TN 2002 Leoville Las Cases

[jal]

We drank this with sous vide steak medallions, skillet potatoes, kale and mushrooms. Dark color, no bricking, nose is nonexistent (probably me again, with those bp meds), on the palate, the wine is balanced, medium bodied with some unresolved tannins, earth, a little cassis and a good structure and finish. The wine is tasty but not earth shattering tasty. I expected a bit more. Probably 92.
I feel that we didn't give this bottle enough of a chance. Probably should have decanted an hour or so before, and I really wish my sense of smell could return.

[Rudi Finkler]

Why not 91?

[jal]

Sure, 91. Whatever....

[Comte Flaneur]

Thanks for the note Jacques. When I was living in CT I picked up half a dozen of more of these and half a dozen of the 2001s, sometime around 2010. I drank a few and really enjoyed them. They showed really well, with great promise. The 2001s on the other hand were totally shut down. When we tried a couple of the 2002s in October 2016 from that same lot, which are still parked in NY, when we came to NYC, they didn’t show so well. My guess is that they probably are going through an awkward stage. You wouldn’t expect LLC to be particularly open for business aged 15-16.

[William P]

Thank you gentlemen for the notes and thoughts. I was looking at the 2002 in anticipation of my wife's birthday dinner. I'll go in a different direction.

[Comte Flaneur]

William I think Leoville Barton 2001/02/04 is a safer and better bet for current drinking than LLC from the same vintages.

[jal]

Leoville Las cases for me is the Latour of St Julien. Always needing more time. I'm surprised yours showed well Ian.
Bill, what Ian said, maybe even Poyferre (sorry Ian, I know you're not a fan but these are always ready to play and Bill may have some)
I have a 1978 here. I'll probably drink it this year.

[Comte Flaneur]

I suspect they closed down a bit Jacques. I had the 1978 LLC a year or two ago and it was brilliant. Right in the sweetspot

[stefan]

2002 Leoville Bartonis drinking well now, Ian? That surprises me.

Hope you get your sense of smell back, Jacques. I have had some problems with mine lately and hate it. Sometimes I pop an extra decongestant in order to make it easier to smell wine. 'Course that is not so good for BP...

[Comte Flaneur]

Stefan - I have drunk through a case of halves of 2002 Leoville-Barton and it has been a riveting wine, but always quite austere and structured even in the half bottle format. Compared to the 2001 (surprisingly forward), 2003 (an outlier) and the 2004 (simply brilliant) it is still on the austere side. I have cases of bottles of 1995 (still in storage), 1996 (one case pulled out too early, one still there), 1999 (still in storage, but I am thinking of releasing it this year or 2019), 2000 (wait five or more years) , 2001 (I released it too late, it is right in the middle of the drinking window and atypically forward), 2002 (still in storage but I think it is getting close), 2004 (very close, why wait?), 2008 (a repeat of 2004), 2010/15/16 by all accounts raises the bar even higher. Leoville-Barton deserves an award for the most consistently good wine, which has now become great.

[stefan]

That's a lot of Leoville Barton! Of those I have 1996, 1999, and 2004. I did the same as you with 1996--I bought two cases and drank the first one too early. My '99 is good now but my storage is warmer than yours. There is no hurry to drink it, of course. LB did remarkably well in 2004, as you note.

[JimHow]

I would dd the 2014 Leoville Barton in that list Ian, at one point I had decided to pick it as BWE Wine of the Year.

[Comte Flaneur]

I can just imagine how good the 2014 is, and while you made a very sagacious choice picking the Calon it is becoming some want anomalous that Leoville Barton is yet to scoop the award.

The 2015 is pretty sensational by all accounts:

https://wine-pages.com/community/thread ... ting.5638/

[jckba]

UGC is on Monday here in NYC so I will get a chance to taste through a bunch of the 2015’s that participate including both the Barton and Poyferre, but alas, no Las Cases.

[AKR]

Those UGC events were a lot of fun and I miss them.

I always started with the Graves, like a greedy hog!

[Chateau Vin]

This time, I will be attending in LA on Friday. Usually, the trade version of tasting has more chateaux and is bigger than the consumer one. I have seen LLC, rarely even at trade events, let alone at consumer version.

[marcs]

Stefan - I have drunk through a case of halves of 2002 Leoville-Barton and it has been a riveting wine, but always quite austere and structured even in the half bottle format. Compared to the 2001 (surprisingly forward), 2003 (an outlier) and the 2004 (simply brilliant) it is still on the austere side. I have cases of bottles of 1995 (still in storage), 1996 (one case pulled out too early, one still there), 1999 (still in storage, but I am thinking of releasing it this year or 2019), 2000 (wait five or more years) , 2001 (I released it too late, it is right in the middle of the drinking window and atypically forward), 2002 (still in storage but I think it is getting close), 2004 (very close, why wait?), 2008 (a repeat of 2004), 2010/15/16 by all accounts raises the bar even higher. Leoville-Barton deserves an award for the most consistently good wine, which has now become great.

The 2003 may be an outlier -- more chocolatey and less "classic" than LB usually is -- but it is still a fantastic wine.

If I could buy just one wine every year it would be LB. So reliable.

I think 2002s are just austere in general, I don't think it's a shut down thing. The nature of the vintage.