Tasted at the 190th anniversary Léoville Barton lunch, a bottle of 1956 Leoville-Barton was bought from the chateau reserves as a replacement for a mis-firing 1966. Now extremely rare since much of the Bordeaux production was decimated by the late spring frosts, this is the only example of this infamous growing season that I have tasted. You know, the color was not bad and commensurate with its age. The palate is light with a strong struck match scent at first, followed by swimming pool/chlorine aromas. Funnily enough it did seem to coalesce in the glass. The palate is better than the nose: light vestiges of red fruit, cleaner than I expected, though still undeniably volatile. It offers a touch of tart red cherry. Remarkably, both fellow taster Oz Clarke and I opined that it was improving after 15 minutes in the glass, gaining more cohesion and the volatile acidity receding a little. Sure, it is more a curiosity than a bottle you would relish down to the punt. But I finished my glass, so job done. Possibly the only 1956 Claret review you will see all year! Tasted November 2016.
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