Léoville Barton 2009

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2009 Leoville Barton gives up expressive cherry cordial, warm cassis and blackberry tart scents with nuances of menthol, cigar box and fallen leaves. Medium-bodied and elegantly played with loads of freshness and soft tannins, it has a long, perfumed finish. 2019 - 2037

Something reminiscent of a schoolmaster about this wine – ink and pencil lead? Fresh and minerally and sleek with a hint of mint and very strong Cabernet Sauvignon personality. A fine wine by any measure.Drink 2020-2040

The nose has the depth of rich fruit cassis backed up by sloe and given freshness by lighter bilberry. There are layers of flavours that give complexity the black fruited richness supported by firm but ripe tannins. The richness of the flavour packs out the back palate giving the feeling of depth and power. Drink 2022-2050.

A dense, darkly coloured, almost brooding effort from Anthony Barton, this is very good, but not as exceptional as the 2005. It's massive and masculine, with powerful cassis fruit, lots of oak and very firm, dry tannins. The wine will take at least a decade to soften and develop in bottle. My only concern is that the tannins are a little four-square. 20+ years.

Dense purple red, finely concentrated blackcurrant Cabernet nose with many layers of complexity, shows freshness above the controlled intensity of pure vineyard fruit, still shut in but a very great expression to come. Drink 2017-40.

A super-classic St.-Julien that only has a hint of the opulence of the vintage. The beautiful cassis fruit and elegantly dry tannins push briskly through the long and graceful finish. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)

This behemoth possesses massive extraction, an opaque purple color, huge density, extreme tannins, and a nearly endless finish. Everything is there, but the highly extracted style and off the chart tannins ensures that no one over the age of forty will ever see this wine hit full maturity. Nevertheless, there is a lot to admire, and it-s good to taste a wine that will not be ready to drink for 30+ years. No compromise! (Tasted two times.) Drink 2010-2040.

Tasted at the château and the UGC. A blend of 22.5% Merlot, 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 0.5% Cabernet Franc, delivering 13.1% alcohol. 84IPT. A dark garnet/purple colour. The nose is very well defined, taut at first but unwinding with aeration, crisp blackberry leaf, boysenberry, a touch of iodine and subtle hints of shellfish. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, a sense of tautness here, like a coiled spring, silky smooth, surfeit with freshness, very poised on the sorbet-like, almost Burgundian finish with that sense of transparency that allows the terroir to show through. Superb. Tasted March 2010.

Measured and confident tannic hold with subtle grilled oak notes, a ton of ripe cassis and blueberry fruits, liquorice and eucalyptus on the finish, and a mouthwatering, moreish construction overall. This is a powerful St Julien, but with clear and present finesse. 60% new oak. A standout wine from this property, and a wonderful showcase of the slow burning brilliance of St Julien. 2020 - 2040

An intense nose with some strange oak note? Sweet, light, polished start. Pretty sinewy. A bit austere. Needs a lot of time. Deliberately slimline? But a very good complex undertow. A very slow burner. Date tasted 1st April 2010. Drink 2018-2034.