Léoville Barton 1998

Consistently brilliant quality in recent years and d reasonable pricing policy makes this one of our favourite Chateaux. 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, Anthony Barton tells us that he finds the 1998 to be like a "blend of 1995 and 1996 with the elegance of the former and the guts of the latter. A wine certainly in the top league". We could not agree more. This wine stood out like a sore thumb in our tastings as the star of the Medoc (after the 1st growths). It has all the attributes of a Top Chateau in a top vintage. Excellent. FV16.5.

This opaque purple-colored, muscular, full-bodied, classically made St.-Julien displays impressive concentration, chewy, highly-extracted flavors of black fruits, iron, earth, and spicy wood, and a powerful mouth-feel. A pure, uncompromising, traditionally-styled wine, it is to be admired for its authenticity, class, and quality. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2035. Readers seeking classic, muscular, extremely long-lived Bordeaux should always keep this outstanding classified growth in mind. It continues to sell for a price well below its intrinsic value.