1982 Langoa Barton
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Tasting notes
The 1982 Langoa Barton is a wine that I have a sentimental attachment to since I shared a bottle with Anthony Barton many moons ago. It offers dark berry fruit mixed with hints of oyster shell and mint. Fine delineation, though surprisingly high-toned given the Saint-Julien in question (more like a modern-day Poyferré!) The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, veins of blue fruit, tobacco and graphite. Quite toothsome on the finish, this is rather a bold Langoa that lacks a bit of finesse but delivers plenty of substance. Tasted at the 1982 Dinner at Hatched.
Critic scores
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Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Served by Anthony Barton at lunch at Langoa on a very hot day. He chose to show it, he said, because the gossip among his neighbours was that the 1982s were starting to go downhill. Very dark and dense with a rust-coloured rim. Sweet but not that concentrated. Charming rather than stupendous. (JR)
Sweet and rich. Full and powerful. Very seductive. (JR)
This wine has turned out even better than I predicted. The wine still shows some rustic tannin in the finish, but the gorgeous nose of caramel, cedar, spice box, black currant, and earth is followed by a dense, full-bodied, muscular, expansively flavored wine that still possesses considerable tannin. The wine is gorgeous to drink with several hours of decanting, but is still not at its peak of maturity. Anticipated maturity: Now-2018. Last tasted, 9/01.
About the producer
Hugh Barton purchased this estate, alongside Second Growth Ch. Léoville Barton, in the 1820s. Classified as a Third Growth and run by Lilian Barton with her children Damien and Mélanie today, the 20 hectares of vines produce some of the appellation’s most elegant wines – and at reasonable prices.