Château Léoville-Barton: Tasting & Drinking
As I have already alluded in this profile, Château Léoville-Barton has over the years appealed to many, including myself, not only on the grounds of quality but also on the grounds of value. Anthony Barton was the claret drinker’s dream proprietor, turning out fabulous wines which were sold at fair prices. In great vintages, such as 2000, Château Léoville-Barton would often have a prix de sortie perhaps half the price of comparable wines from other highly regarded second growth estates. This practice was wholly admirable, and I applauded Anthony Barton for maintaining his philosophy of wine as a drink rather than a trading and investment vehicle.
Sadly, however, there was a downside. I have heard unsubstantiated rumours that the practice was unpopular with neighbouring proprietors who appeared more than a little avaricious when their prices were contrasted with those of the Bartons. Secondly, Anthony lost out; brisk trading saw the asking price for a case of Léoville-Barton 2000 double within a few days; naturally, none of that money ever found its way back to those that actually made the wine. No doubt these were strong arguments in favour of a rather higher opening price come the next “vintage of the century”, which was 2005. The higher prices asked today have no doubt benefited the Bartons greatly (no doubt funding the refurbishment of the cellars mentioned on the previous page), but the most obvious and unfortunate adverse effect is that some drinkers are priced out of the market. Criticism of this policy should not be levied against one specific proprietor, of course, but against all Bordeaux.
Even so, for the quality in the bottle, these wines remain of great interest. As I have already explained in the introduction to my profile, early encounters with the wines of this estate will stay with me for the rest of my life. Future encounters will of course be less frequent, but perhaps no less enticing. Nevertheless I look forward to drinking my bottles of the 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 in the future, and I am firm in my belief that they will live up to my expectations, based on many fine experiences with vintages from the 1980s and 1990s. In the meantime, I look forward to encounters with the 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2015 vintages in years to come.
