanced, stylish. Needs food, plenty of time in hand.
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8/9/2013 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 94 Points
THis is a wine that continues to improve. Wish I had a bunch more!
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7/10/2013 - pclin wrote: 92 Points
Best showing from a case bought during EP so far. Maybe tasting alongside a so-so L'arrosee 96' has something to do with it. Acidity seems to have settled down, shows good balance and length. Fairly enjoyable. LB usually is good value but I have never come across any exciting bottle unlike LLC. 91- 93 pts.
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7/7/2013 - rupertg wrote: 91 Points
Red rim, full blackcurrant nose and balanced mouthful. Tannic finish. Robust now, but will it thin. Dries the, teeth, but aftertaste I,s currants. Lovely. Robust with food.
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7/2/2013 - JonathanP wrote: 93 Points
Young. Black current, plum, cedar, graphite, minerals - classic left bank. Great concentration and line across the palate. Tannins are slightly dusty and provide excellent grip to the finish, but there are signs they are resolving. Serious stuff here and still pretty tight. No funk in this bottle. This was consumed after a 1 hour decant (over about 2 hours) - in hindsight, probably not long enough. Let this sleep for another 7-10 years.
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5/31/2013 - sandwich Likes this wine: 93 Points
Three hour decant and paired with grilled strip steaks. Classic Bordeaux in its prime drinking window. Big and ripe with lots of juicy fruit and a touch of classic left bank panache. I am sure this has at least ten years left, but I will not hesitate to keep opening these. In a single word: "very good but not phenomenal".
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5/27/2013 - ovenmitt wrote:
No formal notes - Very nice bottle although not a lot of fruit showing. This still felt very young to me. 90 points -
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5/24/2013 - Cheungtp Likes this wine: 93 Points
LB delivers again, and this one should be in its optimal drinking window. Clear ruby red with slight browning near the rim. Nose is seductive, with graphite, red fruits, coffee, creamy cassis and floral. Very round, silky on the palate, with savory notes of plum juice, tobacco, red cherry, the secondary nuances have developed nicely. Medium bodied, tannins are very fine, soft and smooth, adding just a right touch to the structure. Excellent finish with length, dried fruits, smoke and wood. What a nice bottle.
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5/17/2013 - PASimon wrote: 92 Points
Wonderful, youthful and integrated. But it really needs two + hours of air before it hits its stride!
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5/12/2013 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is a wine that continues to improve over time!
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5/7/2013 - mattjohnson_78 wrote: 93 Points
enjoyed out of styrofoam cup, ha! big juicy core of red fruit, with pencil shavings and forrest floor. there was a tiny bit of astringency that i think will go away with some more time drink now through 2023...
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4/24/2013 - guido23 wrote: flawed
Drank over the course of 3 hours. Cork broke off in the bottle. There was some kind of funk around the edge the entire time so I think this bottle was defective.
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4/6/2013 - mariolanza Likes this wine: 90 Points
Great aftertaste, classic Bordeaux. This has a few years left.
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2/25/2013 - Goldstone wrote: 88 Points
Translucent ox-blood colour. Nose of damp loam, wet hay, blackcurrant pastilles. Palate is slightly sharp but very nice middle-aged classic St. Julien…..cedar, earth, pine needles, damp cedar woods undergrowth, white mushrooms. Most of the fruit has faded. Middleweight and slightly dilute. Not much length. Pleasant Englishmen's claret but not memorable. This was a gift from a friend and judging from the badly faded label this may not have been optimally stored. Certainly disappointing compared to a bottle I drank a year ago.
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1/26/2013 - Jhcwine Likes this wine: 91 Points
On openning - not much nose. But will come. Palette - as above. Abit dusty. Abit of tannin.
After 45 minute decant. Nose - Musty fruit. Palette - musty fruit. Abit of tannin.
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1/14/2013 - jcoleman wrote: 90 Points
as always with this wine it's not quite as good as expected. good cedarwood backbone and fine aftertaste
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1/12/2013 - JeremyQ wrote: 89 Points
nose had a combination of a bit of barnyard (initially) with some nice fruit. On the taste, it was quite austere. We opened this at the end of dinner and I think this would show better with food. The nose and taste were very different
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12/25/2012 - pclin wrote: 89 Points
Rather disappointing bottle. Subtle nose with high acidity level, not very good balance overall. It's already 17 years old, this wine may never turn the corner. 88-90 pts.
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12/14/2012 - Billiken wrote: 87 Points
Lean and relatively austere. Too much barnyard on the nose.
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12/11/2012 - Reptibark wrote:
Didn't take formal notes as it was tasted at a party so I'm going to editorialize. My favorite bottle of the night and up against some big hitters (Dunn HM, Beringer Napa Cab and other like wines that I am too fuzzy to remember). Many people loved it and I did too. Don't rush, folks, it's not going anywhere anytime soon...
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11/11/2012 - slaughterer wrote: 93 Points
Dark ruby. Relatively closed, ethereal nose of menthol. Palate of muted dark cherry, bitter red preserves with seeds, licorice, some cedar wood, lead pencil, earth. Juicy, citric acidity livens up the exit. Classic and reserved in expression.
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11/3/2012 - godx wrote:
La Commanderie de Bordeaux à Vancouver - Gala Dinner (Fairmont Pacific Rim): This is a hammer of a wine—big, structured, tight and backward. Very tannic with excellent acidity. The tannins were somewhat bitter and astringent. The wood needs to integrate further as well. This needs a lot of time. Judgement reserved at this point but if everything comes together should be a really nice wine.
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11/3/2012 - MattTM wrote:
Commanderie de Bordeaux: Gala Dinner (Fairmont Pacific Rim - Vancouver, BC): Initially quite tight and restrained on the nose, with aromas of bright red fruits, cassis, lead pencil shavings, graphite, anise, and a touch of charred oak. Fairly muted on the palate as well, displaying more red cherries, black pepper and clove spice, bitter red currants, menthol, and the typical lead pencil shavings. Lots of acidity coupled with hard gritty tannins. Medium length finish ending on notes of tart red currants and lead pencil. This clearly is in an awkward spot right now and is hard as nails. Astringent, tart, and bitter, but the foundation is in place. I wouldn't try again for at least 3 years. With time, very good.
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10/17/2012 - grapist wrote: 95 Points
A great bottle. The previous one, in December of 2011 was the weakest of the case, and this was clearly the best. Only one left. Opened the bottle and poured 4 glasses which we didn't taste for about 15 minutes. In that time, this bright, youthful looking wine got right up to speed. Unmistakably Bordeaux, this had everything going - fruit, mellow tannins and acid, soft mouth-feel, and most importantly, to me, at least, the instant recognition that it was something special.
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9/18/2012 - johnwine Likes this wine: 87 Points
We tasted this wine last evening and it was not open on the nose or the taste. It is very tightly constructed and possibly going through a dumb period in its development. It was the least accessible and least favorite wine of the four we tasted.
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9/8/2012 - burgburgburg wrote: 91 Points
on a root day; allowed half hour bottle breath at bottom should level and then served after a hour; balanced and classic aroma; much more aromatic and open than expected; fairly good structure; finish is rather simple and short
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8/20/2012 - Remony wrote: 90 Points
Six bottles to the Burgoyne for the grouse dinner with the Donnersmarck party. Excellent levels, good colour and initial nose. But it is diffuse in mid-palate, and ultimately a little weak. A touch watery. After so many examples, in my view 1995 is an over-rated vintage in Bordeaux.
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8/18/2012 - Winiac wrote: 91 Points
Well balanced but has lost enough acidity to make it a bit weak for hearty braised lamb dishes and the like.
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7/2/2012 - tomred wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for four hours, drank with roast lamb. very deep colour but still youthfull. Nose of tar and damp woodlands. Pleasent mouthfull of warm black fruits, chocolate, nuts, good weight,
well balanced, with just a hint of tannin towards the end.
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7/1/2012 - pclin wrote: 91 Points
Surprise! This wine was ready for consumption, not what I would expect normally from Leoville Barton. Uncorked and poured . Notes of raspberry, sour plum, cassis, and spicy mint. Medium-bodied and palate was relatively angular for St Julien (maybe a bit unfair as I love Leoville Las Cases and Ducru Beaucaillou). It surely did not have the complexity and structure of the Ducru Beaucaillou 95' I had recently. Fine tannins and very little hints of alcohol. It was not quite as balance as I would like due to slightly higher acidity level but still very enjoyable. First bottle of a case bought during EP.
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6/4/2012 - simonj wrote: 87 Points
Still rather closed with pronounced tannins. More time still required.
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5/5/2012 - Goldstone wrote: 90 Points
Still brooding dark opaque black-red colour. Nose is very restrained but classic lean black currant and a nice integrated high toned nail polish remover. Palate is lean and light but really gorgeous classic St. Julien. The best is probably still to come.
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4/7/2012 - James Arthur wrote:
With Doug F and Denny; Really good. Balance and depth, classic cigar box nose. Drinking well, but can hold longer.
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3/25/2012 - spillwine wrote: 89 Points
1996 bien plus intense.
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3/10/2012 - Tight Lines Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nose of dark fruit, pencil. Nice fruit, velvety, sweet tannins, great long finish. A real treat.
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2/25/2012 - grafstrb wrote: flawed
Bdx. growths (1988 - 1999) (London Venue Club (Sheffield, UK)): -- tasted a single pour non-blind over 20 - 25 minutes --
Nose was tight, with leather and purple berry tones. Medium-full bodied. First sip revealed pleasurable sweet blackberry flavor; second and third sips came across as a tad musty, with some spice, leather, and mineral. Good acidity; fine tannin; needs time to come together -- has the goods to do this. As this sat in my glass, I became convinced this was every-so-slightly corked: I didn't notice it on the Nose, but rather on the palate entry. Nonetheless, it was still a very nice bottle to drink, and it's obvious that un-tainted bottles of this wine have a bright future before them. Still a couple years out from its drink window.
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2/7/2012 - Tim Heaton wrote:
Slow-O 3 hours, aerate to decanter 1 hr. Full ruby core, slight transitions - this is ageing slowly. Currant, cigar leaf, dark spice, black berries, a touch of vanilla. Sensibly full-bodied frame, with considerable structure and above-average purity. Very fine tannins, long, clean finish. This is at a crossroads of youth and experience, and I suspect whatever greatness is intended for this wine, it has yet to show itself. Drink thru 2023, score: A- (upside noted)
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1/19/2012 - Remony wrote: 90 Points
My third bottle from a case. Not as good as hoped. Plainly a quality St Julien, but from a vintage which, to me, is increasingly proving a disappointment. Some of the telltale Leoville Barton strength and firmness, but a diffuse element in mid-palate rather than the intensity characteristic of this wine in other vintages, and a vegetal note in the aftertaste. I have found all three Leovilles in 1995 relatively disappointing, although in fairness this bottle had traces of ingrained residue internally on one underside, suggesting overheating (possibly at sea). Perhaps I was sold a poor case, but cork, capsule and level were all fine.
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12/31/2011 - md20 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Feiner, harmonischer Cabernetdurft. Der Wein hat mittlere bis feine Struktur, ist jedoch fantastisch ausgeglichen und mit guter Finesse. Sehr spannend, braucht Konzentration. Sehr empfehlenswert.
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12/29/2011 - grapist wrote:
Not a great example. The weakest of the case with just two left.
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12/17/2011 - rufuswashere wrote: 93 Points
Drunk with 2009 Caymus SS as an interesting comparison. Cedar, smoke, and tobacco, and plenty of fruit left. Drinking beautifully. Held its own next to the young Napa fruit bomb. With KC and MP at their house.
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11/27/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
Still backwards at 17, this soild, masculine, tannic, brawny wine demands at least another decade before coming together.
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11/23/2011 - Zweder wrote: 93 Points
A very classical wine with a deep and luxurious bouquet with cassis and cedar. On the palate a lot of cassis, other black forest fruits, licorice and graphite. Almost like a Pauillac. Very juicy still with good tannin. A great and complex, youthful wine, which needs at least another 5 - 7 years of ageing to show its real potential. In fact I was really impressed. 93 for now and it will add some points with more ageing. Wait at least until 2017.
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11/17/2011 - admid wrote: 92 Points
App: Dark purple red
Aroma: Bullion, oak, touch of blackcurrant, touch of sulfid, horse sweat, barn
Full-bodied and great structure. Available tannins.
Very good length
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11/13/2011 - jdfree wrote: 90 Points
Totally shut down right now. Giving very little on the nose, just some base cassis notes on the palate and a clipped finish. After a few hours in the decanter, it started to show some signs of life, but it looks to be a long way from being in the sweet spot.
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10/15/2011 - vinopa wrote: 92 Points
Still young looking in the glass... Nose: dark fruit, leather, Forrest floor and crushed rock.. Palate much of the same notes as on the nose..The finish was medium with grippy tannins. This Barton got a ways to go no need to rush uncorking one.. Cheers
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9/12/2011 - HOS wrote: 93 Points
Had friends up to the lake for dinner. Opened the bottle 4 hours before dinner and then decanted 1/2 hour. This wine hasn't changed much since last year. Thin, angular upon opening evolving into classic Bordeaux over 5 hours. This time I got cedar, cigar predominating the nose. Medium bodied, good finish. This is a long term cellaring wine even now.
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8/28/2011 - City Wine Journal wrote: 93 Points
Retail purchase, held 3 years. Decanted and enjoyed over several hours. Perfect cork and color that seems impossible for 16 year old wine. Mature secondary nose of leather, St julien gravel beds and a warm embrace on entry. Beautiful wine slow to release all it can show. Medium full, very long. Mouth watering, bright finish. Nice 1995 showing well, long way to go.
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8/17/2011 - aof wrote: 93 Points
Much like the first bottle, fragrant and finessed with fabulous concentration and intensity. Needed 4-5 hours of double decanting.
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8/14/2011 - Leon Chan wrote:
Did injustice to this long lived beauty by opening maybe 10 years early. Decanted for 10 hours and the nose seems to give away a Pauillac identity, absolutely awesome nose with nuances of ripe black fruits, lead and truffles, exhibiting a much more engaging aroma than the Ducru-Beaucaillou '95 opened together. It was uncanny that it tasted like a wine fresh from market release. Alcohol was very present and even after another 5 hours of aeration, the taste didn't rise beyond a young tannin, robust body. There is definitely immense potential but may only surface in another 10 years time. No rating given.
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8/9/2011 - Didman wrote: 90 Points
Quite lovely, but I was expecting more. Color just starting to show a bit of age. Maybe a little over-the-hill, or is it too young? Or is it nothing more than a pretty good wine? Whatever, a nice wine is a nice wine and this is certainly enjoyable.
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8/5/2011 - mariolanza wrote: 91 Points
Inky, perfect colour and balance. Lovely wine
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7/23/2011 - AllRed wrote: flawed
4th Saturday Group brown bagger (Our house): Corked.
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7/22/2011 - wurzel68 wrote: 90 Points
Immer noch jung und etwas ungestüm, dunkel, mit Aromen von Cassis, Pfeffer, Paprika, erdigen Noten und Tabak; mittlerer Körper, ausgewogen, aber nicht ausgesprochen elegant; etwas trocknend im Abgang, Schokolade auf der Zunge, aber gute Länge; abwarten
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7/16/2011 - rupertg wrote: 89 Points
Dark ruby, rim still coloured. Nose mute. Good fruit in the mouth, still blackcurrant, but dry on the finish. Bit closed up.
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6/9/2011 - jamieirving wrote: 91 Points
I found pencil shavings, anise and white pepper aromas on the nose. The palate is full bodied with well integrated tannins. It shows good balance and lovely dark berry fruit.
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6/3/2011 - darren81 wrote:
8.5/10 - Agree fully with Paul S' tasting note (as always)... so my note will look suspiciously like a poor paraphrasing of his. Like him, I'm getting the damp earth / leaf component with nice blackcurrant. Soft and gentle tannins. Great balance. Clean and structured. Decent length. Could do with some time as the fruit could be a little more robust. But I am very much enjoying this now. And so does my wife, so that's a huge plus.
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5/24/2011 - pjaines wrote:
Excellent quality as always, but I get the feeling this is too young right now - it is not exactly coiled up, but neither has the fruit really stretched its legs either. The tannins and structure are still fairly evident and dominate the fruit. Brilliant quality but really just needs a few more years.
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4/29/2011 - James Arthur wrote:
59th birthday dinner. Good balance, but lacked some of the depth of the 95 Rausan that was also opened. A bit more tannic also. Still very nice, but could use a year or two.
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4/23/2011 - RockinCabs wrote: 94 Points
Nose: Plum, Blackberry, Cassis and Tar. Elements of Mint, Chocolate and Red Fruits. Hint of Oak/Vanilla that is somewhat concealed. Palate: Elegant on entry with nice tanin structure, but they have become silky. Black Cherry, Cassis, Ripe Blackberry and red berries. This hits everywhere on the palate. Permeating all corners of the mouth. Finish: Loaded with Black Tea, Plums, Blackberry and sweet tobacco and oak. Faint vanilla shows up in the background.
This is a very exceptional bottle of wine with a very long life ahead of it.
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4/8/2011 - rdsboca wrote: 93 Points
Just htink this is too young to drink and will get better. Nice red cherry fruit and cassis. Great food wine, lots of acidity that worked well with meaty dish. Finish was a bit clipped. Decanted for one hour.
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3/17/2011 - Sleepy Dave wrote:
2011 Simple Dinner Series 3 :: Mark visit (Jade Palace Seafood Restaurant, The Forum Shopping Mall, Orchard Road): Lovely powerful nose of blackcurrant, tobacco, earth and roasted herb that very much like a st-stephe to me. Still rather young and tight, big, broad shoulder, with very good acidity to keep this full bodied, firmly structure, powerful wine in precise and focus in precise and focus, with fine grained tannin that leads to the firm, powerful finish with grounded coffee, dark chocolate aftertaste. This is clearly not ready but I pretty much like it, give it another 5-7yrs. Buy - Maybe.
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3/17/2011 - Paul S wrote: 92 Points
2011 Simple Series III: Dinner with Mark Robertson of Goedhuis (Jade Palace, Forum Galleria): This divided opinions around the table. I for one really liked it. It had a lovely left-bank nose of wet leaf, damp earth, sweet cassis and just a touch of rolled cigar. Could well have been a Pauillac. You could say the same thing about the palate, where the scents on the nose were taken up in the mouth - it was only the round sweetness of the cassis fruit that spoke more of St Julien. There was a nice sense of concentration to the wine's clean, clear flavours and a nice sense of structure. The tannins were still there, still frim, but they have just started to soften, so that the wine seemed very well behaved for a 1995. Finely structured, but not brawny or tough. The finish had a satifying warmth to it and a nice bit of length. Very young still but very nice. I feel that this will be a surprisingly good wine in another 5-6 years' time.
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3/17/2011 - Dbrane wrote: 82 Points
Dinner with Goedhuis (Jade Palace, Forum): Somehow this did not impress me as much as the others. Tobacco on the nose, but not overwhelmingly. Short finish and quite anonymous. I've had better classic clarets in this price range.
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2/13/2011 - shaferguy91 wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 2 hours.
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2/7/2011 - grapist wrote: 94 Points
3 hour decant brought this to where it was hitting on all cylinders. Nose and palate of rich, dark fruits. Still a bit tannic, but balanced with the strong fruit and good acid. Attack, mid-palate and finish, all singing in harmony. Still lot of life ahead. Drank with an '89 that was even better. This one has a good chance of tasting similar to the 89 in 5 or 6 years.
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2/5/2011 - simonj wrote: 86 Points
Good colour but very closed nose. A bit of fruit and some leather on the pallet, no real ballance however. Quite a few tannins, maybe there'll be some improvement, I doubt it some how.
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1/15/2011 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bordeaux night in San Antonio (Home of David B.): Second time having this wine this year, with similar results, but this bottle slightly more forward. Decanted maybe an hour before serving. Great nose that was slightly tarry, with mint/eucalyptus and red berries. Lush palate, with slightly austere tannins still present. This leaves the palate slightly dry, but with a wonderful finish of tobacco and leather mixed with cedar spice. A lovely Leoville Barton that really needs a few more years, though enjoyable now.
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1/8/2011 - caeleric Likes this wine: 94 Points
spell binding. Constantly evolved in the glass over a period of 5 hours. Citrus, cranberry, spice Box, red fruits, and attic. I drank the whole bottle it was just in such a good place I didn't want to miss anything by saving some for day 2. Silky fully integrated tannins. It can probably last a few more years, but it is in a sweet spot right now. What a wine!
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12/9/2010 - pinotwok wrote: 93 Points
Vorweihnachtliche 90er Bordeaux Probe (Herr Schmöll, Hamburg St. Pauli): 4 Stunden belüftet, aber schon nach zwei Stunden sehr zugänglich. Opulente, mit der Zeit changierende Nase. Dunkle Beeren, Tabak, Vanille und Karamell, gelegentlich auch florale Noten und pfefferige Würze. Am Gaumen rund und schmeichelnd, leichte Säure, tolle, komplexe Frucht mit hoher Extraktsüße, Kirsche, Pflaume süßes und perfekt integriertes Tannin. Gute Struktur, ein verführerischer, femininer Wein mit ewig langem 20 Sekunden-Finish. Für mich ein ganz großer, klassischer St.Julien, den man auch noch bezahlen kann.
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11/30/2010 - paulst wrote: 86 Points
3 hr decant. Consistently the weakest of the three Leovilles. Astringent; not well balanced; some blackberry at times; some leather and earth. So many 90s comments here. It must be me.
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11/25/2010 - rdsboca wrote: 91 Points
Great ingredients but just way too young. Tobacco, plum, black cherry. Forest moss. Still very tannic. Try in 5 years.
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10/23/2010 - HOS wrote: 93 Points
Was at my favorite wine store and met the distributor rep who handles Bordeaux for the state. Ended up with a list of his entire Bordeaux inventory. I couldn’t resist buying two cases of this. Opened one to take to dinner and noticed wine had seeped to the top of the cork. Not willing to take a chance, I opened a second bottle and decanted it for 2 hours then poured back into bottle for 1 hour prior to taking to dinner. Upon opening, the wine had a nose of funk and was thin and angular. After decanting, the wine had begun opening and put on some weight. When we poured this at the restaurant, I was amazed. It was a totally different wine. Nose of truffle, dark fruit, dark chocolate. Taste of herbs, pepper, bitter chocolate, sour cherry. Strong finish, medium bodied wine. We loved it. In fact, we came home, started the first fire of the season and started working on the first bottle I had opened which was great though not as open since it had not been decanted. We’ll finish that one tonight. Pretty good night.
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10/9/2010 - Matt Scott wrote: 93 Points
decanted for four hours, utilizing a funnel. The colour is classic Barton; violet and garnet core, with a lessening rim. Blackberry, hot rocks, tobacco, rose petals and light vanilla bean. Still tight on both the palate and aromatics. The Las Cases (96 pts) is even more open than this youthful Bordeaux. Despite the unyielding qualities, This is still enticing. Elegantly full-bodied and a thirty second finish with classicism and authority. Roundly soft tannins that still have grip. I suggest waiting for some time with the ageless Barton being as backward as it is. Drink 2015 -.
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10/3/2010 - tomred wrote: 92 Points
3/10/2010 Three bottles consumed at our Golden Wedding celebration, decanted for four hours, Still youthfull dense garnet colour, Nose of ripe fruits, dark chocolate, tar, damp forrest floor, pepper. Soft entry that opens up in the mouth, rich herbs and spices, nut chocolate. hit of tannin towards the end. good ballance, very long. will only get better over the next 4/5 years. Then it should be extraordinary (24 views)
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8/8/2010 - johnwine Likes this wine: 92 Points
In a word sensational with with character and breed and intensity with complex elegance.
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8/7/2010 - Rani wrote: 92 Points
Tasted blind. A classically made wine. Cedar, cigar box notes. Elegant. Reserved fruit with notes of blackcurrant and old leather.
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6/23/2010 - Mattshank wrote: 91 Points
Old World Reds at Edina CC (Edina Country Club, MN): Nose: Subtle herbs and red fruits (raspberry) and gravel minerality. Palate: Spice and red fruits up front with good balancing acidity and a rather short but very clean finish. Nice wine.
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6/19/2010 - sfqwino wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 1hr prior. Gorgeous nose, but the palate was still quite closed. Very fresh, good acidic and tannic structure. Hardly any decoloring at the rim. Still very young. Probably need another 3-5 years. The tannins are quite soft now so probably quite drinkable, but it would be quite a waste considering the potential a few years down the road. A wine to hold. 91 for now.
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6/17/2010 - johnwine Likes this wine: 93 Points
This wine is still a deep garnet which shimmers in the glass. The nose is filled with the scents of roses and cherries marinated in kirsch. The taste is fairly balanced, complex and intense with breed and elegance. The finish is long on ripe black cherries.
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6/12/2010 - macker100 wrote: 89 Points
At San Antonio vertical. Nice Bordeaux but fails in comparison to the 1996. More red fruit than black with lighter floral nose with wooden hints. A more feminine vintage in comparison to the other wines of the night. Has finesse and with some moderately tannic grip and acidity. Uninspiring for me.
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6/11/2010 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 90 Points
San Antonio Wine Geeks - Leoville Barton Vertical (Steve's house): Slow O’ed for 24hrs at cellar temp. Nose was less expressive than most but showed a strong element of mint and the only wine to have a strong element of bell pepper. Palate seemed tight with cedar/wood elements mixed with a little cassis and prominent but fine tannins. Come across as rather boring. Flavor profile was very similar to the ’86 and I can see this evolving into something like it.
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5/25/2010 - mrm27 wrote: 92 Points
Glorious elegant claret, at a delicious peak, I would say. Lovely acidity and complexity. Excellent food wine. More open than the C-S.
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5/22/2010 - wineismylife wrote: flawed
CellarTracker Texas Offline - Part Two: WIMLNR
Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. The fun stops here...this wine was mildly corked. Too bad. I've had this wine on more than one occasion in the past and it's one of the few 1995s that I've really enjoyed.
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5/22/2010 - petitblanc wrote:
CT Texas Offline; 5/21/2010-5/23/2010 (San Antonio): This bottle featured the worst of the 1995 vintage: coarse tannins, greenness, lack of stuffing. No score, this bottle may have been off, or just falling apart by the time I got around to tasting it.
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5/18/2010 - RockinCabs wrote: 92 Points
Nose: Upon opening Mint and Chocolate dominated this wine, however, as the wine opened Blackberry, Black Cherry, Smoke, and Herbal flavors developed. Midpalate: Nice mix of black fruits, smokley toibcco and porccini mushroom. E#volved very nicely, high degree of complexity. Finish: Medium Length, grippy tanins still in this one. Black Currant and Earth flavirs linger.
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5/11/2010 - austincarty wrote: 92 Points
Athenaeum fine wine dinner. Great berry fruit on nose and palate and increasingly complex finish. Seems in its prime
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3/24/2010 - jcoleman wrote: 89 Points
lovely cedarwood bouquet but an unevolved slightly tannic flavour
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2/21/2010 - grapist wrote: 94 Points
Bigger than typical St. Julien nose. Absolutely in its prime. Pleasing in every area. Attack, mid-palate, and finish were totally delectable.
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2/8/2010 - grapist wrote: 92 Points
Subtle, subdued and elegant. No fruit-bomb here, well balanced medium to full bodied great complement to a steak. This wine is showing no age whatsoever. It is drinking well now, but shows no color or taste of nearing its peak.
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1/17/2010 - Grinder wrote: 95 Points
Three hour decant. When this bottle was opened it filled the kitchen with aromas of flowers and spice. On the palate this was pure pleasure, with herbs, smoke, plum, and vanilla. Smooth, silk tannins with layers of fruit. Complex and full-bodied, with a long finish. Not sure you can ask for more from Bordeaux (at this price point, especially).
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1/8/2010 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
It may surprise a few to learn that I used to buy a bit of Bordeaux, with the 95 vintage being the last of my substantial purchases before being totally consumed by the Cote d’Or (although I did buy a few cases of the wonderful 00’s).
Onto the wine in question…plenty of espresso notes on the nose along with liqueur plum and cedar. In the mouth it is rich and dense with a creamy texture and finishes with quite chewy tannins. In general I tend to like the structure of the 95’s and the 95 Leoville Barton’s tannins are just releasing their once iron like grip on the wine allowing the drinker to derive much pleasure as we close in on the wine’s 15th birthday (frightening thought really that the 95's are nearly 15 years old).
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12/25/2009 - englishman's claret wrote:
Garnet robe, not as deep as the 94, just a bit of bricking at the edge. Extremely classical nose of sweet black currants, cedar, leather, underbrush/forest floor, and a bit of funk (not horsey). Medium bodied, tannic, good acidity. Still some notes of new oak, especially on the finish. Seems to be to be just at the beginning of its drinking window but I wonder if this will ever develop into something truly exciting. All of the components are there, but a 3/4 helping of everything. Evolved a bit after two hours, showed more earth, tobacco and blackberries. All in all, a charming, very traditional claret, but don't expect to be swept off your feet. Surprisingly, dropped off a bit after two and a half hours in a closed decanter.
I think this might just need more time. Will open another around 2015
4/5 for fans of tradition.
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12/19/2009 - Khamen wrote: 91 Points
Short decant. Nice limpid ruby colour with no sign of bricking yet. After an extremely voluptuous ornellaia 1999 the nose here is a little more subdued and elegant. Classic cedar and tobacco with a heap of graphite showing some good secondaries. Fine tannins here and good concentration, but more about elegance and depth than flashy fruit. Lean, with excellent balance and a little barnyard in here. Some nice minerality to the mid-palate and finish. Drinking very nicely now in the reserved, calm manner of the better 1995 left banks. Am leaning towards a drink it now and over the next 2-3 years - it will keep longer but room for improvement questionnable?
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11/18/2009 - amred wrote: 91 Points
Color still solid, no sign of brick. Classic bordeaux nose, although not incredibly expansive. In the mouth the tannins have settled down, the wine is well-balanced. We did not decant, and it seemed surprisingly acidic for the first hour or so, but then very smooth. It seemed to us a classic bordeaux with the usual graphite, leather, even cedar elements. The fruit was there. Not a big wine and I don't think it will improve markedly. But, it is a real bordeaux--can't be gotten any other way than to start with a solid example, let it sit 10-15 years. We enjoyed it greatly.
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11/16/2009 - Nanks wrote: 88 Points
A surprising disappointment. Rather harsh tannins disrupted the fruit .This wine tasted even bitter on the finish. Will leave it alone for another 12 months and see what happens.
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10/4/2009 - kevin h wrote: flawed
Clearly lots of good fruit here but this was just slightly oxidised which made it taste a bit flat.
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9/25/2009 - jeffm_fla wrote: 89 Points
Second bottle I opened - a little disappointing. It was ok, but nothing great.
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7/21/2009 - grapist wrote: 91 Points
Elegant and subtle. Not a lot of fruit or really a lot of anything, but balanced and smooth on the the palate.
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7/16/2009 - winenuts wrote: 90 Points
When I opened it, the nose was not so strong, little herbs and mild fruity smell. After decanting for 1/2 hour, I started my first bite, it was not so impressive but was a typical Bordeaux, good balance, elegant and gentle. The thing I do not like is the finishing too dry and not so smooth. After two and half hours, it still tight and not so open, may be I need to decante another bottle for three hours up or need to store it into my celler for another couple of years.
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7/15/2009 - johnwine wrote: 92 Points
This wine is still loaded with tannin and acid but the fruit is developing and more years in the bottle should bring great improvement.
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6/1/2009 - Niagara wrote: 90 Points
Earthy and elegant, with ample fruit and tannins that are nearly fully resolved. Still, it seemed a little reticent, hesitant on the nose and tight on the palate, a quiet wine that keeps a somewhat low profile.
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5/24/2009 - aof wrote: 90 Points
Didn't show as well as the previous bottle
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5/3/2009 - benny wrote: 93 Points
Quite lively. Rich and plush.Sweet acidity. A lot of charcter. A rich core. Long dry finish.Sublte hints of cedar,roast nuts,light spices,cassis/berry/ripe fruit/vanilla. Silk tannins. What's not to like?
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1/8/2009 - Nutty08 wrote: 92 Points
Poured into decanter and consumed over the next 3-4 hours. Ruby red color, no bricking at all, surprisingly little sediment. Aromatic nose upon opening of red fruits--cassis and currants, being more subtle over the next few hours with tobacco, cedar box becoming more prominent. Palate was smooth and round wit well integrated tannins though still perceptible. Plush mouthfeel. Finish with a little flint and mineral, some red fruits, though a little simple and short compared to the complex nose and palate. A very nice balanced Bordeaux, very pretty and I think entering its drinking window. Not a blockbuster but quite enjoyable.
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1/1/2009 - jivey wrote: flawed
New Years 09 - Corked!
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12/31/2008 - kstoddard wrote: flawed
New Years Eve Dinner (Home): Corked.
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10/19/2008 - aof wrote: 93 Points
La Fete du Bordeaux- 2006 Bordeaux Vintage (Chicago Wine Company, Ritz-Calton.): Outstanding mature claret; bouquet of dark berries, earth, tobacco and tar. Quite remarkable secondary nuances on the palate with a memorable finish. I could drink this with or without a meal all day long!.
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10/10/2008 - Giladog wrote: 94 Points
Very good, well rounded and elegant bordeaux.
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10/9/2008 - MRichman wrote:
Leoville Barton vs. Leoville Poyferre (Morton's NYC): Firm and acidic. Lots of mineral. Stiff.
B/B+
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10/4/2008 - jeffm_fla wrote: 91 Points
Black fruit flavors, more tannic and less ripe than some Cali blends (e.g. Insignia). Food friendly - worked well with roast beef.
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8/31/2008 - shonwilliams wrote: 92 Points
Showing beautifully, with the fruit, tannin and acidity in great balance, with real push and pull on the palate. Satisfies the mind and taste buds.
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8/27/2008 - SMills wrote: 92 Points
Claret in the refined more austere style, a well balanced wine, with earthy minerality and the green notes that you often find from leoville barton. A wine that impresses the longer you linger over it- elegant wine making here, excellent!
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7/23/2008 - wineismylife wrote: 92 Points
WIML92
Tasted July 23, 2008 at an offline.
From memory. Opened and decanted about 2 plus hours before serving. Somewhere in the dark garnet to purple color range, clear hue throughout. Still a little tight on the nose and palate with mostly black cherries and berries coming throughout. Also some cedar notes on the nose. Still good acidity, tannins and fruit. I don't know if the fruit will outlast the acidity in this wine but I'd likely continue to open one bottle every couple of years to keep monitoring and hoping she blossoms further. At the moment I'd say it's drinking around the WIML92 mark (which is within 1 point of my last tasting of this wine) but that could go up or obviously down with more time in bottle.
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7/13/2008 - Delund wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for 90 minutes. Leather and cedar on the nose, with nice complexity developing. Velvety, round mouthfeel with cassis and tobacco dominating and herbal notes accenting. Fairly long finish. Should still have quite a few more years ahead of it.
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5/22/2008 - johnwine wrote: 94 Points
This wine is finally coming around. Last evening it showed signs of complexity with flavors of black cherries, cassis, currants and earthy mushrooms. It might now be going to a peak and maybe coming out of a long dumb period.
I served this wine again on 6-20-08 and it was just a wonderful, chewy, earthy phenom. It was a JWL 95 based on the last tasting.
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4/22/2008 - Rupert wrote: 91 Points
Leoville Barton vertical 1863 - 2005 (Institute of Directors, London): Shy nose, some wax polish - fuller, fleshier and more charming than the 1996, young, but approachable
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3/12/2008 - wineamateur wrote: 88 Points
Jeroboam Club: Ch. Leoville Barton Vertical (Averys, Bristol): Deep plum colour. Attractive, sweet, fruity nose, with complexity from secondary development. Pear drops, cassis, mocha. Lighter bodied than the 1996, with less grip, and a bit watery in comparison. Some slightly tart but still attractive fruit (sour plums). The flavours develop in the mouth, but there's a slightly dusty, floor polish note on the finish.
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2/29/2008 - JMazen wrote: 92 Points
Everything is there but not nearly ready yet
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2/21/2008 - Eating is Cheating wrote:
From a Bordeaux tasting at BBR. Only a quick sketchy note taken at the time. Circa €105 per bottle. Brooding nose of black fruits. Layers of complexity, both on the nose and the palate. Full-bodied and powerful with firm tannic core, but not austere. Really very good indeed. This was probably my second favourite wine tonight, second only to the 1996 Lynch Bages (also tasted were 2004 Villa Bel Air Blanc, 2001 Berry's Own St Estephe (Phelan-Segur), 2001 du Tertre, 1997 Magdelaine, 1994 Trotanoy, and 2002 Berry's Own Sauternes (Suduiraut)).
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2/1/2008 - Claudio161 wrote: 91 Points
Hart Davis Hart Wine Co Comparative Bordeaux Tasting Vintages 1995 & 1996 (Newberry Library, Chicago IL): My first comment was after reading the notes from Parker (provided at the tasting to accompany the wines) that I was so impressed as to how Parker really nails Bordeaux tasting notes. This was a great wine with what I term a classic Leoville Barton nose. Color: Dark red Smell: Worn leather, saddle, wood notes of cedar and spice box. Taste: nice medium body. Drinks really nice. I have to say that in the end, I actually did like the 1996 slightly better.
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2/1/2008 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
HDH 95/96 Comparative Tasting (Newberry Library, Chicago IL): nose: very interesting nose, a bit vegetal along with vanilla beans, red fruit, floral notes, and bits of spice thrown in
taste: nice mouth feel with vanilla beans, red fruit, and some spice
overall: real nice palate coating tannins that also provides a nice lasting finish
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1/28/2008 - burnsy wrote: 93 Points
Needed about 3 hours to fully develop. Deeply fruity, well balanced and very elegant
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1/2/2008 - Tannic Monster wrote: 92 Points
Classic Bordeaux nose with wonderful berried fruit hiding behind a rich earthy front which dimished over time to reveal even more black berry and tar notes.
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11/24/2007 - cct wrote: 93 Points
A step up in density from the Solaia. Bigtime cassis, dark chocolates, and violets. Fabulously textured with stony fruits and cassis, with baking chocolate and a long finish. Delish and just entering peak. 93 pts.
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9/19/2007 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
95-96-97 Tasting: Blind Red 5 - Not a great showing. The wine temp is a little warm. Soft, grapey palate. Not much nose. Bordeaux or Tuscan? Eh.
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8/28/2007 - Giladog wrote: 94 Points
Had his bottle one night following the Heitz Cellars Martha's Vineyard Caberbet from 1996. This wine was stunning, velvety and rich and in my opinion prime for drinking. These two wines are good comparables of new world and old, both awesome and drinking well. They would make a good blind tasting.
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7/24/2007 - chbeaumont wrote: 92 Points
Deep, starbright; clean, blackcurrant leaf, remains tight; starts velvety, merlot showing, menthol, hedgerows, has real class; unresovled tannin on firm, spicy finish. Extended. Needs 3 years to peak? score 17.
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7/21/2007 - wineismylife wrote: 91 Points
WIML91,WA91,WS??
Tasted July 21, 2007. Opened and glass decanted at least 90 minutes before serving in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Purple color in the glass, slightly opaque throughout. Nose of cedar, smoke, dark fruits, berries and plums. Flavors of red cherries and berries. Medium to full acidity, firm tannins, medium to full body. Hold. No where near ready.
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6/18/2007 - johnwine wrote: 93 Points
We had this wine last evening with a wonderful Allen Bros filet. It is still complex with flavors of red and black cherries and casis with a hint of cigar box. However, it is still relatively austere.
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6/3/2007 - goofy Yno wrote: 93 Points
wonderful nose- cassias, ceder, cigar and palmagranate. big and strong mouth. still with tannins, but they are coming around. plenty of fruit. a complexity of herbs, fruit, acidity and a touch of bitterness on mid palate. a nice long finish of fruit, tobacco and chocolate. has many years ahead. decanted for 3 hours.
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5/9/2007 - cynicnomore wrote: 92 Points
Soft, with a few tannins remaining. Still solid but not abundant fruit (black cherries) and no indication of drying out. Should be Very Good to Outstanding for another few years, even if it never matures to and Extraordinary wine.
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3/5/2007 - johnwine wrote: 94 Points
I still agree with my 2005 tasting note. This wine has become even more complex and generous with elegant fuit flavors.
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2/11/2007 - grapist wrote: 90 Points
Consistant with previous notes 90-91. Tonight, blown away by an '89 Pontet-Canet
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12/4/2006 - Spencer wrote: 93 Points
Much better than I expected from this vintage. This bottle did not have the hard astringency and lean fruit profile I have come to associate with 1995 Bordeaux. Still young and quite tannic, it's fairly tough going at the moment, but this has enough depth, ripe fruit and balance that I have no doubt that it will eventually come around. I would wait another ten years before drinking another, but this is one '95 that I'm happy to have in my cellar.
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12/4/2006 - ERoss wrote: 90 Points
Leoville Barton Vertical; 12/4/2006-12/5/2006 (Spencer's): Appealing yet reticent nose of dark chocolate, cedar, and mulling spices. Still promising, but very slow evolving and not much fun to drink like many '95s. Needs time?
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10/20/2006 - ashegedyn wrote: 93 Points
Tasted with Langoa Barton 96 and 01. Color: Deep Garnet with medium legs. Aroma started out with not much, evolved into violet, cherry, mint, pencil shavings. Taste was very forward with lots of fruit, cherry, and cassis. Structure was Firm with full velvety tannins on the front mid and back palate. Long Finish..
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10/17/2006 - win wrote: 89 Points
2004 Vintage Fête du Bordeaux (The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas): Had alongside the 1995 Ch Lynch-Bages and the 1995 Ch Cos d'Estournel. Just did not seem as deep as the other two. I actually preferred the style of the younger 2004 Leoville Barton. Seemed to have a bit of background caramelized sugar sweetness on the finish that was interesting.
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9/15/2006 - SimonG wrote:
1995 / 19956 Bordeaux Offline (Alba, London): Cassis and cedar. A bit more poise and focus on nose. A touch of vegemite? Nicer on palate. rounded, smooth. Guess 1995 Leoville Barton.
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9/2/2006 - jkoenen wrote: 88 Points
Bordeaux 94/95 @ Peter V. (Netherlands): Perky and fresh, sultry red and black fruit, lots of stuffing yet very refined. Good acidity, still on the young side. 16.5/20
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9/2/2006 - Zweder wrote: 90 Points
Occasional tasting group: Top Bordeaux 1994 & 1995 plus a few extra's. (@ PVa): Blood red. The bouquet is like a forest in the autumn; ripe cherries, blackberries etc. In the taste the wine has quite much acidity, soft bitterness and overripe fruits. Still young.
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8/2/2006 - grapist wrote: 91 Points
Was hoping for more. Opened and decanted 2 bottles. One bottle had a lovely nose and tasted quite smooth and ready to dring. The second didn't have much of a nose and was somewhat closed and bitter. After an hour and a half funnelled back to take to Joe's Steak and Seafood (Chicago). First bottle had improved just a little. Not much fruit showing through but still very tasty and balanced. The second needed almost an hour more air and never got quite as good.
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7/11/2006 - vintage61 wrote: 91 Points
Opened and poured. Wrong! Very little if any nose. Deep dark fruit with classic cassis flavors, dominated by tannin. Did not inprove much after 3 hours. Good future, possible slightly higher score, 2 to 5 years away, min.
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6/3/2006 - WaltH wrote: 88 Points
Opened on Sunday 6/4/06 and drank with my wife. Outstanding nose with Christmas spice and beautiful dark fruits. One of the best noses I've witnessed in some time. Unfortunately, the wine was somewhat flabby on the attack, with resolved tannins and a short finish for a wine of this pedigree and vintage. With 20 minutes of swirling, the wine gained some interest, then began to fade. If you're holding some, I'd definitely drink one now for a reference point from your cellar, as I'm calling this wine at its peak. 88 points.
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3/24/2006 - buckeye76 wrote: 92 Points
TOOK A LONG TIME TO START OPENING UP, AND STILL A BIT CLOSED. BLACK CHERRIES, CURRANTS, AND LEATHER IN THE NOSE, WITH BLACK BERRIES AND BLACKCURRANTS IN THE FLAVOR. LONG FINISH.
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2/16/2006 - grapist wrote: 91 Points
Read the note here and double decanted nearly 2 hours before funneling back into the bottle for the ride to Joe's (Chicago). The aroma in the decanter showed great promise, but the taste just befor leaving home was thin and disappointing. Gladly, by the meal-time it had opened and softened to reveal a still light to medium body that had great balance but not great depth or complexity. I was hoping for more, especially as this was the first from the case. Still very good, but was expecting great.
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2/5/2006 - Cilantro wrote: 92 Points
Superbowl afternoon cabernet tasting (Home in Boston): Deep dark red color, some bricking. Earthy nose with some flowers, medium-bodied Bordeaux flavor with small hints of earth and licorice (?), nice medium length finish. Overall, excellent, but should last for at least a few more years.
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1/22/2006 - Arcturus wrote: 92 Points
I decanted and sampled over a 6 hour period. The wine seemed to really open up and show its earthy, classic Bordeaux character after about 4 1/2 hours. It is still very dark and concentrated with a hint of bricking on the edge. The nose was earthy, chewey with floral whaffs. It started out very tight but flavorful dark fruit and earthy undertones emerged- smooth long finish, will only improve with time. Last sip was the best- 92+.
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12/31/2005 - ken-yyz wrote: 90 Points
Decanted (giving up a little bit of sediment) for 2 1/2 hours but really didn't start to open up for another hour at least. After 4 hours it put on weight and impressed. The nose was bright red fruits with spice and cedar. The finish is long and almost sweet! The palate was luscious gaining some darker fruits and a little caramel . Very nice! It will gain an additional point after several more years of development.
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12/11/2005 - RJD wrote: 88 Points
1995 Leoville Barton - 8:00 a.m. CST - I opened this bottle and immediately decanted. Full bottle, dark burgundy to purple in color. Nose in the decanter was beautiful and robust dark fruit with currant, dark cherry and some oak. Poured one small bit into the Reidel Vinum stems. On the palate, this wine is austere, thin, tannic, tart and green. At this point, I double decant back into the bottle and re-cork. Back in the cellar she goes.
1:30 p.m. CST - 95 Leoville Barton - has put on a good deal of weight thankfully since this morning. On the nose, still some powerful dark fruit, but noticeable creme brulee appears too. On the palate, mouth drying tannins are very prevalent, but at the same time, there is a sense of elegance that was sadly missing this morning. Cherry fruit abounds in my mouth.
Day 2, nothing more to add.
On the whole, not a bad wine, but did not show to me the greatness that Leoville Barton can show. I've had the 94 before, and the 94 is a much better wine. 87/88
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10/31/2005 - johnwine wrote: 92 Points
This wine is now beginning its peak period. The nose is richly scented with cherries, roses and casis. The taste is generous with flavors of currants, red and black cherries and casis. This is a wine you can chew on yet it has elegance and breed.
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5/14/2005 - cassetta wrote: 92 Points
Blair's Burgundy and Bordeaux Blowout: Lost in the crowd but still a very nice Bordeaux showing very well after being open (not decanted) for over five hours.
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2/9/2005 - Jeff W wrote:
Ruby purple. Fragrant nose. Sweet primary fruit, with a sour cherry note. Overwhelmed by the tannin. Very long and very young.
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10/9/2004 - Zweder wrote: 90 Points
An easy afternoon with close friends (@ FD): Deep bouquet. Liquorice, black currants, little strawberry. Oak. Young firm tannin and good bitter en sweetness in the finish. Wait a few years.
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6/24/2004 - PaulH wrote: 89 Points
Slightly reserved nose of cabernet fruit, tobacco and leather. A very deep and rich plum-red color. Medium body, and a long and still firmly tannic finish. This isn't ready yet, I'll wait another two years before trying more.
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11/2/2003 - Eric wrote:
DeLille Cellars 7th annual Paulee de Woodinville (Woodinville, WA, USA): I managed a fleeting taste of this one (again, I think Gary shoved a glass under my nose). Remarkably sweet, pure, and gorgeous with a very distinct black, brooding character. Beautiful!
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1/18/2003 - peternelson wrote: 94 Points
Red Carpet: A mouth wine: Purple brown; mushrooms, olives, higher notes than ’94, extreme silky smoothmouth, hi note fin., slight sour fin.
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11/22/2000 - James Arthur wrote:
Excellent. Great fruit and balance, tannins coming under control. Drinking well now to my taste.
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5/8/1999 - mdefreitas wrote: 90 Points
Insignia Vertical @ Surf Village (Milford): Youthful purple color. Massive, but closed wine. Very tightly wrapped. Nice concentration.
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11/12/1998 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 93 Points
1995 Vintage Bordeaux Tasting-7 wines (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Nice, coffee nose with a hint of vanilla, on the palate, big body, rich taste, shows good fruit, feminine, opened nicely, nice, long, sweet finish with an edge that shows it needs 3 more years in the cellar. My #2, Group #6.
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