2018 Château Léoville Barton Saint-Julien Grand Cru Classé

Château Léoville Barton has been a family heritage for 300 years. Founded in 1722 when Thomas Barton left his native Ireland to settle in Saint Julien and started a wine business there. In 1826 his grandson, Hugh Barton purchased a 50 hectare vineyard located in the Saint Julien appellation. In the historical classification of 1855 the Château was already classified as a "Second Classified Growth". The property was managed by the different generations over the years until Anthony Barton raised Château Léoville to the level of international recognition it enjoys today. The Barton story continues with his daughter, Lilian and her two children, who are now writing the chapter of the 10th generation. The vineyard nestles in the heart of the St Julien terroir under the most beautiful slopes of Garonne gravel, coming from the Gironde. The clayey gravel subsoil allows for excellent growing conditions and ensures consistently high quality in both wet and dry years. The vineyard is worked in a dynamic manner, such as ploughing the soil, weeds and grass grow in abundance in the vineyard to achieve good biodiversity and no poison/herbicide is used.

Harvesting is done entirely by hand. After destemming, the berries are carefully sorted, crushed and poured into wooden barrels, thermoregulated, according to their plots. The alcoholic fermentation lasts from 7 to 10 days and the extraction is always done with respect for the juice adjusting the number of pumpings depending on the cuvées and the vintages. The maceration lasts about 3 weeks, then follows the maceration juice is drawn by lot in barrels. Then the wine is matured between 16 and 18 months in French oak barrels of which 60% are brand new, in a cellar at 15 °. To avoid this, the wines are topped up 3 times a week contact between the wine and the air, the racking is traditional according to the so-called "à l'esquive" method.

The Léoville Barton 2018 is a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot harvested from 21 to 24 September (Merlot) and from 29 September to 6 October (Cabernet Sauvignon). The nose is intense, expressive with minty, spicy and black fruit aromas. In the mouth, the flavors of blueberries and blackcurrants are enhanced and the hint of white pepper will surprise you. The tannins are delicate and velvety. The wine is pure, well balanced and its power is exponential.