Chateau Leoville Barton St. Julien 2003

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BN#148271

Chateau Leoville Barton

The soil of St. Julien is ideal for vines, due to its geographic situation and its climate: every element is present to produce wines of exceptional quality and elegance.

Wine Spectator

Intense blackberry and cherry, with hints of currant. Toasted oak and sweet tobacco too. Roses and other flowers, such as lilacs. Full-bodied, with masses of tannins yet incredibly long and seductive. Best after 2012

Score: 98. —James Suckling, March 31, 2006.

Wine Enthusiast

Somehow Barton has overcome the heat of the 2003 vintage and has come out with a new wine that is 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. Imported by Diageo Chateau & Estates.

Score: 95. —Roger Voss, May 01, 2006.

Wine Advocate

One cannot admire enough proprietor Anthony Barton and his classic, potentially long-lived wines that are models of power, elegance, and longevity – in short, these wines symbolize what makes Bordeaux so world-renowned! Probably capable of rivaling the 2000, the uncompromisingly made, formidably powerful, masculine, and highly extracted 2003 has an inky purple color to the rim, a big, deep personality with a tight but promising nose of forest floor, creme de cassis, smoke, charcoal, licorice, and perhaps even truffle. It is layered, rich, and set for an exceptionally long life, but don’t expect to get a lot of joy even in this somewhat overtly styled vintage for at least another 7-8 years. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2030+. 95+

Score: 95. —Robert Parker, April 2006.