I decided to check in on a 2000 Chateau Leoville Barton given the recent thread showing some ups and downs. Well, this bottle was all up. Took about an hour to open in a decanter, but it really showed well all night at that point. Lovely Bordeaux perfume of rich dark cassis, a little barn funk, and some developing nuances of leather and tobacco. Full bodied on the palate, still a bit chewy, but coming into its own. A lovely, warm rich expression with a fairly broad range of the fruit color spectrum from red to darks. Not a great Leoville Barton for the vintage, and not one that I would chase at current pricing, but quite fine in its own right (92 pts.)
The 1999 Chateau Musar was lovely. Once you blew off some of that VA these bottles always seem to throw. And it’s still barnsy, horsey, but in an intoxicating perfumed sort of way. Like east meets west, Bordeaux meets Chateauneuf. Meat market meets a fruit market meets a spice market. An odd but convincing blending of things that produce a product that is intriguing, unique. Light colored and lithe, but still packing considerable punch on the palate. Creamy, yet high acid and spicey. Pure ripe fruit mixed with dried fruits and spices. Dried meats and leather. And that omnipresent, sexy scent of something taboo. Like a Moroccan bazaar. Perhaps like a tryst at the bazaar. And yes, a bit bizarre. (93 pts.)
From the description I would have expected a higher score until you wrote “not a great Leoville Barton…” The descriptors until then were probably mid nineties, what am I missing?
I am not a fan of Musar, for me the volatility is part of the wine, and never goes away.
Nah. When I am wowed, my writing is much more flowery and effusive. As it should be. Other than the words “all up” and “showed well” and “lovely,” the rest is pretty straight-up just descriptive.
Since I am taking a breather between two contracts I am working on, let me bump the note to a hypothetical 95-pointer for me:
I decided to check in on a 2000 Chateau Leoville Barton given the recent thread showing some ups and downs. Well, this bottle was > fantastic > . Took about an hour to open in a decanter, then it showed > exceptionally > well all night at that point. > Intense > Bordeaux perfume of rich dark cassis, a little barn funk as an > intoxicant > for this country squire, and some developing nuances of leather and > Cuban Maduro > tobacco. Full bodied on the palate, still a bit chewy, but coming into its own. A > really > lovely, warm rich expression with a broad and > well-delineated range > of the fruit color spectrum from red to darks. A > great > Leoville Barton for the vintage, and one that I will chase even at current pricing. > (95 pts.)
Just for fun, of course . . . .
I drank one of my four LB’s in 2011 and it was still a monster. Guess I should try another in the next few years.
I decided to check in on a 2000 Chateau Leoville Barton given the recent thread showing some ups and downs. Well, this bottle was all up. Took about an hour to open in a decanter, but it really showed well all night at that point. Lovely Bordeaux perfume of rich dark cassis, a little barn funk, and some developing nuances of leather and tobacco. Full bodied on the palate, still a bit chewy, but coming into its own. A lovely, warm rich expression with a fairly broad range of the fruit color spectrum from red to darks. Not a great Leoville Barton for the vintage, and not one that I would chase at current pricing, but quite fine in its own right (92 pts.)
The 1999 Chateau Musar was lovely. Once you blew off some of that VA these bottles always seem to throw. And it’s still barnsy, horsey, but in an intoxicating perfumed sort of way. Like east meets west, Bordeaux meets Chateauneuf. Meat market meets a fruit market meets a spice market. An odd but convincing blending of things that produce a product that is intriguing, unique. Light colored and lithe, but still packing considerable punch on the palate. Creamy, yet high acid and spicey. Pure ripe fruit mixed with dried fruits and spices. Dried meats and leather. And that omnipresent, sexy scent of something taboo. Like a Moroccan bazaar. Perhaps like a tryst at the bazaar. And yes, a bit bizarre. (93 pts.)
From the description I would have expected a higher score until you wrote “not a great Leoville Barton…” The descriptors until then were probably mid nineties, what am I missing?
I am not a fan of for me the volatility is part of the wine, and never goes away.
Volatility in the LB or the Musar?
Thanks and obviously I agree.
I decided to check in on a 2000 Chateau Leoville Barton given the recent thread showing some ups and downs. Well, this bottle was all up. Took about an hour to open in a decanter, but it really showed well all night at that point. Lovely Bordeaux perfume of rich dark cassis, a little barn funk, and some developing nuances of leather and tobacco. Full bodied on the palate, still a bit chewy, but coming into its own. A lovely, warm rich expression with a fairly broad range of the fruit color spectrum from red to darks. Not a great Leoville Barton for the vintage, and not one that I would chase at current pricing, but quite fine in its own right (92 pts.)
The 1999 Chateau Musar was lovely. Once you blew off some of that VA these bottles always seem to throw. And it’s still barnsy, horsey, but in an intoxicating perfumed sort of way. Like east meets west, Bordeaux meets Chateauneuf. Meat market meets a fruit market meets a spice market. An odd but convincing blending of things that produce a product that is intriguing, unique. Light colored and lithe, but still packing considerable punch on the palate. Creamy, yet high acid and spicey. Pure ripe fruit mixed with dried fruits and spices. Dried meats and leather. And that omnipresent, sexy scent of something taboo. Like a Moroccan bazaar. Perhaps like a tryst at the bazaar. And yes, a bit bizarre. (93 pts.)
I like Musar, as I do for Chateauneuf du Pape and Beaujolais.
What’s the 1999 Musar selling for these days? Can you really only get it at auction at this point?
Love, love that vintage.
B21 has 17 bottles left at $70. That’s where I got mine, a great retailer that is local to me.
Cool, $70 seems super fair for such a wine, especially that (amazingly) is already 20 years old.