2001 Château Léoville Barton
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2004 Léoville Barton is less opulent on the nose than the Langoa but offers a little more refinement and terroir expression. A touch of seaweed develops with time. The palate is fresh on the entry. It is one of the most saline Léoville Barton that gets the saliva flowing. It is classic old-school Anthony Barton with a judicious dab of black pepper and menthol furnishing the finish. Excellent. (NM)
Critic scores
Wine Spectator
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
The 2001 Léoville Barton is still a few years from full maturity. Unwinding in the decanter and glass with aromas of blackcurrant, licorice, loamy soil, cigar wrapper and vanilla pod, it's medium to full-bodied, rich and muscular, with a deep, concentrated core of fruit, lively acids and ripe but firm tannins that still assert themselves on the finish. If Léoville Poyferré is in its prime today, this Léoville Barton still ideally deserves a few more years' patience.
The 2006 Château Léoville-Barton has a surprisingly rich and opulent bouquet at first, although it calms down with aeration, offering crushed violet and black cherry scents, reminiscent of a fine Margaux. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip in the mouth. Here the class begins to appear with fine balance and poise, but like the Langoa, it lacquers the mouth with tannins and feels very backward, surprising given the vintage. (NM)
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.