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Léoville Barton 2012

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

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Tasting Notes

As with most of these St Juliens, the colour is medium intensity ruby with lovely reflective pools. Sweet notes of smoked caramel, graphite and campfire stealing in along blackberry and cassis fruits. Overall the fruit register is dark, with tannins that are perfectly integrated but still present, confident and holding the fruit in place. The same sappy saline minerality that I found in the Gruaud Larose, not generous but enticing. 60% new oak, 32hm/h yield.

95
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, March 2022

The 2012 Leoville Barton has a medium to deep garnet-brick color. It wafts effortlessly out of the glass with evocative scents of boysenberries, juicy black plums, and crème de cassis, followed by earthy/minerally suggestions of iron ore, pencil lead, and charcoal. The medium-bodied palate offers a firm, grainy texture and bright acidity to counter the taut black fruit and earthy nuances, finishing long and energetic.

94
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, December 2023

Dense ruby/purple, with cassis licorice and forest floors notes in the aromatics, Léoville-Barton’s 2012 is a relatively big, rich, masculine style of wine. This full-bodied wine needs 5-8 years of cellaring and should evolve easily for 25-30 years. Drink: 2023 - 2053

92
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (218), April 2015

The Grand Vin is a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc picked between 3 and 15 October at 32hl/ha. It is more introspective than the Langoa at this early stage, but perhaps more complex with subtle tertiary and pencil lead scents infusing the black fruit profile. The palate is superbly balanced with fine tannins, delineated black and red fruit infused with graphite borrowed north from Pauillac. It exudes focus and precision and should be one of the finest Saint Julien 2012s. Tasted April 2013.

93/95
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, May 2013

Very neutral nose that opened out to something pretty savoury. Very attractive, fine, top-quality oak on the finish. Lovely balance. Should just get better and better. Everything seems ripe and in balance here.

17.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2013

Consistently brilliant quality in recent years and a reasonable pricing policy makes this one of our best selling wines. Anthony Barton always makes a top quality Bordeaux of classic proportions here. The yield in 2012 was only 32 hl/ha and the wine is made from 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc in 60% new oak. This has a classic cedary Medocain nose with hints of pencil shavings and cigar box. On the palate it is brooding and powerful with strong cassis fruit. There is an attractive touch of spice and great complexity. Proper Claret.

93
Farr Vintners, March 2013

The fruit on the nose is deep and brooding and although the palate has a nice weight of fruit the mid palate is quite lean lacking richness and depth. Towards the back ripe cassis does give a little more weight but the finish is lacking in intensity. 2020-30

87/90
Derek Smedley MW, May 2013
90
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2013
Read more tasting notes...

This well-made, complete St.-Julien possesses a dense purple color as well as surprisingly soft tannins for this wine which tends to be jacked up with a lot of structure, masculinity and muscle in most vintages. The 2012 offers attractive cedary, black currant fruit and vanilla notes, and a medium-bodied, denser mid-palate than many of its peers'. The tannins are noticeable in the finish, so give this wine 4-5 years of cellaring and drink it over the following two decades as it will be one of the longer lived wines of the vintage.

90/92
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (206), April 2013
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.