1983 Château Léoville Barton
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Tasting notes
Like many 1983s, this wine shows an evolved garnet color with some amber. Aromatically, the wine exhibits full maturity, with notes of tree bark, sweet black cherry and currant fruit, mushrooms, and earth. In the mouth, the wine shows signs of cracking up, with the tannins and acidity dominating increasingly meager amounts of fruit. The finish was a bit desiccated. Anticipated maturity: Now. Last tasted, 9/02.
Critic scores
Wine Spectator
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Beautiful wine with wonderful subtlety and finesse. Complex aromas and flavors of tobacco, plum and berries, full bodied yet reserved and silky. Drink or hold.--The Bordeaux 50. James Suckling,Wine Spectator 1994.
Typical of so many of the 1983s, Leoville-Barton started off life hard and austere, but it has aged quickly. There are still some tough tannins in the finish, but the amber color at the edge and lean finish suggest to me that waiting any longer could be dangerous. The wine is in good shape, with medium body and plenty of spicy, berry, herbal fruit present, but I do not see any further improvement taking place. The tannins still appear to be too high for the wine's concentration. Drink it over the next decade. Last tasted, 5/93. Robert Parker, Wine Advocate # 88
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.