All I can say is WOW!!!!!! JS nailed this one right on the head.
Purple and opaque. Immediately you can see where this is going to be in 15 years. Coffee, chocolate and tobacco .... and as that settles you pick up cassis and loads of black fruit. 30 second finish easily. This one is an infant and already it is a monster. I disagree with JS's 98 point score, I think he scored it too low. If you can find it out there .... grab it.
JPB, Thanks for the notes. I can’t wait for mine to arrive and try this out.
___________________________________________________ It's good to try them young too and then let them age - James ******** Infanticide can be very satisfying - Robert Parker I drink mine young to avoid disappointments - James Laube
Posts: 5223 | Location: Atlanta, GA | Registered: Jun 03, 2004
Anybody know where this can still be found for a reasonable price?
--------------------------------------------------------- "...And so ultimately you didn't blame Lil John or Meat Loaf. You fired Gary Busey. And these are the kinds of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well-handled, sir. Well-handled."
Posts: 1387 | Location: San Francisco | Registered: Oct 28, 2001
According to wine-searcher there is a 6 liter of this wine in NJ for $1200.
IW
Life without wine?...... Yeah Right. The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living - Socrates "Wine....offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than possibly any other purely sensory thing which may be purchased" ERNEST HEMINGWAY (1889-1961)
ITB
Posts: 4669 | Location: Louisville, KY | Registered: Nov 14, 2001
IW, Thanx, but not reasonable enough for me. R2, you're just smarter.
--------------------------------------------------------- "...And so ultimately you didn't blame Lil John or Meat Loaf. You fired Gary Busey. And these are the kinds of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well-handled, sir. Well-handled."
Posts: 1387 | Location: San Francisco | Registered: Oct 28, 2001
Just found out that the 6L was sold this past Friday. Not that I had the $$ anyway.
IW
Life without wine?...... Yeah Right. The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living - Socrates "Wine....offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than possibly any other purely sensory thing which may be purchased" ERNEST HEMINGWAY (1889-1961)
ITB
Posts: 4669 | Location: Louisville, KY | Registered: Nov 14, 2001
Thought I would add this. A gentleman using the nick BordeauxNut with a wonderful palate has posted here a few times but posts mostly on ebob. I had the pleasure of him bringing this wine. Here are the notes he posted on ebob today.
"2003 Leoville Barton St. Julien Enormous wine of uncommon depth. Once the bottle got around, several tasters questioned where it could be purchased and for how much. I can remember many newly released Bordeaux I’ve liked as much – but, I can’t remember any that I liked more. Espresso grounds and thick black cherry and blackberry fruit. There’s an exotic note that seems so typical among the 2003s – it’s like cinnamon hard candy mixed with oak/coffee/dark chocolate. This showed much better than the 2003 Montrose we tried a couple of months ago. I would expect a very big review from just about every critic."
TOMNYC, you know who I am talking about.This message has been edited. Last edited by: JPBone,
Originally posted by ronmc2: Why did you wait until now? It had QPR written all over it 2 years ago at $50-60.
Had a feeling about this one and took a gamble on it in Jan before the rating came out. Even at $65 I thought this would be a decent QPR based on Parker's writeup (not necessarily his barrel score). Now I'm glad I did.
We had friends over for dinner for my 45th birthday, and they very graciously brought this bottle. Gave it a decant of about 45 minutes, then enjoyed for another 40 minutes or so with steaks. Deep, dark red color. The nose was a beautiful mixture of blackberries, pencil shavings and damp earth. Definitely old-world aromas, but no barnyard or "funk" IMO. Full bodied but without excess weight. Grippy but smooth tannins. Black fruits, spice box, coffee, cocoa powder. Despite the reputation of the vintage, this wine was not over-ripe or out of balance in any way. Fantastic! In my limited experience with higher-end Bordeaux, I think this is delicious now but with obvious upside and a long life ahead of it. Try one if you have several bottles. 95+.
Iv'e enjoyed my 2003 Bordeaux with a small decant. I especially liked my Lynch-Bages and Giscours for the price. Some folks think 2003 was too ripe and Napa like but Iv'e enjoyed the wines.
Posts: 8692 | Location: minneapolis minnesota usa | Registered: Dec 17, 2003
I bought a big quantity right before the original release and drank a dozen also bottles. This has never shutdown and always show extremely well in the mid to high 90s.
2003 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (3/9/2012) Baronne Guichard wine dinner, Ruth's Chris DC (Ruth's Chris on Connecticut Ave, DC): What is so impressive about the 03 LP, LB, Montrose and others is that they have never really shutdown. I also think that a lot of the wines achieved almost but not perfect phenolic maturities resulting in a very slight hint of stem/green pepper. Opulent dark fruits, crème de cassis, some red fruits as well, tobacco and cedar. This is drinking beautifully and starting to gain some secondary aromas but the generous fruit concentration will enable the wine to age for 50+ years. (96 pts.)
2003 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (4/23/2011) This at the initial release was a chewy big monster with impressive big upfront blue fruits and crème de cassis, then a couple years back pretty tight but still showing some primary fruits.
It has completely settled. There is an uncanny resemblance to the 03 Gruaud Larose consumed a few days earlier in that both showed dark roasted fruits, slight hint of oak and very slight green with silky palate and fully integrated tannins which for me was surprising.
The nose is a bit shy, black fruit, some metal, lead pencil, slight hint of oak and quite interestingly just slight hint of green which I find in a traditional Bordeaux, perhaps it has not completely reach the phenolic ripeness but just like the 03 GL, it was not noticeable on the second night, perhaps the other components of the nose got more expressive and the greenness became a part of the overall expression. The palate is very silky and tannin surprisingly resolved, almost none showing even as the end note.
The second night both nose and palate show significant improvements. Licorice, caramel, black fruit, cedar, pine needle, ground espresso beans, sweet spices and quite floral almost a Margaux like in this aspect. What I find interesting is the sweet caramel note is very similar to the best of the 76s which I had recently as well as some of the 82s but more vibrant fruit and concentration than the 76s. The palate is more generous than the first night and it gets chewier as warms up, very silky, almost milky texture. The interplay of sweet dark fruit, cedar, earth and flower is very interesting and intoxicating. If you prefer your Bordeauxs relatively young yet with some tertiary flavor, this wine is ready. If you are looking for more cedar aspects and rounder/sweeter fruit, it will take at least five more years. At least three to four hours of decanting will be required for the nose to open but the palate is ready from the get go. 95 pts with 97 pts potential. (95 pts.)
Sigh...Bordeaux was still relatively affordable then! I got my case at $55 per bottle and my mag for $100! I'll likely never buy another bottle of this caliber of bordeaux, which makes me sad.
******* Go Habs Go
Posts: 5420 | Location: Chicago | Registered: May 24, 2002
2009 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (4/1/2010) Dark fruit, great inner energy in this wine, seamless, delicate impression but incredible concentration. Very similar impression as VCC. Tasted twice in the same tasting with same results 98-100 pts. (99 pts.)
2003 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (1/16/2013)
Opened by Grossie. Decanted for 11 hours before dinner and it was better for it. First time I have had this wine. Very impressive effort and the best 2003 Bordeaux I have had to date (I've tried 70 2003's but no first growth). This wine is better than the 1996, 1999 and 2001 LB's and could be the equivalent of the 2000, 2005 and 2009 LB's (which is saying something). Crimson purple color. Very open for being 10 years old. An aromatic wine with floral and ripe red fruit nuances. Burnt cherry notes with cedar, leather and black fruit. Chewy texture. Firm tannins. Wonderful depth and length. The best and most ageworthy of the 4 2003 Bordeaux at the dinner. 95 points now (with severe decanting) and could improve another point or two with more aging. Glad to see this wine is doing so well since I have 9 bottles (at $45 futures pricing).
VM
Posts: 11622 | Location: Chicago | Registered: Oct 17, 2001
The decanting definitely helped. This thing came roaring out of the bottle full of power. The density of this wine was impressive, there were some great layers under there. Long lasting finish. Could use 5-10 more years. 96 points for me, so far my WOTY.
I'm also pleased to note that I am #1 on Vino Me's list of best wines opened by fellow board members so far for 2013. I have to somehow convince him to stay away from Allred for the whole year, I want that top spot!
******* Go Habs Go
Posts: 5420 | Location: Chicago | Registered: May 24, 2002
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