the 2014 Leoville Barton has been uncorked....

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Dec 16, 2022 11:34 pm

Omg, Marcus, I don't know if you have had this vintage but it is just beautiful. It is so, so smooth, balanced, the lovely St. Julien nose was pronounced immediately upon uncorking. This wine is just so wonderfully understated! I'm loving it with some roast chicken, can't wait to match it up with le pie de la whoopee....

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 12:27 am

Omg... 2014 Leoville Barton... With the possible exception of the 2002, the greatest Leoville Barton ever? This wine is stunning. Immaculate. So pure. 13.5% but it might as well be one of those 11.5%-ers we see occasionally from an era gone by, like from some vintage from the 1950s. I've had many a Barton. It has for decades ranked among my top 3-4 favorite estates since the earliest days of my passion for Bordeaux, which is now in its fourth decade. (The Langoa Barton has provided great joy over the years as well.) We have seen many changes in Bordeaux over the years, but Leoville Barton is "constant as the Northern Star, of whose true fixed and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament." I gave the 2014 Calon Segur 100 points because it "blew me away." I score this 2014 Leoville Barton 98+ points, because I celebrate its understatedness.... It does NOT blow me away.... But I mean that as the ultimate compliment. I say to you that in some ways a lower score can be a higher achievement.... 2014 Leoville Barton is "better" because it is NOT a 100 point wine. It is NOT a Robert Parker wine. The universe is complicated. 100 is not always better than 98+. The smoothness of the tannins, the structure combined with elegance. The lingering finish. Light on its feet, drinking well now and for at least another thirty years, the whole nine yards. The 2014 vintage is a throwback to the golden era of Bordeaux, the decade of the 1980s. 2014 is 1988-like, one of my favorite Bordeaux vintages ever. Great bouquet, pure rich St. Julien purple color. I have always said that the greatest pinpoint in our solar system for the production of wine grapes is at that bend in the road on Route D2, at the stone wall where Pauillac meets St. Julien, where Latour and Léoville Las Cases meet, the neighborhood of Pichon Baron, Pichon Lalande, and the neighbors to the south, including that constant northern star, the soul of Bordeaux, Chateau Leoville Barton. To me this is EVERYTHING I look for in Bordeaux. The ultimate St. Julien. Breathtaking in its understatedness, the 2014 Chateau Leoville Barton.
Rating: 98+ points.

StBlGT · Post by **StBlGT** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 12:50 am

Great to hear, JimHow. I may have to open one soon (I believe I have only 2 in the cellar). Did you happen to decant or just pop and pour?

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 12:53 am

Nope, SB, I popped and poured with some roast chicken.
I bought ten bottles back when Gerry and I stole this stuff at ridiculous prices a while back.
I think this is the first time I tried the Leoville Barton from 2014.
I now have 9 bottles left, which I will uncork judiciously over the next 20 years.
Leoville Barton is truly the heart and soul of Bordeaux....

Gerry M. · Post by **Gerry M.** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 12:58 am

Great note Jim! Having almost a case left, your note helps sooth the pain of NH bungling 2019 Bordeaux.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 1:01 am

Thanks, G, man we cleaned up on that 2014 vintage. LOVE this wine.
I'm still in a state of shock about New Hamphire's 2019 effort.
I mean, back in the 1990s I was buying Petrus from this place.
It is really, really strange.

Nicklasss · Post by **Nicklasss** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:34 am

"I want some, I need some" Brett Michael

Great note Jim. Do we need more? Do we really need Petrus, Pavie or mashed potatoes? Would you consider Léoville Barton as an ultimate desert island wine?

I feel that i would strongly like that 2014. Can you imagine the 2016?

Well done BD, nothing's compare to you, not even Gilman, Dunnuck, Robinson, Suckling, Parker, Leve, name them all.

Viva Las Vegas, and Léoville Barton!

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 7:32 am

I promise you will be stunned by this wine, Nic, it is absolutely a Jean-Nicolas Maltais kind of wine, I will give you a bottle when next we meet. I could drink this every night of the week.

I got this beautiful description of the 2014 Leoville Barton from Thomas, aka unbureaucrat:

My last dance with this beauty was nearly one year ago, I brought a bottle to a dear friend’s house after family and friends had dispersed from her Christmas party; my hostess was quite fatigued from her holiday duties, and in the quiet of the aftermath, there was some hesitation to open the bottle, the temptation running high to just turn in and sleep. But she humored my gentle suggestion, “oh, why not?” and went from ready to nap to engaged and even fascinated as the wine unfurled itself in the glass, both of us picking out especially the forest floor note on the nose. By bottle’s end, we had truly “followed” the wine over the course of just more than two hours, and fallen in love with the stuff. It was Debussy in a wine, softly enchanting. Only two weeks after my dinner pitting 2014’s La Conseillante and VCC against each other, this was something altogether different, almost akin to the soul-stirring effect of Gregorian chant to the rational man long disabused of his forebears’ mythology. The whole notion of “this” vs “that” seems silly when you enjoy a wine like this. Quietly magical stuff, indeed.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 8:31 am

Do you have a record of what we paid for this Gerry?
I remember we were not only getting the 15% discount but gift cards as well at the time.

sisler · Post by **sisler** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 9:56 am

Hi Jim, I liked the tasting notes of Mr. Parker, but this tasting note is even better! Cheers Stefan

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 12:11 pm

I opened one of these 4 years ago and even then it was quite appealing. Now I'm getting tempted again to open another one, but I only have 4 more.

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:30 pm

Well that’s the 2023 BWE ‘William ‘stefan’ Johnson’ woty all sorted then.

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:34 pm

I am pleased I purchased a case of this a few years ago, but I was not intending to crack it open any time soon.

I had a brief glimpse of the 2017 a few weeks ago at the Saatchi tasting and it was similar too, albeit a v small pour. Glad I have a case of that too. I liked it more than the 2019 that Patrick, Alex and I tried 14 months ago, which tasted a bit too modern generic for my liking.

JoelD · Post by **JoelD** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 4:13 pm

Lovely. I wish I had nabbed these when I had the chance. They were priced crazy low at one point. Curious to hear what you ended up getting them for.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 4:15 pm

Gerry keeps track of that Joel.
My memory is that it was priced very low, then we got 15% off, then we got an additional $25 gift card for every $150 spent.
All tax and shipping cost free, of course.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 5:13 pm

I remember the buzz well on BWE about this wine circa 2018, compelling enough that I finally caved and secured half a case at the outrageous price of $59/each (outrageous compared to how they were giving it away in NH).

Now how tickled I am to I have 6 bottles on standby.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 5:15 pm

Comte Flaneur wrote: ↑Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:34 pm I had a brief glimpse of the 2017 a few weeks ago at the Saatchi tasting and it was similar too, albeit a v small pour. Glad I have a case of that too. I liked it more than the 2019 that Patrick, Alex and I tried 14 months ago, which tasted a bit too modern generic for my liking.

I didn’t realize you had reservations about the 19 LB, Ian.

Ognik · Post by **Ognik** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 5:43 pm

Hey Jim. 98+ that seems to be high for a understated wine. Lol.
So if you' r searchin for an 98++ understated wine in 2014, Ducru B. is one for you. The better understated wine in 2014 imo.
Still love LB for what it is, but it's fate is and will to be second.

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 5:57 pm

Blanquito wrote: ↑Sat Dec 17, 2022 5:15 pm
Comte Flaneur wrote: ↑Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:34 pm I had a brief glimpse of the 2017 a few weeks ago at the Saatchi tasting and it was similar too, albeit a v small pour. Glad I have a case of that too. I liked it more than the 2019 that Patrick, Alex and I tried 14 months ago, which tasted a bit too modern generic for my liking.
I didn’t realize you had reservations about the 19 LB, Ian.

Yes it didn’t move me Patrick. Like the 2017 did a few weeks ago.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 6:09 pm

Hey Jim. 98+ that seems to be high for a understated wine. Lol.
So if you' r searchin for an 98++ understated wine in 2014, Ducru B. is one for you. The better understated wine in 2014 imo.
Still love LB for what it is, but it's fate is and will to be second.

The 2014 Ducru is indeed a stunner, Ognik, I tried one upon release and then went out and bought 18 bottles. And if my memory serves me, I think I did indeed rate the Ducru something like 98+.

Ognik · Post by **Ognik** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 8:20 pm

Know you did right Jim.

Gerry M. · Post by **Gerry M.** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 3:13 am

JimHow wrote: ↑Sat Dec 17, 2022 4:15 pm Gerry keeps track of that Joel.
My memory is that it was priced very low, then we got 15% off, then we got an additional $25 gift card for every $150 spent.
All tax and shipping cost free, of course.

Sorry I missed this earlier. After the 15% it netted to $68 bottle but we also got the $25 gift card for every $150. That effectively was another 17% discount which brought the true net down to $56. I bought a total of 17 bottles and have 11 left.

I never spent so much on wine in such a short time but it was totally worth it. I bought a total of between 15 to 17 cases of 2014 by the time we were done and am more and more glad I did as time passes.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 4:23 am

Yeah it was getting crazy there for a while, Gerry, I remember that night I got a 2014 Mouton basically for free with all my gift cards.

marcs · Post by **marcs** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 7:57 pm

Never tried this, but I have four bottles of it buried among my six cases (!) of excellent assorted 2014s

Perhaps I’ll exempt it from my LB purge at least until I try it. Would it benefit from more aging?

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 8:09 pm

Seemed like it was accessible now but I didn’t get any sense it was a lightweight, to the contrary I think it will go 30 years. I was struck by the bouquet that blossomed out immediately upon uncorking. I’ve got 9 bottles left, trying to decide whether to buy another case.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 8:23 pm

When Buzz Aldrin stepped on the Moon he called it “magnificent desolation.” This wine is “breathtaking understatedness.” I don’t think that’s a word but that’s okay, this beauty goes beyond language. It is just one of those wines for me that you just know it when you see it. So St. Julien in its seamlessness, like a great classic Ducru in some ways, although I would say the 2014 Ducru is “bigger” than this Barton. I think they are both 98-pointers, but in different ways. As I’ve said before, other than the 2014 Lynch Bages, I have yet to be disappointed by a 2014 Bordeaux, from either the left or right bank. Nicola said, imagine how the 2016 Barton must be. I think I enjoyed this ‘14 Barton even more than the ‘16. And I picked the ‘16 as BWE wine of the year a couple years ago!

jckba · Post by **jckba** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 9:12 pm

It’s interesting, I just received a Zachys pre arrival offer on the 2014 Lynch Bages toting the below:

2014 Lynch-Bages is Jane Anson’s #1 Wine of 2022
“It is a wine that I strongly recommend you track down” –Jane Anson
Just Announced: 2014 Lynch-Bages is Jane Anson’s Wine of the Year. We appreciate this pick as it showcases the incredible quality and value of this vintage. In fact, in a recent blind tasting of 20 vintages of Lynch-Bages, the entire table (including Bordeaux expert Jane Anson, as well as the winemaker and estate owner) mistook the often-underrated 2014 vintage for the legendary 2010.

Featured Wine: (View Online)
Item # Description Price Special Press
Featured Wine
399022
Lynch-Bages 2014
$199.99
$149.99
97IB/96JS
pre-arrival

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 1:34 am

If the so-called experts listened to some of us dummies upon the release of the 2014 vintage, it wouldn't be so "underrated." Gerry and I recognized the character of this "underrated" vintage from the first sips ITNOS after they hit the shelves, thus precipitating the buying frenzy that we pursued in the New Hampshire sales. Fortunately for us the Jane Ansons of the world "underrated" the 2014 vintage, we scored some incredible deals. What did we get that now-$199 2014 Lynch for, Gerry, about $75 with the discounts?

Mistaking the 2014 Lynch for the 2010? Okay, got it. Not sure I can think of two vintages more opposite ends of the spectrum than 2010 and 2014. I bought 14 bottles of the 2014 Lynch and tried two of them in the name of science. I found it abnormally tannic and acidic, it tasted like a tart chianti. I have an owc of the remaining 12 bottles that I'll double and triple blanquito in hopes that it eventually smooths out. I have literally enjoyed every other 2014 I've tried, including GPL, and that magnificent Leoville Barton the other night.

marcs · Post by **marcs** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 2:00 am

I’d like to use the occasion of this thread to enumerate how many 2014s I have. It’s nothing like Jim’s 177 cases all purchased at $50/bottle except for the Mouton Rothschild which was free, but I’m still happy about it:

12*Ducru Beaucaillou
9*La Conseillante
9*Montrose
6*Pichon Baron
6*Pichon Lalande
5*La Mission Haut Brion
5*Grand Puy Lacoste
4*Cos d’Estournel
4*Leoville Barton
4*Gruaud Larose
4*Chateau Canon
3*Domaine de Chevalier
2*Vieux Chateau Certan
2*Calon Segur

Feeling smug!

I always assumed that I should wait for 10-15 years from vintage to start cracking these so I haven’t yet…

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 2:02 am

Lol... Well done indeed!
I've had every one of those wines, every one is stunning.

Gerry M. · Post by **Gerry M.** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 2:08 am

Due to the gift cards the cost gets a little hazy but best I can tell the cost came in around $90 with the 15% but before gift card redemption. The $75 cost is if you factor we received $75 in giftcards for every 5 bottles of LB we bought.

marcs · Post by **marcs** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 2:17 am

I actually think the 2014 LB was around $50-55 at release. Remember, this was a vintage where the Pichons were $90/bottle at release and Conseillante was too! Still regret not loading up even more than I did on some of the bargains available not just at release but for a few years afterwards. I did manage to pick up the 2014 Ducru Beaucaillou at $130/bottle all in a couple of years after release and now it’s $190 so that’s good!

You can still backfill 2014s at prices basically identical to the release prices of more recent vintages considered meh/average like 2017 and 2021, so to the degree one believes it’s a truly excellent vintage that value hasn’t yet been priced in. I suspect it never will be, due to vintage style

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 2:19 am

Another "underrated" aspect of the 2014 vintage is that the right bank is every bit as good as the left bank.

Ognik · Post by **Ognik** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 5:00 pm

I do consent.
All the way down a drinkers vintage.
Chateau Meyney will be my every day wine in 10+ yrs from now.
Jonny Depp wine of the poor.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 5:33 pm

Mmmmm 2014 Meyney, a beauty. I’ve got a good number of them in my cellar.

marcs · Post by **marcs** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 9:02 pm

Oh I forgot I also have 2*2014 Meyney!

Basically every BWE 2014 wine except the first growths I’ve got at least a few of

robert goulet · Post by **robert goulet** » Fri Dec 23, 2022 2:50 am

I know Orl Bobby has been praising this vintage for sometime...sad to say I have only 4 bottles of this vintage...I'm just not buying much young bordeaux anymore

marcs · Post by **marcs** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 12:00 am

robert goulet wrote: ↑Fri Dec 23, 2022 2:50 am I know Orl Bobby has been praising this vintage for sometime...sad to say I have only 4 bottles of this vintage...I'm just not buying much young bordeaux anymore

I certainly understand…it’s going to be a struggle to drink my 77 bottles of this vintage as I plan to wait till my early 60s to start…looking forward to the challenge however. Jim and I will absolutely dominate BWE 2034

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 12:15 am

Ha there was also a guy by the name of Gerry M on the Route 495 corridor who was scooping up 2014 Bordeaux along with me at very sick prices. I'll never forget the night I texted a picture of the 2014 Mouton to him from the parking lot that I got in Nashua basically for like free with all the discounts, gift cards, etc., etc. That was a frenetic time. And the 2014 deals are still out there in NH, you can still get wines like Ausone, Cheval Blanc, Margaux, and Palmer, and others, at best in nation prices.

jckba · Post by **jckba** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 3:00 am

Jim, remind me, when it says ‘Last Chance Item’, is that the deepest price or if you wait can you perhaps tack on additional discounts / promotions? Thanks as inquiring minds would like to know.