Léoville Barton 2015

The 2015 Léoville Barton has one of the richest bouquets in the appellation, boasting almost ostentatious blackberry, raspberry and bilberry scents on the nose, suffused with crushed limestone and light graphite aromas. The medium-bodied palate is taut and crisp, delivering a fine bead of acidity and freshness from beginning to end. Mainly black fruit here, with suggestions of leather and mocha toward the finish. Superb. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.

This is a very focused Barton with ultra-fine tannins that are so polished and chalky. It drives through the center palate with currant and berry character. Full-bodied, polished and straightforward with driving tannin. Love the texture. Class. Yes. Drink in 2021.

The 2015 Leoville Barton has a medium to deep garnet color. It is a little shut down and reluctant to play, eventually offering scents of baked blackberries, blackcurrant cordial, and cedar chest, followed by hints of crushed rocks and smoked meats. The medium-bodied palate is tightly wound with bright, energetic fruit and compelling freshness, supported by ripe, grainy tannins, finishing long and lifted.

Tasted blind. Blackish crimson. Polished and cool and smooth. Great job of tannin management! Very noble. But not the most concentrated
Drink 2024-2044

Anthony Barton's second growth is always a top quality Bordeaux of classic proportions. Structured, Cabernet Sauvignon based wines that are serious, controlled and pure. The 50 hectare vineyard is planted 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. However, in 2015 the final blend is 86% Cabernet Sauvignon. There is a modest 13% alcohol. Proper old school claret. Deep purple colour. Focused cassis and a little tar on the nose with some fresh mint. The palate is firm but ripe, with exotic spices paired with ripe cassis fruit and a little graphite. This is precise and poised with firm tannic structure giving an upstanding mouthfeel with great refinement. Elegant and long on the finish, this is one for lovers of classic St Julien.

I absolutely loved the 2015 Léoville-Barton and this has everything you could want from a Left Bank Bordeaux. Cassis, smoked earth, graphite, tobacco leaf, and thrilling amounts of minerality all emerge from this inky colored, full-bodied, power-packed, brut of a Saint-Julien that holds everything together and stays pure, balanced and elegant on the palate. It has a lot of tannins, yet more than enough fruit. The 2015 is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot, brought up in 60% new French oak, and it needs 7-8 years of bottle age and will shine for 2-3 decades. Bravo! 2026 - 2056

The nose is concentrated with depth richness black fruits and the start of the palate has brooding power. The fruit on the mid palate is ripe with black cherry and cassis backed by dark chocolate. A hint of cedar wood at the back adds to the complexity with coffee beans and cassis on the finish.

Grippy and quite backward - as it often tends to be at this early stage - but this has plenty of fruit power and concentration in reserve, with fine tannins and stylish oak integration. One for the cellar. Drink: 2025-35

This is a firmly structured Léoville Barton with feisty tannins and cerebral acidity, making you consider this wine’s trajectory in order to guess at when it will approach its purple period. I venture that we are a decade away because the epic Cabernet here is cool, introverted and contemplative and this means that it is more backward and less initially flattering than many other wines. I expect tasters will underestimate this wine and its potential, but is it the very essence of the estate and it reflects the huge potential of the vintage, too.