Sign In

2003 Château Leoville-Barton

Base neck fill

Removed from a temperature and humidity controlled wine cellar; Purchased upon release from retail

Ends Sunday, 7pm Pacific

RATINGS

98Wine Spectator

Intense blackberry and cherry, with hints of currant. Toasted oak and sweet tobacco too.

96Robert M. Parker Jr.

...exhibits a striking bouquet of forest floor and black currants...full-bodied, exuberant...lot of complexity, and striking depth and richness.

96Jeb Dunnuck

...sensational bouquet of crème de cassis, charcoal, lead pencil shavings and damp earth, it’s full-bodied, gorgeously concentrated, balanced and long...it has terrific purity as well as complexity.

95Wine Enthusiast

... rich and elegant. There are generous tannins, ripe black currant fruits, balancing acidity, all in an ensemble that is so much more than the sum of its parts.

93Stephen Tanzer

Explosive nose of black raspberry, coffee and leather. Hugely rich, dense and sweet, with deep flavors of currant, plum and chocolate complicated by underlying minerality.

17Jancis Robinson

Lovely cedary black fruit aromas... Some oak sweetness on the palate but it's fresh too and the tannins are fine and resolved, still with some density.

REGION

France, Bordeaux, St.-Julien

Saint-Julien is the smallest of the four main Médoc appellations with 2,175 acres of vineyards. It is just south of Pauillac on the left bank of the Gironde, and although it has no First Growth châteaux, its 11 Classified Growth estates are widely admired. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that winemaking in Saint-Julien from all classifications “is consistently both distinctive and brilliant.” He adds it is Médoc’s “most underrated commune.” The best-known estates are Léoville Las Cases, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Léoville Poyferré, Léoville Barton and Gruaud Larose, and most of those have riverside estates. The soil in this appellation is gravelly with clay. Cabernet Sauvignon is the main grape grown, and it is blended with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and sometimes small amounts of Petit Verdot.