While I would typically hold such a bottle for 5, 10, 15 years down the road, the 2015 Leoville Barton was just begging to be opened for a very particular reason.
I have been making space for younger domestic wines in my collection and thus have gone through a few older bottles of Bordeaux. My sister’s wedding weekend was coming up, and I wanted to bring something special and unique. I took a gamble on opening up the 2015 LB, and the result ended up paying out dividends. For such a young wine, it was so mature.
What normally would taste like intense, jammy black fruit ended up feeling more like smooth tannins and cedar notes with a touch of vanilla. It’s as if Saint Julien (along with a lot of areas in Bordeaux) are producing wine to be consumed sooner rather than later. Even 2-3 years ago, I’d never dare open up a $100 bottle that was just released, fearing that it has reached absolutely ZERO potential. However, the 2015 Leoville Barton is an example of Bordeaux producing fine wine for what I call the impatient collector.
Perhaps this vintage will continue to age gracefully, or perhaps it wasn’t meant to taste so balanced now, and will fall flat years from now. Whatever the case may be, I’d grab at least two bottles- one to try now, and one to try down the road.
The Chosen Vine 