This estate has been on fire in recent vintages, and the 2018 Château Léoville Barton is up there with the best of them. Based on 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot that was brought up in 60% new French oak, this classic, flawlessly balanced, straight-up awesome Saint-Julien has loads of cassis and mulberry fruits as well as notes of freshly sharpened pencils, leafy tobacco, chocolate, and earth. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and concentrated on the palate, it has building tannins and healthy acidity, yet the fruit is pure, perfectly ripe, and wonderfully integrated with all the wine's components. As is normal with this cuvée, it closes down with extended air and is going to take a solid 8-10 years of bottle age to reach the early stages of maturity. It's going to evolve for 30-40 years in cold cellars.
97 points, Jeb Dunnuck (Mar 2021)
Cassis, crushed plum and steeped blackberry fruit is all packed into this wine, along with tar, violet and roasted apple wood notes, plus a terrific tug of warm earth. Shows lots of energy in reserve, with a tightly knit finish pulling everything together. Cellaring required. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2026 through 2040. 11,600 cases made.
97 points, James Molesworth, Wine Spectator (Mar 2021)
In this wine, fine and rich tannins partner with powerful black-plum and black-currant fruits. Densely textured while also having swathes of rich fruits, the wine shows both a firm side and one that offers total deliciousness. As it matures, both these aspects will come together. Drink from 2027.
97 points, Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast (May 2021)
Sweet berries, blackberries, raspberries and violets follow through to a full body with extremely creamy, polished tannins that caress the palate. It’s really long and polished. Gorgeous finish. Drink after 2025.
97 points, James Suckling (Feb 2022)
A brilliant Léoville, continuing to impress as it has every time I have tasted it. The width and depth of the ripe tannins is matched pace for pace by an elegance to the cassis, bilberry, blackcurrant fruit. As it opens, cocoa bean, smoked earth, charcoal, graphite and woodsmoke come spiralling out of the glass, and this is just gorgeous. Easily one of the wines of the vintage not just in St Julien but across Bordeaux. 70% new oak. Technical director François Brehant, consultant Eric Boissenot.
97 points, Jane Anson (Mar 2022)
The 2018 Léoville-Barton is a gorgeous, exotic wine. Crème de cassis, lavender, menthol, licorice and cloves race out of the glass. The 2018 marries the natural opulence of the year with a pretty classic sense of structure, making for one of the more compelling wines of the year. I would give this a good decade in the cellar. There is much to look forward to. I especially admire the energy and poise here.
96 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Mar 2021)
The 2018 Leoville Barton is deep garnet-purple in color. It leaps with notes of Morello cherries, black raspberries, and juicy blackcurrants, plus hints of lilacs, cedar, and vanilla pod. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a soft texture and generous black and red fruit layers, finishing long and fragrant. Deceptively delicious now, it needs time to show its pedigree.
95 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent (Feb 2023)
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