1982 - Leoville Barton, Saint-Julien

The 1982 Léoville Barton has a slightly feral nose compared to its peers, probably due to some Brettanomyces, leaning towards Rhône in style, with hints of coffee granules that, frankly, are a bit off-putting. The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly crunchy texture, plenty of black fruit intermixed with cedar and tobacco, showing some dryness on the finish. But this does improve markedly in the glass, cohering and the aromatics dispensing with some of their animal elements, prompting me to raise my initially parsimonious score. Tasted single blind at the 1982 dinner at Cornus in London.

With massive, huge concentration, excruciating tannin, this earthy, meaty St.-Julien has everything, but it needs to be forgotten for at least 10-15 years. At this tasting, it did not appear to have budged since the last time I had it, and it did not taste terribly different than it did at age five. While it is remarkably concentrated, it is hard to rate it any higher because it may take another 25 years to reach maturity. Even with this level of concentration, one can never be sure if the fruit will hold. Nevertheless, I have plenty of confidence in it. Release price: ($125.00/case)

A little TCA on the nose. Dark garnet. Lots of acidity and tannin. Firm. A little too tough and not as much pleasure as the 1985, which was the first vintage Anthony Barton was in charge of. Very Uncle Ronald (Barton)! Heavily extracted and pretty rough-edged. (JR)