1998 Leoville Barton
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The 1998 Léoville Barton was ordered from the list at the 1925 Bistro in Bordeaux so we could raise a glass to Anthony Barton. This bottle seemed different from my last: more intensity on the nose, a mélange of red and black fruit, brown spices and cedar. The palate is not as light as I recollected; it's rather firm with saturated tannins and grippy with impressive density towards the finish. I was surprised at the backward showing of this, and as such, I believe it has greater longevity than I once estimated. (NM)
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More reviews and scores
The 1998 Léoville Barton has a simple but clean and fresh bouquet: blackberry, wild hedgerow, a touch of fennel and tarragon. There is a hint of tobacco that becomes more evident with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, potent tobacco and leafy notes, a relatively lightweight Léoville Barton that just attenuates a little swiftly on the bay leaf and black tea-tinged finish. There is a sense of elegance here but I would drink this now and over the next decade. Tasted at the château.
This opaque purple-colored, muscular, full-bodied, classically made St.-Julien displays impressive concentration, chewy, highly-extracted flavors of black fruits, iron, earth, and spicy wood, and a powerful mouth-feel. A pure, uncompromising, traditionally-styled wine, it is to be admired for its authenticity, class, and quality. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2035. Readers seeking classic, muscular, extremely long-lived Bordeaux should always keep this outstanding classified growth in mind. It continues to sell for a price well below its intrinsic value.
About the producer
Ch. Léoville Barton is a Second Growth Saint-Julien estate, one of the three famous Léoville estates (along with Léoville Poyferré and Léoville Las Cases). Owned by the Barton family (along with Ch. Langoa Barton), it produces classically structured Claret that ages beautifully.