1998 Leoville Barton

The 1998 Léoville Barton has a simple but clean and fresh bouquet: blackberry, wild hedgerow, a touch of fennel and tarragon. There is a hint of tobacco that becomes more evident with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, potent tobacco and leafy notes, a relatively lightweight Léoville Barton that just attenuates a little swiftly on the bay leaf and black tea-tinged finish. There is a sense of elegance here but I would drink this now and over the next decade. Tasted at the château.

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.