Château Léoville Barton 2006

A Robust, Long-Lived Bordeaux

In 1722, Thomas Barton left his home country of Ireland for France and eventually created a dynasty and the longest standing family legacy among the Bordeaux Grands Crus Classes. While Thomas established an extremely successful wine merchant business, it wasn’t until 1821 when the Barton’s purchased vineyards in Saint Julien. Hugh Barton purchased Château Langoa, renaming it Château Langoa Barton, and an additional plot from what is now Léoville Las Casse in 1826, thus creating Château Léoville Barton. Today, ninth generation Lilian Barton leads the classified Second Grand Cru Classé estate with her two children Mélanie and Damien Barton Sartorius.

Château Léoville Barton does not, in fact, have a château; therefore all of the winemaking is done at the sister estate Château Langoa Barton. The wines are sturdy and structured with plenty of robust tannins that benefit with age. The wines of Chateau Leoville Barton come from vines of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc that are an average of 40 years old.

The 2006 growing season started off lovely in June and July with a dry hot summer. August was cool and wet leading to a brief period of heat in September, followed by rain.

The Château Léoville Barton 2006 is dense and rich with notes of ripe dark fruit, cedar, and violet. On the palate this wine is medium bodied, with chewy tannins and flavours of blackberries, cassis and leather, along with a mineral backbone and long powerful finish.