Léoville Barton 2018

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Léoville Barton needs a little swirling to coax out delicate notions of fresh blackberries, mulberries and cassis, plus touches of pencil shavings, clove oil, charcoal and black truffles. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers a great intensity of earth and mineral-laced black fruit flavors, supported by firm, ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing on a lingering ferrous note. Give it a good 4-5 years in bottle and drink it over the next 20 years+. Drink 2025-2045.

Tasted blind. Second bottle much fruitier on the palate and impressively long. Though there are still some austere tannins on the end. 14%Drink 2027 – 2043

82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot. 60% new oak. Barrel sample. Black core, purple rim. Sweet intense nose of elderberry and small, wild berries. Extremely wholesome, dense, firm but with lots of fruit at the core. Oak well in check and the tannins finer than many, dry and layered but harmonious. For the long term. Dry and almost chalky on the finish. (JH) 14.03%Drink 2028-2038

A stunner, showing a great degree of purity, with long flavors of cassis, plum and blackberry preserves, seamlessly integrated with the graphite structure. A very vivid, defined, precise wine.

(82 Cabernet Sauvignon, 18 Merlot) | 60% new oak | 14.03% alc By contrast to the restrained and gentlemanly Langoa this is a flamboyant and expressive wine with a wide span of flavours including bitter cherry and cranberry notes among the deeper, darker tones. Superbly long and with great energy and loveliness this will be a long-lived style which will open incrementally as opposed to firing on all cylinders from the off.

The 2018 Léoville Barton was picked from 21 September until 6 October and then matured in 60% new oak. It has a ripe and generous bouquet with blackcurrants, blueberry, crushed violets that might cheekily be described as Langoa-plus. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. This has firm grip, one of the most structured Léoville-Bartons that I have encountered with a slightly lactic finish. Where this succeeds is in the alcohol that is kept under control (14.03%) so that there is no warmth and delineation is upheld throughout. Superb.

This is very structured and powerful with lots of blueberry and blackcurrant character. Full-bodied and muscular with so much intensity and density. Extremely muscular. Yet, it’s agile.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Léoville Barton simply sings of crushed black cherries, blackcurrant cordial and wild blueberries with touches of violets, dark chocolate, allspice and cardamom with a waft of stewed tea. Full-bodied, rich and decadently fruited in the mouth, the generous fruit has a solid structure of firm, ripe, grainy tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing long and layered.

I loved the 2018 Léoville-Barton. It’s a classic, structured, backward wine based on 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot that’s still resting in 60% new French oak. While never the most showy or opulent, this team always fashions a fresh, focused, incredibly age-worthy wine, and the 2018 follows suit, revealing a vivid purple color, notes of crème de cassis, crushed violets, salty minerality, and lead pencil shaving-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and incredibly elegant on the palate, it has building tannins, flawless balance, and integrated acidity, all making for a wine that’s going to demand upwards of a decade of bottle age yet keep for 40 years or more. The tannin quality here is exceptional and this is a wine you won’t regret having in the cellar.