Château Léoville Barton 2022

The 2022 Léoville Barton is performing brilliantly in bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of cassis, pencil shavings, pen ink, cigar box and spices. Medium to full-bodied, suave and velvety, it's dense and concentrated, with terrific energy and persistence. As readers will remember, it's the first vintage produced in the estate's new winery, which more than doubled the number of vats, permitting sub-plot by sub-plot harvesting and vinification, along with a number of other technical improvements that translate into enhanced purity and precision. Drinking window: 2027 - 2055. 97+/100. William Kelley. March 2025.

Couleur sombre, pourpre et noire. Nez intense, fin, fruité, subtil, profond et noble. Il devient complexe à l'agitation du verre. Nuances de fruits noirs, de vanille, de poire. Ultra fondant en entrée de bouche, très minutieux au développement, avec de la classe dans le toucher, le vin monte en finale, subtil et savoureux. Il s'achève très long, profond et complexe. Il a le fond et la minutie de la réalisation pour lui. Superbe ! Assemblage : 83 % cabernet sauvignon, 11,5 % merlot, 5,5 % cabernet franc. Degré d'alcool : 14°1. A consommer de préférence entre 2035 et 2065. Avril 2023.

Léoville Barton zeigt Gelassenheit und Tiefe. Er offenbart etwas von seiner Reifung, aber diese ist nicht dominant, sondern begleitet nur die vorhandenen Komponenten und fördert damit das gesamte Bouquet. Elegante blumige und fruchtige Nuancen mit Noten von Pfingstrosen, dunklen Beeren und Eukalyptus. Am Gaumen überzeugt der Wein durch seine Finesse und seine Fähigkeit, die offensichtliche Kraft zu kanalisieren, die durch kompakte, fleischige, liebliche und bestens eingebundene Tannine unterstützt wird, während sich die Frische trotz des dichten und kräftigen Kontexts angemessen manifestiert. So viel Harmonie und Eleganz. Eine wahre stille Kraft mit langem Nachklang. 2028-2057. Dezember 2024.

Richly concentrated on the nose with evocative aromas of blackcurrant, tobacco, vanilla, chocolate, clove and violets. Punchy and alive, this has both strength and elegance giving smooth, silky tannins with fleshy fruit and high acidity. It manages to marry quite a muscular frame with beautiful freshness and focus to give a round mouthfeel with plenty of flavour and kick. It's on the opulent side with concentrated blackcurrants and cherries but has a cooling, minty undercurrent too. I like this a lot. Not as openly friendly at this point as some but it's extremely well executed and has great ageing potential. Drinking window: 2030 - 2050. Georgina Hindle. January 2025.

This is a beautifully textured wine, with its fruit and tannins in harmony. Its intensity is matched by its balance, giving a ripe, layered and elegant wine with a fine future. Roger Voss. February 2023.