La Reserve de Leoville Barton, Saint-Julien

Never tried the first wine but, based on this, I'm looking forward to it. Unfortunately, this was my only bottle of a pretty uncommon second wine.

By the glass. There was some drama with the wine as the first bottle was corked (it was already open as part of a wine pairing). Anyway, I had to send the glass back at a two star Michelin restaurant. Thankfully my senses were corroborated by the sommelier and staff after the faulty bottle was initially missed by the restaurant. This second slightly edged out the de Fieuzal.

Revised to reflect significant improvement on day 2: PnP Nice cassis rosehip aromas and early front palate with fig, Italian herb, iodine tincture. But the mid and backpalate were juicy and thin, unbalanced, gritty, tannic, almost sour, notes of overcooked bacon, dried hibiscus flower on top of cassis, pomegranate, boysenberry. Day 2 after a night open in the fridge: gained weight and resolved the unpleasant mid and back palate impressively. Medium or medium+ body, nice mineral finish. Enjoyable. 90-91.

I think this still needs time to smoothen out. 3 more years? Popped and poured but maybe would preferred to decant first for at least 2 hours. Still has aging potential.

Deep and exuberant cassis and ripe blackcurrants to the nose, with already soft tannins and full bodied weight. This is without great precision and edging towards being confected, but mocha, smoke and oak add a touch of depth to the ripe fruit. The finish is somewhat limited, but loaded with gravelly dark fruit. A lovely daily drinker.

A friend bought this wine - usually it's hard to find, though it's the second wine of a prominent chateau! No tasting note found by the "professionals" and only 38 bottles "in cellar" here on CT. This one is really in a good balance. The fruit is prominent, but kept in balance by the freshness and the tannins. Blue and black berries in the nose and on the palate. Very fine integrated tannins. Mid length. This wine is built to …

Hmm. Not quite as good as it should have been. The usual “both barrels” of cassis on the nose, with some murky cedar and currant notes. Palate is full but imprecise. Dark fruit, smoky oak, quite sharp acidity. Deep vermillion in the glass. Not the best QPR SJ you can buy. Look elsewhere.

Disappointing. Expected this second label to be better. Acceptable but not much more than that. Lack of power, signature black fruit, black currant difficult to distinguish, tannins plus peppery aftertaste creates a short finish.

By the glass. Powerful nose with aromas of smoked blackberries and quality black cherries. Abundant in the mouth, with a fairly round texture, as well as its tannins and an acceptable length too. Por copas. Nariz potente con aromas ahumadas a zarzamoras y cerezas picotas de calidad. Abundante en boca, de una textura bastante redonda, al igual que sus taninos, y una longitud aceptable.