Château Léoville Barton 2015

This delivers some serious wow, dripping with warm fig, blackberry and boysenberry reduction notes, along with melted black licorice and fruitcake flavors. Shows ample grip but remains beautifully polished, letting the fruit sail on. Don't worry though, as long echoes of roasted apple wood and tar signal that this is built for the long haul. Best from 2025 through 2042. 11,667 cases made.

94–96. Barrel Sample. While the spicy wood is prominent at this stage, the wine also has weight. As the black currant fruits come through slowly, the wine shows a rich potential. The texture is dense and firm.

One of the deepest, richest and darkest of the St-Juliens in 2015, showing a lick of tar and a crack of cassis. Confident and settling in for the long haul, a salty minerality kicks in on the finish to give a mouthwatering quality. 60% new oak barrels. Eric Boissenot consults.

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.

Tasted blind. Quite intense ripe blackberry nose. Rich and spreads across the palate. Appealing and fills the mouth. Backbone but no pain! (JR)

Another 2015 wine that took a giant leap from its showing in elevage. This is a beauty. Layers of ripe, dark, red fruits, tobacco leaf, spice box and cassis notes. Full bodied, concentrated, elegant and powerful, with a serious depth of flavor, this is one of the great vintages for Leoville Barton. This is going to age quite well.

Deep ruby with purple reflections and subtle rim brightening. Delicate hints of liquorice and oak, pleasant herbal savouriness, candied orange zest and a mineral touch. Medium body, black berry fruit, fine nougat touch, elegant, integrated, ripe tannins, chocolate touch on the finish, shows good freshness, a multi-faceted food companion.

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!

86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot. The Cabernet Franc, planted at 3%, has been entirely declassified. An extremely deep purple with lilac and violet reflets. A royal Nose with strong blueberry contours, cassis, blackberries, fine woods and a delicate vanilla touch. On the Palate, silky and elegant, displaying very fine tannins and a wonderful balance. Everything is in its place. With its finesse, it can rival (and this is not the first time) certain First Growths. A Barton of outstanding class and particular refinement!

NORMAL ALCOHOL CONTENT. On the right bank of Bordeaux, a few Crus have dangerously approached high alcohol levels in the 2009 and 2010 vintages. Thus, 15% vol. and sometimes even more are not uncommon. In comparison, this fine Barton with its 13% vol. has a reassuringly classic effect. In oak aging as well, the approach is guided by customary intelligence and appropriate restraint. For the Grand Vin, approximately 60% new barrels are used. Barrel sample: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot. The Cabernet Franc, which accounts for 3% of the vineyard, has been entirely declassified. An extremely dark purple with lilac and violet reflections. Royal bouquet, plenty of blueberry nuances, cassis and blackberries, noble wood and a delicate hint of vanilla. On the Palate silky and elegant, displaying extremely fine tannins and a beautiful balance. Everything is in its place and, in terms of refinement, it can (and this is not the first time) compete with certain First Growths. A truly great and particularly fine Barton! Tasted four times. (19/20). 18: The darkest colour of this Saint-Julien trio; deep violet, lilac rim. Compact bouquet, showing plenty of blue to black berries, followed by noble wood and tobacco. On the Palate firm and full, very concentrated in extract here, but also demanding, with an intense and tightly woven finish. A very powerful Saint-Julien with character and an arrogance that could almost be called a hallmark of quality. (19/20).

Sweet, dense, complex, powerful bouquet, blueberries, blackcurrant, vanilla sugar, caramel, liquorice. Dense and creamy, full palate with sweet, velvety fruit, plenty of fine tannins, powerful, sweet aromatics, creamy structure, long, fresh finish. Can still improve. 18/20 2022 - 2040

Elongated tannins, a slow build through the palate, showing the finessed side of Barton compared to the monumental 2016. Plenty of deep brambled cassis and blackberry fruits, a crunch of pomegranate, crayon and graphite, and a juicy finish that is standing of the edge of its drinking window, and will deliver for the next decade. Tasted separately to the rest of the horizontal. 60% new oak.

The 2015 Leoville Barton has a medium to deep garnet colour. 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.

A refined Saint-Julien built on admirable tannin elegance. The whole is at once fine, sapid and very long. It has great class on the palate, with a juicy character and superb grain.

Black colour with beautiful spicy aromas. The wine has good density, tight structure, length and refinement, the tannins dry slightly, but the material is beautiful in a style of great classicism.

The generosity of the vintage is certainly highlighted, but freshness is far from lacking. Inviting notes of cinnamon and preserved dark berries followed by a hint of coffee. The wine is charming, full-bodied, dense and supported by creamy tannins, perfectly integrated. Like the bouquet, freshness defines this wine which shows only 13%…in 2015!

The nose is elegant and offers subtle richness, fine intensity and complexity. It displays notes of blackberry, blackcurrant and lighter ripe raspberry combined with subtle hints of toasted oak, caramelization and discreet touches of Cuben pepper and a subtle note of nutmeg / cedar. The palate is fruity, elegant, balanced, delightful and offers tension, a subtly tart texture, minerality, juicy/tart fruit and good length. On the palate this wine expresses notes of fleshy/juicy cherry, fleshy/juicy raspberry and lighter blackberry combined with a subtle hint of juicy plum, fleshy/juicy raspberry and very discreet touches of toasted oak, almond and an imperceptible hint of spice. The tannins are elegant, well-managed and refined. Good finish.

Logo on the cork: JL (Lafitte Liège) This is the pleasant surprise of this tasting. Dark, intense, beautiful and youthful colour. Intense, refined, fruity, pure, creamy nose. Superb. Caressing on the palate, then immediately juicy and gaining body, the wine proves complete mid-palate, with brilliance in the flavour. It melts on the palate with meticulous texture and deep, lingering flavours. Still somewhat austere, but delicious.