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2003 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (4/23/2011)
This at the initial release was a chewy big monster with impressive big upfront blue fruits and crème de cassis, then a couple years back pretty tight but still showing some primary fruits.
It has completely settled. There is an uncanny resemblance to the 03 Gruaud Larose consumed a few days earlier in that both showed dark roasted fruits, slight hint of oak and very slight green with silky palate and fully integrated tannins which for me was surprising.
The nose is a bit shy, black fruit, some metal, lead pencil, slight hint of oak and quite interestingly just slight hint of green which I find in a traditional Bordeaux, perhaps it has not completely reach the phenolic ripeness but just like the 03 GL, it was not noticeable on the second night, perhaps the other components of the nose got more expressive and the greenness became a part of the overall expression. The palate is very silky and tannin surprisingly resolved, almost none showing even as the end note.
The second night both nose and palate show significant improvements. Licorice, caramel, black fruit, cedar, pine needle, ground espresso beans, sweet spices and quite floral almost a Margaux like in this aspect. What I find interesting is the sweet caramel note is very similar to the best of the 76s which I had recently as well as some of the 82s but more vibrant fruit and concentration than the 76s. The palate is more generous than the first night and it gets chewier as warms up, very silky, almost milky texture. The interplay of sweet dark fruit, cedar, earth and flower is very interesting and intoxicating. If you prefer your Bordeauxs relatively young yet with some tertiary flavor, this wine is ready. If you are looking for more cedar aspects and rounder/sweeter fruit, it will take at least five more years. At least three to four hours of decanting will be required for the nose to open but the palate is ready from the get go. 95 pts with 97 pts potential. (95 pts.)
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