2005 Château Léoville Barton
FRANCE / BORDEAUX / SAINT-JULIEN
International Wine Cellar | Rating: 94
($150-$250) Deep ruby. Wonderfully perfumed nose offers cassis, minerals, tobacco, flowers, mocha and truffle. Bright, mineral-driven and concentrated, with terrific underlying backbone giving energy and definition to the dark berry, mineral and chocolate flavors. There's a floral lift here that's exhilarating to find in the very ripe 2005 vintage. Finishes very long and classy, with a firm tannic spine. An outstanding vintage for this wine.Author: Stephen TanzerIssue: May/June 2008Wine Spectator | Rating: 96
Delivers breathtaking aromas of blackberry, currant, licorice and flowers. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and supersilky tannins. Dark chocolate, currant, berry and licorice follow through. This is racy and beautiful. 20,375 cases made.Author: James SucklingWine Advocate | Rating: 92
Leoville Barton's 2005 has an inky ruby/purple color and shows fairly high tannin levels, but the balance is slightly better that the Langoa Barton, which is very hard. This is probably a 30-year wine and needs at least another 20 years of cellaring, and while the tannins are high, they are balanced more thoroughly and competently. With deep cassis and red currant fruit, the wine is earthy, spicy, medium to full-bodied, and needs at least another decade. Drink it between 2025 and 2050.Author: Robert ParkerJancis Robinson | Rating: 18
Looks very youthful. Tight, concentrated and very focused. Luscious texture and a wine that slides across the palate. There is masses of tannin on the finish but it is ripe enough. This could be Barton. Very youthful but convincing. Bone dry in Barton style compared with the sweetness of Ducru-Beaucaillou.Author: Jancis Robinson
Self | Rating:
Author: metlawSelf | Rating: 96
Author: gd10102Self | Rating:
After a superficially pleasing 2004, this gets my vote for the most frighteningly backward, introverted wine of the tasting (I did not taste Calon Segur, which usually takes the cake in that category). Monstrous structure, only whispering at dusty cassis, graphite, forest floor and iron notes as the tension in this wine makes it almost a foreboding tasting experience. It is way too disjointed, clumsy and rigid for me to get any bead on this wine other than it has the substance to age for a century. This Chateau has a great track record for coming into harmony w/ bottle age, but I can'tbe optimistic from this brief tasting acquaintance to make any calls?.I need to spend more time analyzing, decanting and appreciating this particular performance.Drink Dates: 04-01-2008Author: Brad CoelhoAnonymous | Rating: 97
An amazing amount of fruit still hidden underneath the heavy tannins.Drink Dates: 2017-2030Author: WilliamSelf | Rating: 95
Can't pin it down yet. Licorice and chocolate notes, pushy tannins that will probably smoothe out nicely. Way too young to drink now or for me to even give it a number.Drink Dates: 2013-2025Author: Jeffrey M989Self | Rating: 92
Decanted for 3 hours; still young. Needs more time. Aromatics are gorgeous; ripe black cassis, blackberry, raspberry, kirsch, earthy tones and cedar. Wine was more closed off on the palate. Going through a |dumb phase|?Drink Dates: 2018-2035Author: g4shay
Leoville-Barton is one of the five St. Julien Second Growth properties designated in the 1855 classification. It is often referred to as a "super-second", though, because its wines are at a quality level approaching that of a First Growth. The chateau is not only considered one of the top wines in St. Julien, but also one of the best values. Leoville-Barton wines have a higher percentage of Cabernet-Sauvignon than other proprietors' blends, a typical blend consisting of 70% Cabernet, 20% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc. Leoville-Barton produces a second label called La Reserve de Leoville-Barton. The Barton family owns both Chateau Langoa-Barton and Chateau Leoville-Barton, having acquired them in the 1820s.
See other similar producers:Chateau Lascombes,Chateau Beychevelle,Chateau Haut Brion
See other similar producers:Chateau Lascombes,Chateau Beychevelle,Chateau Haut Brion
Located in the southwest of France, Bordeaux is the single largest fine-wine-producing region in the world, with more than 15,000 growers spread over 57 appellations and more than 700 million bottles produced annually. The region boasts a two-thousand-year winemaking history and some of the wine world's most recognized and highly sought-after names. Red Bordeaux blends comprise eighty percent of production, but dry and sweet whites are also well-known. The region is divided into the Left and Right Banks (of the Dordogne River); Cabernet Sauvignon prevails in the former and Merlot in the latter.
White Bordeaux blends are most commonly composed of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc, and come in a range of dry and sweet styles. Sémillon contributes body while Sauvignon Blanc adds high acidity, a characteristic that is particularly important in the sweet wines of Bordeaux.
Sauternes is one of the world’s most prestigious regions for sweet wine production, made possible by Sémillon’s affinity for noble rot. Wines from world-renowned Château d’Yquem are fermented and matured in new oak for up to three years and can age for decades in bottle. These wines display complex aromas of melon, honey, apricot, citrus peel, mango, and butterscotch and develop added complexity and aromas with age.
The best dry wines from this blend come from producers such as Château Haut-Brion, Château Pape Clément, and Domaine de Chevalier in Pessac-Léognan and Graves. These wines are typically fermented and matured in new oak and display a full-bodied richness with concentrated nutty flavors overlaying the fruit.
Collector Data For This Wine
- 3645 bottles owned
- 449 collectors
- Average collector rating: 94
(Out of 449 collectors)