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Léoville Barton 1996

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Léoville Barton

Label

Tasting Notes

The 1996 Leoville Barton appears more youthful than the 1996 Langoa Barton in the glass with a healthy deep garnet core. The aromatics unfurl gracefully in the glass revealing briary, wild hedgerow, black truffle and sandalwood scents -- firmly in secondary aroma stage but with appreciable presence and intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin that form its firm and classic structure, spice, white pepper and cloves infusing the slightly animally red berry fruit. This is an adorable Léoville Barton that is occupying a very "happy" place at the moment -- superb precision, old school claret at its best. Decant for an hour no more, then enjoy. Drink 2016-2035.

93
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (227), October 2016

The 1996 Leoville Barton is deep brick-colored. It gallops out of the glass with powerful, classic scents of blackberry preserves, dried mulberries, and tobacco leaf, with hints of cedar chest and crushed rocks, plus a waft of wild sage. The light-bodied palate has a sturdy backbone of chewy tannins and a lively line to frame the impactful, mature, Cabernet flavors, finishing long and lifted.

95
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, December 2023
92+
Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (4), December 2003

Wild berries on the nose, with an exotic flower undertone. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long, rich finish. Gorgeous red. Give it time

91
James Suckling, Wine Spectator

Mature rim on ruby core. Straightforward, very slightly green Cabernet notes on the nose. Some mintiness. Well sculpted but rather obvious flavours. Not absolutely obviously Bordeaux. Rather like a skinny New World Cabernet. Drink 2006-16

16
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, September 2006
92+
Farr Vintners, 1996 Bordeaux Blind Tasting 8/9/2006, September 2006
Read more tasting notes...

This impressive wine is a classic. Although backward, it exhibits a dense ruby/purple color in addition to abundant black currant fruit intertwined with spicy oak and truffle-like scents. The wine is brilliantly made, full-bodied, and tightly-structured with plenty of muscle and outstanding concentration and purity. It should turn out to be a long-lived Leoville Barton, and somewhat of a sleeper. However, patience will be required. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2030.

92
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (122), April 1999
91/94+
Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (3), November 1998

An enormous, masculine , backward wine, Leoville Barton's 1996 exhibits an opaque, black/purple color and sweet earthy prune, and black currant aromas intertwined with scents of licorice and Asian spices. Enormous and full-bodied, with a sweet mid-palate and mouth-searing tannin in the finish, this exceptionally dense, powerful, layered wine will require significant patience. Its explosive power and richness may push this wine's ultimate rating into the mid-nineties. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2040. Last tasted 3/98.

Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.