What is the youngest LBV

[Tom Archer]

The IVDP rules (unless they've changed them again..) state that LBV's must be bottled between July 1st of the 4th year after harvest, and December 31st of the 6th year.

Thus it is currently possible to have 2004 LBV's bottled, shipped, and on the shelves, and also possible to have 2002's that have yet to be bottled.

Unfiltered LBV's may be labelled as 'Bottle Matured' if they are not released into the market until three or more years have elapsed since bottling, so the youngest possible bottle matured LBV would be the 2001.

However, there does not seem to be anything to stop unfiltered LBV's being released sooner, if the words 'Bottle Matured' are not placed on the label.

Older unfiltered LBV's often carry the word 'Traditional' - this misleading descriptor was outlawed in 2002.

Whether LBV's should be drunk fresh or left to age is a matter of personal taste. From the producer's standpoint, the unfiltered LBV's are intended to be aged for around a decade, while the filtered wines are intended for immediate consumption.

From personal experiance, I would advocate giving the filtered wines a decade or so in bottle, and the unfiltered wines longer. The unfiltered LBV's have only been made (intentionally) for about 30 years, and it is very hard to locate bottles that pre-date 1990; so the full aging potential of these wines has yet to be revealed.

I have very recently consumed a filtered Graham 1978 LBV that had been properly cellared for the last quarter century. It was mature and enjoyable, with only the slightest hint of being over the hill.

Tom

[Moses Botbol]

Most recent LBV I've seen was 2003 at Costco.

[Todd Pettinger]

We now have the following LBVs in town:
Fonseca 2003 LBV (now being bottle "unfiltered" according to the label yay!)
Taylor Fladgate 2003 LBV (still filtered)
Noval 2003 LBV (unfiltered)

I have tried all three and TNs are on their way... my home computer suffered a little "electronic hiccup" and 10-12 TNs are trapped on its Hard Drive until I can replace the video card.

[Anders]

Weise & Krohn LBV 2004 - seen in Denmark

[Derek T.]

I had Cockburn 2003 LBV on Christmas Eve and I think I have also tasted Fonseca and Noval 2003 LBVs. I have not yet seen a 2004.