Château Léoville Barton, 2ème Cru Classé, St Julien, 2023
The effect of the new winery is perhaps more subtle with Leoville Barton. More dark and savoury than Langoa with lots of mineral, earthy notes interwoven with dark berries and a gentle florality. This is a supremely detailed, focussed Leoville with an impressive core of layered red and black fruits framed by smart, authoritative tannins. Although virile and powerful, there's something quite discrete, a sort of understated charm. Another wonderful example from this legendary second growth. Produced from 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc.
critic reviews
This was one of the real standouts En Primeur for me, and I am so so happy to see it delivering now it is in bottle. Inky, juicy, finessed, reserved, exactly what I found when tasting last year, and this is delicious, muscular, old school, fragrant, Left Bank, St Julien typiciity, graphite, crayon, cassis, tension, boom. Barton family owners, 60% new oak for ageing. This is a single point upscore - very different in character from the Poyferré, both exceptional.
The 2023 Léoville Barton takes time to open in the glass, delivering vivid blackberry and briar mixed with cedar, delicate floral scents of peony surfacing with time. It is typical Barton but with greater precision compared to vintages 10 or 20 years ago. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins, pretty, not powerful or weighty, yet light on its toes with ample mineralité on the finish. More approachable than the 2022, this is an excellent Léoville Barton.
The 2023 Leoville Barton is deep garnet-purple in color. It features fragrant scents of violets, fertile loam, and rose oil leading to a core of redcurrant jelly, cassis, and licorice with a touch of cardamom. The medium-bodied palate is tense and tightly wound at this youthful stage, like a taut spring ready to pop. Firm, fine-grained tannins and a racy backbone adeptly support the vibrant fruit, finishing long and perfumed. The blend is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc, aged in barriques, 60% new.
The 2023 Leoville Barton is a lovely classic in the making, unfurling in the glass with aromas of cassis and blackberries mingled with notions of pencil shavings, licorice and violets. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it's layered, concentrated and suave, with beautifully refined tannins, vibrant acids and a long, penetrating finish. Benefiting from the Barton family's new highly functional winery, as well as experimentation with more discreet cooperage choices, it's somewhat reminiscent of the estate's terrific 2016. The 2023 blend is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc.