Château Léoville Barton 1999

Dry tannin and a backward, austere, muscular, brooding personality characterize Leoville Barton's 1999. However, it is packed with grip, body, and depth. Give it 5-6 years of cellaring and hope the tannin melts away sufficiently for the fruit to come forward. It should last for two decades, but will it ever be balanced?

A powerful nose, with sweet tobacco and sultana, follows through to a full body, featuring ultrafine tannins and a long, long finish, as well as lovely texture. This needs more time. Still tight and structured. -- '89/'99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Best after 2011. 19,165 cases made.

Medium bodied, with more going on with the nose with its tobacco edged, forest floor and leafy quality than on the bright, firm, quite fresh, bright, red berry filled palate. You can drink this now. Holding it for more aging is probably not going to change things for the better.

Very dark garnet with a purple sheen. Mineral bouquet with notes of used cleaning threads, turpentine and eucalyptus, underpinned by hints of truffle and dried plums. Full-bodied, dense and fleshy on the palate, still with plenty of astringency; the aromatic profile finishes like a Heitz Trailside; the finish shows Malaga notes and malt. A distinctive, hard-to-place wine with untamed aromatics, and not typically Bordeaux in its core flavor profile.

00: Barrel sample (17/20): noble bouquet of cherries and wild berries, a touch of cedar, rosewood and violet. On the palate, plenty of blackcurrant, yet overall still on the red-berry side; finely sandy flow with creamy outer contours. A feminine Barton with elegance and grace, which can still gain with drinking maturity. Just before bottling: the bouquet first feels slim, then grows broader and shows many facets between clove-like spice notes, precious woods, tobacco and blackcurrant. On the palate again an intense fruit, paired with fine, polished tannins; a regal finish. Simply a very elegant wine of true class (18/20). 03: Extremely dense colour; purple with almost black highlights. Regal, noble bouquet, with a wonderful fruit sweetness within—blackcurrant, precious woods, perfectly vinified. On the palate, plenty of backbone, healthy tannins, almost a certain Sangiovese affinity (as with certain Cos…) mixed with a Napa Cabernet touch; fleshy, assertive, magnificent. Among the very best Médoc wines and a testament to the genius of this Château over the last ten years! In autumn 04 I presented this wine in a trio at a dinner at Uto-Kulm in Zurich. The easy, lighter Batailley 99 had no chance against this brilliant Barton, and logically neither did the 99 Pape-Clément standing to its left. The Barton 1999 shows a very deep colour. And even deeper is the bouquet: besides cedar, the wine also delivers plenty of truffle and black berries. A fleshier yet refined palate; this elegant wine shows its greatness in its dramatic aromatics that carry through to the very end. When I look at merchant and auction lists, this must currently be one of the very best values among the great, still available St. Juliens (18/20). 05: In autumn, on an Académie du Vin trip, this wine was served to us at the Château. An insane package of aromatic power and finesse at the same time. Let anyone still claim 1999 was a rather small vintage! 18/20. 06: A small bottle, shared with Peter Reimer in the Caveau. We toasted, chatted a bit, and when we wanted to top up, the little bottle was unfortunately already empty. A few weeks later a much larger bottle, again in the Caveau, this time upstairs, from the Impériale: I was there as the speaker, but (because I had come to Zurich by train…) I felt more like a participant. The wine tasted so good that I kept pouring myself another little glass. And while the guests were sipping the Rieussec, I treated myself to one more “Bettmümpfeli” of Barton. On the train the conductor woke me up. He absolutely didn’t want to know what I’d been drinking—only to see my ticket. As unpleasant as that was, he granted me an “upgrade”: I was allowed to sit in first class. Slowly it dawned on me. Because I had bought a first-class ticket, but had settled in carefree (and probably a bit tipsy) in the very first carriage of the train. Just like in the wine world: Barton is officially a Deuxième, but for me it’s a Premier. 07: Very dark garnet with a purple shimmer. Mineral bouquet, faintly reminiscent of used cleaning rags, turpentine, eucalyptus; underneath, truffle notes and dried plums. Full-bodied, dense, fleshy on the palate, still very astringent; the aromatics finish like a Heitz Trailside, with Malaga notes and malt on the finale. A special, hard-to-place wine with a wild aromatics, yet whose underlying flavour doesn’t allow it to be classed as Bordeaux. Was that a difficult bottle? 09: Mature yet still quite fruity bouquet, surprisingly lots of blueberry notes. On the palate still slightly mealy, nicely fleshy, good structure— a successful ’99 with fine maturity and still some reserve. (17/20). 13: Dense purple with still youthful red highlights. Red plums, lingonberries, Dominican tobacco; still shows a lovely fruit sweetness, very aromatic. On the palate again lots of fruit; the well-supporting acidity feels preserved in the background. A gastronomic pleasure and beautifully matured over the years. Proof of the overall beauty of this underrated vintage. (17/20). 14: Lightening, maturing wine-red. Nutty bouquet, coffee-roast notes, wonderful cedar spice, discreetly dry on the attack. What a terrific nose! On the palate juicy, showing a lovely medium concentration; now wonderfully matured and delivers great, regret-free enjoyment. Bottle open and go!

Peppery, medium-bodied bouquet with blackcurrant, mocha and oak. Light, rustic palate with fine, slightly grainy tannins, medium aromatic intensity, a muscular structure and an austere finish. 17/20 Drink by 2028.

Smoked earth, tobacco, drying tannins, savoury black fruits, this is classically balanced claret, understated and juicy, with effortless grip, fully in its drinking window but no need to rush, and almost certainly a vintage that will suprise with its stubborn ability to stay at exactly this drinkable, shareable point for decades to come. 50% new oak.

The 1999 Leoville Barton is deep brick in color. It sashays out with a gorgeous perfume of kirsch, dried roses, iron ore, and fragrant soil, followed by hints of cigar box, cinnamon stick, and graphite. The light-bodied palate is filled with an impressive amount of ripe black fruits and savory accents, supported by firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and minerally.

The nose is elegant and aromatic, offering both delicacy and power (beautifully controlled). It reveals notes of ripe wild blackberry and very ripe strawberry, with lighter floral nuances, touches of very ripe small berries, and very subtle hints of cubeb pepper, nutmeg and sweet spices, along with a delicate note of undergrowth and an almost imperceptible touch of liquorice. The palate is fruity, juicy, elegant and precise, with fine definition, a mineral/tangy frame, freshness, complexity, and attractive ripe/tangy fruit. On the palate, the wine shows notes of very ripe blackcurrant and very ripe raspberry, and more subtly very ripe small berries, combined with a fine touch of very ripe blueberry, tobacco and undergrowth, as well as a very discreet hint of cedar and dried almond, and an almost imperceptible touch of coffee in the background. The tannins are elegant and very finely firm. The finish is very slightly tight. A lovely, smooth and moreish finish. Good length and fine persistence.

Logo on the cork: LBG Across the 7 tastings listed in the history, this wine’s scores have been very consistent since 2004. Dark colour, medium intensity and slightly developed. Moderately aromatic nose, fruity and fairly straightforward. Fruity, flavoursome palate that turns a touch austere mid-palate before finishing more aromatic. Normal length.