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Goedhuis, April 2023, Score: 96-98
Lilian Barton and her two children Damien and Mélanie quite simply cannot put a foot wrong at this fine Second Growth, which has belonged to the family since the 1826. This is as classical an example of St Julien as it gets. The 83% Cabernet Sauvignon shows its varietal character in spades, with blackberry, pencil shavings, fresh tobacco and eucalyptus. First impressions show a wine which concentrates on charm and rounded sweet fruit, but swiftly develops to show boldness, structure and statesman-like complexity. Focused and with enormous potential.
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Neal Martin, April 2023, Score: 96-98
The 2022 Léoville Barton was picked between 8 and 23 September at 30hL/ha and matured in 60% new oak. This represents the first vintage that has been vinified using gravity and cuvons (basically vats on wheels!) in their newly-built winery. The nose makes an instant impact with intense black cherry, bilberry and violet aromas. A nuanced estuarine/oyster shell scent emerges with time in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-chiseled tannins, fabulous precision, a killer line of acidity and more mineralité on the finish, that it knows what to do with. This is a precision-tooled Léoville Barton with the sharpness of a samurai sword. The 2022 marks the start of a new and glorious chapter for the Saint-Julien estate, which passes in the slipstream of the 22019 and 2022. It constitutes the finest Léoville Barton that I have tasted out of barrel. Tasted three times. Drink 2030-2070
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Antonio Galloni, January 2025, Score: 95
The 2022 Léoville Barton is superb. Soaring aromatics are immediately arresting. Beautifully precise and nuanced, the 2022 is all finesse. The style of this warm, dry vintage is very much in evidence, and yet Léoville Barton retains a gorgeous sense of classicism. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2022 is very, very young. Its quality and pedigree are beyond reproach.
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Antonio Galloni, April 2023, Score: 93-95
The 2022 Léoville Barton is a total model of classicism, even in this warm, dry year. All of the Léoville Barton signatures are present, even if the wine is still coming together. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, gravel and dried herbs open nicely in the glass, but it is the wine’s energy and overall tension that I find most surprising. This is classic as classic gets. Not interested in making the richest or showiest wines, nor interested in jacking up prices as high as they can be. Readers will find a straightforward (in the best sense of the term) Saint-Julien that captures the best of what Bordeaux can be. Just enough of everything, but not too much of any one thing.
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Wine Advocate, March 2025, Score: 97+
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.
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Wine Advocate, April 2023, Score: 96-97+
One of the stars of the Médoc and a wine likely to equal or surpass its 2019 and 2016 counterparts, the 2022 Léoville Barton unwinds in the glass with deep aromas of cassis, pencil shavings, spices and tobacco leaf, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and layered palate that's vibrant, pure and seamless, with beautifully classy tannins and a long, penetrating finish. The 2022 is a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11.5% Merlot and 5.5% Cabernet Franc; and 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 which translate into enhanced purity and precision.
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James Suckling, April 2023, Score: 95-96
Very polished and poised with blackberry and blueberry character. Medium body with tight and focused tannin tension. Lively finish. Harmonious for the vintage.
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Matthew Jukes, April 2023, Score: 18.5+
Château Léoville Barton (2ème Cru Saint-Julien) 83 Cabernet Sauvignon, 11.5 Merlot, 5.5 Cabernet Franc 60% new oak 13 14.1% alc Every piece of the jigsaw is in place here with classy, deep cassis-soaked fruit and a long, soothing, fine-grained finish. What I most admire about 2022 Léoville Barton is that there is no excess whatsoever. A model of balance and composure, as is often the case at the exemplary estate, unlike other Saint-Juliens, this saunters up to the palate and graciously introduces itself instead of rushing at you headlong and winding you with its highly-strung personality and frantic flavours. There is much more to come here as the intricately assembled array of tannins dissolves and profound minerality steps into its place. Patience is required; in time, this will be regarded as a thoroughly regal vintage.
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Jeb Dunnuck, April 2023, Score: 94-96+
The 2022 Château Léoville Barton is another pretty, elegant wine from this talented team. A blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11.5 % Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, its ruby/purple hue is followed by a beautiful perfume of ripe red and black fruits, smoked tobacco, graphite, and violets. Playing in the medium to full-bodied end of the spectrum, it has fine tannins, a supple, elegant mouthfeel, and a great finish. It's surprisingly approachable yet I wouldn't be surprised to see this firm up over the course of its élevage.
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Jane Anson, April 2023, Score: 96
Balanced, elegant, built to last, with campfire smoke, turmeric, cloves, blackberry, cassis, cherry pit, graphite and mint leaf. As with the Langoa, this has more exuberance and spice than usual, but the tannins kick in pretty quickly, providing intensity, and balance. The concentration of the vintage almost seems to take it from St Julien into Pauillac, and this has the frame and density to age for decades. Highly impressive from Lilian, Melanie and Damien Barton. 60% new.
