1982 Château 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
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.