Tasting Note:
Tasted twice. The UGC sample was uncharacteristically weak so we requested a fresh sample, and boy, what a difference. This has real gravitas. The colour when you pour into the glass is opaque, with just the finest slither of purple. So deep and brooding; serious, intense, introverted, then some stary fruit emerges with faint notes of floral fragrance. On the palate the texture of the fruit is very impressive, it’s creamy and mouthcoating, pure crème de cassis, boysenberries and mulberry, vivid and long. This has all the hallmarks of a noble and powerful Leoville Barton full of concentration and depth, enveloped by imposing yet integrated tannins that coat the palate with lingering flavours of Valrhona chocolate, Asian spice and blackcurrant. Glorious! 85.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14.5% Merlot cropped at a paltry 34 hL/ha.
"Packed full of black chocolate shavings, liquorice, cocoa bean, concentrated cassis and bilberry fruits. Good quality, will bed down and age extremely well, with depth and character but also classicism. As with many in this corner of the Médoc peninsula in this vintage, the austerity to the tannins is very much to the fore right now. May be upscored when in bottle. Drinking Window 2029 - 2045" 94/100 - Jane Anson, Decanter.com