TN: 1998 Château Léoville Barton (France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien)

[Rick]

after returning home and missing Maine, I too needed to pull a decent Bordeaux to have with a grilled steak

• 1998 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (9/13/2009)
  initial nose very woody/cedar as it opened it exposed herbs, dirt, color was dark burgundy or plum nice bright light plum at edges
  smooth tannins, dark fruit, herbs, little tobacco and chocolate
  medium body and moderate finish (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

[Ramon_NYC]

Thanks for the data point, Rick.
This is one of the very few 1998 Left Bank that I enjoyed at release and have managed to store a few bottles way.

[AlexR]

I had a bottle of this half a year ago, enjoying it maybe a little more than you, Rick.

What struck me at the time was the wine's drinkability. In other words, while perhaps not at its peak, it was by all means mostly there.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[stefan]

So this LB is more forward than I would have expected. Is the '99 similarly advanced? I have an unopened case of it.

stefan

[JCNorthway]

Stefan,

I think you should crack your case of 1999 LB and try one. I opened one about a month ago (posted here somewhere) and found it very enjoyable with some airtime to open up. It's not at any risk of being past its prime anytime soon, but certainly can be enjoyed now.

Jon

[stefan]

Thanks, Jon; I'll do that.

stefan