Château Léoville Barton 2000

A truly great bottle with a rare intensity of substance. With a superb colour, it opens on notes of menthol, liquorice and black fruits. The tannins are still structured, yet fine and extracted with precision. Still tight on the finish, but with great length, it is a beautifully styled great wine.

Hello. Take textbook St.-Julien warmed fig, blueberry compote and blackberry reduction notes along with ample graphite, bramble and tobacco flavors, then dial it up a notch. This has terrific energy to offset the admirable depth and length, and hasn't even started a second phase yet. One of the stars of the vintage. -- Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Best from 2018 through 2033. 20,000 cases made.

From the first tastings in spring 2001, it was clear this would be one of the stars of the vintage—and it still is. It offers ample, ripe fruit, supported by firm, ageworthy tannins. It may not be as powerful as some of the vintage’s blockbusters, but it is certainly more opulent and less classical than Léoville-Barton can sometimes be.

Dark crimson. Very solid and savoury on the nose. Essence of St James's Street?! Lots of mass here and something really very promising even if it is far from its full realisation. Bravo! (JR)

Full medium ruby. Knockout superripe nose combines black cherry, licorice and exotic spices. Compellingly sweet, lush and complete, with harmonious acids giving the wine lovely vinosity and extending the flavors. Finishes with lush, dusty tannins and superb persistence. A great vintage for Leoville-Barton.

On the firm, tannic, stoic side, the wine remains stubbornly youthful. Even at 20, the tannins are strict. Once the tannins subside, there is a wealth of concentrated, ripe, juicy, fresh, crisp Cabernet Sauvignon with real staying power. But this wine demands at least another decade in the cellar before it moves into its prime time drinking window. Those that prefer old-school classic Bordeaux should be all over this wine.

Dark, rich, dense Bordeaux red with almost black highlights. Gorgeous, sweet bouquet of fine woods, plenty of black cherry, blackcurrant and red elderberry; layered and complex, with minty tones, cedar and a delicate hint of chocolate. Juicy, generous palate, with a delicate, ripe Cabernet character, even finer than at the en primeur tasting; fruit, fruit and more fruit, with rosewood notes on a powerful finish.

First tasting in April 2001: a dream bouquet with rosewood notes, black cherries, ripe Cabernet and plenty of cassis. A perfect, finely sculpted palate, a superb interplay of blue and black berries, a delicate tobacco-spice note, cedar and, again, fine woods. As always, right at the top! Around four months to bottling: dark, rich, dense Bordeaux red with almost black highlights. A gorgeous, sweet fine-wood bouquet with lots of black cherry, cassis and red elderberry, layered with mint, cedar and delicate chocolate aromas. Juicy, generous palate with a delicate, ripe Cabernet character; it already feels even finer than at the en primeur tasting—fruit, fruit and more fruit, plus rosewood notes in the driving finish. 07: I’ve always said it, and here is the confirmation: “Impatient drinkers will still break their teeth on the greatest 2000 Bordeaux!” After a few mature and semi-mature wines, the host had the not-so-brilliant idea of crowning the evening with this Barton that was still green behind the ears. But it was a crown of thorns. All its brilliance is hidden behind an almost stony wall of tannin. Wait at least 8 years! So Gabriel, too, has to push back the drinking window he indicated during the en primeur period. 09: Deep, dense wine red. Gigantic bouquet, lots of truffle and dark wood notes, spice upon spice, still a touch closed. Fleshy, assertive palate, incredible reserves, chocolate notes, black peppercorns—more power and potential than finesse. Needs a lot more time. 10: Bouquet still restrained, slightly gluey at first, a bit alcoholic, but it opens out nicely. Pleasant palate, ripe tannins with discreetly firm notes in the extract; in an early drinking phase with a pleasing sweetness. Overall, lots of finesse and a certain lightness. (19/20). 12: Extremely dark colour, saturated at the core. Sweet bouquet: ripe cherries, fine-wood notes, tobacco, black peppercorns, truffle; finesse with medium aromatic intensity on the nose. Grand, stately palate, finely fleshy, well-supporting tannins—noble and already offering early drinking pleasure. A very, very long-lived Barton, heading toward classic status in 10 years. (19/20). 13: Very dark garnet with violet reflections. Mineral bouquet with tar notes, truffle and tobacco—quite profound. On the palate, firm and fleshy, promising plenty more potential yet not aloof. You can enjoy it now and still lay it down easily for another 20 years—depending on whether you love more fruit or more terroir. Everything is simply spot on here. (19/20). 14: Deep garnet-purple. Sweet, finely toasted bouquet with a regal perfume: cassis, blackberries, fine woods, tobacco, a hint of cinnamon. On the palate, young and still compact but not unfriendly; the tannin framework shows demanding astringency and a muscular play that warns against pulling the cork too soon. Waiting is the better solution. Still, it’s among the truly great Barton’s. (19/20). 14: Deep, dark garnet. Surprisingly open, with dark spicy notes, blackberries and an overall intense fruit expression, alongside a slightly milky complexity. On the second pass: distinct minerality. On the palate, slightly ascetic muscles form a tannin–acid backbone; a lightly reductive, mineral note appears mid-palate, with a very aromatic, powerful finish. A discreet green, spicy Cabernet note also swings through, which will bring a hint of mint with age. (19/20). 17: Extremely dark and still extremely young. Intense, very multi-layered bouquet, showing terrific Cabernet spice and summer truffle. On the second pass it still feels quite fresh. On the palate, finesse and power interwoven; finely playing muscles—the wine truly vibrates and shows Barton’s upper limits. A fantastic sip. It leans toward Saint-Julien classicism and somehow feels light—and in this case that is absolutely not a criticism. (19/20). 18: Incredibly dark, almost scarlet at the core, saturated to the rim and showing virtually no signs of ageing. The nose delivers countless facets, from black cherries and cassis to fine vanilla hints, bread crust and wonderfully herbal nuances. On the palate, still young, with a seasoned astringency and a finely fleshed texture; the finish is focused, long, aromatic and clearly points to a great Barton. In terms of vinification, this was the most precise and at the same time the most perfect wine of our wonderful evening. An hour of decanting would do it—and its potential—justice. (19/20). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST TIME WITH THE TOP SCORE It was a tremendous experience at our Moos-Barton vertical, and for the first time I pulled out 20/20. This absolutely brilliant Barton is made up of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. 2000 Château Léoville-Barton: Very dark wine red, still showing ruby and even purple reflections. An inky, floral touch in the first second; the fruit notes still feel very fresh in a blue- to black-berry register (blackberries, cassis and blueberries), very multi-layered and continually gaining with air. A regal bouquet! The palate entry is majestic, mouth-filling, perfect from A to Z. The astringency supports and gives the rich body exactly the right shape. The tannins are likely ripe for the first time, promising confident enjoyment for decades to come. The finish tastes of vanillin, black currant pastilles, fine woods and a kingly Cabernet blend. 20/20 drink 21: The darkest and most intense colour in this four-wine Saint-Julien line-up. Brilliant bouquet, still quite a lot of fruit—black cherries, cassis and elderberry—finely seasoned with dark chocolate and the first tiny terroir spice notes. There’s also an intoxicating Cabernet perfume in the background. Perfectly aligned on the palate: regal astringency, beautiful tannins with velvety-silky contours, a focused, highly aromatic finish. Since I don’t do half points, I had no choice but to round up this absolutely sensational Barton. After all, it was again a shade better than Talbot and Gruaud. A few weeks earlier, I had already rated it at the maximum level. 20/20 start

Deep, classic, complex bouquet with black cassis, cedar, truffle, black currant. A deep, powerful, multi-layered, aromatic palate with a very dense, muscular structure, a wide range of dark aromas, plenty of fine tannins, and a very long, dense, aromatic finish. 19/20 drink - 2040

The 2000 Leoville Barton has a deep brick color. Wow - what a captivating nose of Morello cherries, mulberries, and warm cassis, followed by hints of tobacco leaf, tilled soil, and wood smoke, with a touch of dried lavender. The light-bodied palate delivers a quiet intensity of soft-spoken savory and mineral flavors, with a fine-grained texture and plenty of freshness, finishing long and perfumed. Very pretty!

Great depth, big rich and vigorous tannins, a noble texture. Certainly a classic of the vintage.

Garnet red with violet highlights. The bouquet is a bit restrained but reveals notes of graphite and black berries. Fruity attack. The wine is full-bodied, with powerful tannins and a slightly rustic touch. Dusty note on the finish. I suspect a cork issue, but it’s not obvious on the nose… more on the palate. Normally I would rate it higher.

Logo on the cork: LBG Dark colour, medium intensity and slightly evolved. Medium-intensity nose, a bit firm. Delicate on the attack, smooth through the mid-palate, fruity but a touch lively, the wine finishes fragrant and savoury, with a slightly acidic edge. Medium length.