The Chateau Leoville Barton history begins in 1725 when an ancestor, the Irish Thomas Barton, decided to open a wine trading company in Bordeaux. From that moment the Barton family continued the business until 1826, when Thomas’ nephew Hugh bought a plot of the Léoville estate, and renamed it Léoville Barton. The Leoville wines took little to conquer the most intransigent critics palate and, in 1855, with the historical classification of the Gironde wines by the “Syndicat des Courtiers de Commerce” at the Bordeaux Stock Exchange, they were classified “Second Grand Cru”.
From that date to today much has changed, but the Barton family has never stopped devoting care and attention to the 50 hectares estate. The vineyards, with a high percentage of old vines lie on a gravel ground on a clay underground. Currently Château Léoville Barton choosed a reasoned viticulture approach, with the full tillage of the vineyard, the deployment of organic manure (of natural and vegetable origin), no phytosanitary discharge and the separate collection of waste.
After the careful hand-picking the grapes, de-stemmed, are placed on the optical sorting table and finally decanted in thermoregulated wooden vats where they ferment and macerate, with manual fulling twice a day. The wine ages for 18 months in French oak barrels (60% new, 40% second passage), where it is clarified (14 th month) with the egg white, and then the different barriques are assembled in the final blend.
This 2010 vintage (77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc) shows a still dark and impenetrable ruby color with very deep smells of cooked plum, black cherry syrup and blackberry jam followed by China branch, ink, licorice, old original Balkan Sobraine tobacco, and light boisée tones. The mouthfeel is very soft, but never exceed, and the green and vegetable vein plays a valuable job of balance while an elegant flavor stands out between refined and silky tannins which lead to a long refreshing finish.
Rating: 94/100
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