Chateau Leoville Barton 2009, St Julien

3eme Cru Classe St Julien

Classic Leoville Barton loaded with sinewy blackcurrant and cedary fruit. Built for the long haul. Drink 2018 to 2030. [77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot]

13.5% abv

"...Anthony Barton's 2009 Leoville Barton is another massive, excruciatingly rich, tannic, potentially long-aged wine. Meant for consumers with old fashioned tastes, it boasts a dense opaque purple color as well as a bouquet of licorice, forest floor, unsmoked cigar tobacco and a hint of earth. The wine reveals tremendous denseness and richness, a broad, savory mouthfeel and elevated tannins in the finish. However, there is a sweetness to the tannins and no trace of bitterness and astringency, always a sign of a top vintage as well as fully mature grapes. Still a monolithic baby, this 2009 should be forgotten for at least a decade, and consumed over the next 30-50 years." 93+ Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (199), March 2012

Chateau Langoa Barton was purchased by the Irishman, Thomas Barton in the 1820's. The Barton Family had been associated with the Bordeaux wine business for over a century at that point. Hugh Barton had been a founder of the negociant "Barton & Guestier" in 1725. Thomas Barton also purchased the neighbouring "Second Growth" Chateau Leoville Barton later in the 1820's. Both Langoa Barton and Leoville Barton are still owned by the Barton family today. 

Anthony Barton took over ownership and management of the properties from his uncle Ronald Barton in 1983. Under Anthony's oversight, both properties dramatically improved in quality from the position of average performers for their classification to being consistently, very highly rated. Anthony has recently passed ownership to the next generation (his daughter, Liliane) but he remains involved in both properties. Chateau Langoa Barton is the site of all winemaking for it's neighbouring sister property, Leoville Barton, since the latter chateau has no winemaking facilities.

A new chai (winemaking facility) was put in place by Anthony Barton in the mid-1980s. Unlike many facilities that were built in the 1970s and 1980s in Bordeaux, the traditional wood fermenting vats were retained rather than replaced by stainless steel vats. Elegance and finesse are the hallmarks of the wines. The Cabernet Sauvignon is dominant but not overbearing or overpowering