Description
Gabriel:
Drinking maturity ( - 2035)
Valuation 19/20
Léoville 2001: The most tannic Barton in recent history...
The Léoville-Barton 2001 is the most tannic Barton in history...
Anthony Barton:
At least since we have been able to make precise analyses.
Sweet, lots of plums, a hint of candy, Darjeeling, truffles, deeper than the normal bottle. More complex on the palate, more fleshy and also denser, the potential is significantly greater here. (19/20). 14: Very dark. The concentrated nose is currently mineral. It seems to be entering another round in its evolution. Deep, firm and with an expansive flavour. Still good value and worth around three francs for every franc spent. In other words, with a much more favourable starting point, it can easily compete with much more expensive Bordeaux Crus from the 2001 vintage at any time! (19/20). 14: Dark garnet colour. While the 2000 was closed, this was a marvellous nose rodeo; sweet, dense, lots of plums, coffee, blackcurrant and malt, expansive and already harmonious on the nose. On the palate, the nonchalance par excellence, medium-bodied but with a dancing elegance. So this is not only a great Barton, but also a particularly fine one. (19/20). 15: Deep dark garnet ruby, rich centre. Very spicy bouquet, profound, black pepper and smoke. The flavours really take off. Fleshy on the palate, slightly grainy, relatively coarse tannins, but with plenty of strength and power and the finish is bombastic in this sense. It doesn't seem to be quite ready for consumption yet, so the potential is correspondingly high. Decant for a good two hours.
