Léoville Barton 2002

Even better from bottle than from cask, and one of the finest wines of the vintage, this dense purple-colored 2002 reveals wonderfully sweet notes of charcoal, fresh mushrooms, smoke, earth, leather, cassis, and cedar. Full-bodied, highly extracted, broodingly backward, dense, and deep, this impressively endowed offering is built for the long term. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2028.

Tasted blind at Farr's 2002 Bordeaux tasting. A rather taciturn nose but there is obviously good fruit intensity coiled up inside, blackberry, graphite and a touch of iodine. The palate is full-bodied with a lot of dry extract, tannic, austere and rather stoic. Very "classic" in style, but certainly good breeding that will blossom in the future. Tasted October 2009.

Drink 2011-18 Sweet and juicy. Not sublime. Purple and easy and succulent. Bit chewy on the end. A bit simple. Very dry finish. Compare and contrast with its stablemate Ch Langoa Barton. Perhaps this big wine is just going through a particularly dumb phase while the Langoa sings so much more audibly?

A deep ruby/purple color is accompanied by reticent aromas that require coaxing from the glass. There is a surprising amount of new oak, an unusual component given this estate’s wood regime. This is an excruciatingly tannic, backward offering with medium to full body, big, tough tannin (making palate penetration difficult), abundant depth, glorious extract buried underneath the structure, and a pure, rich finish. This appears to be another classic Leoville-Barton that should only be purchased by patient connoisseurs. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2025