The Wine Advocate | RP 94-96
Published: Apr 26, 2024

The 2023 Léoville 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.

This great Médoc second growth has been on a qualitative roll in recent vintages, and the estate's brand-new winery and chai, equipped with smaller fermentation vats to permit more precise parcel-by-parcel selection, is seeing Léoville and Langoa Barton hit even greater heights in terms of precision and finesse. In the vineyards, a steadily increasing percentage is farmed organically, and the old manual methods are perpetuated (tying the vines to their supporting stakes using osier instead of string, removing lateral shoots by hand, etc.). As proprietors of much of the appellation's woodland, the Barton family has always been at the forefront of newly fashionable "agroforestry." And periodic replanting increasingly aims to adapt grape variety to soil type, the heart of Léoville-Barton being, of course, Cabernet Sauvignon growing on the superbly situated quaternary gravel soils of Saint-Julien. In the cellar, barrels are largely supplied by Nadalié, Maury and Taransaud, though trials are underway to reduce the percentage of the rather impactful Maury, and racking remains traditional. A comparatively large percentage of press wine lends backbone and classic grip to the assemblage.
Drink Date: 2025 - 2055

Jamessuckling.com | JS 96-97
Published: May 15, 2024

The tannins here are cashmere-like. You can touch it, but at the same time it is weightless and beautiful. Medium- to full-bodied and textural. Soars at the end. This is really seamless and dialed in. Third year using the cellar. 87% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot and 3% cabernet franc.

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