CHATEAU LEOVILLE BARTON 2012 - Saint-Julien 2ème Grand Cru Classé - France - Red Wine

Country : France
Region : Saint-Julien
Type : Red
Year : 2012
Volume : 75 cl

WINEMAKER NOTES : Lovely flowery bouquet with notes of acacia. The palate is well balanced with no harsh tannins indicating quite early maturity. Blend: 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc.

WINE SPECTATOR : Tight, with an iron spine driving through the red currant, steeped cherry and blackberry core. The toast emerges on the finish, showing well-integrated briary grip. Features solid stuffing for the vintage. Barrel Sample: 90-93 Points.

94-96 points Wine Enthusiast
Outer quote mark Firmly tannic in character, this wine is dry and extracted. There's potential for this powerful, impressive wine to bear the wine's very dry character with the weight of its fruit. (RV) Inner quote mark (4/2013)

92 points Decanter
Outer quote mark Dense black-red, firm, quite spicy Cabernet Sauvignon, both ripeness and firmness is there, elegance over power and a good future. (SS) Inner quote mark (4/2013)

92 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Outer quote mark Dense ruby/purple, with cassis licorice and forest floors notes in the aromatics, Léoville-Barton’s 2012 is a relatively big, rich, masculine style of wine. This full-bodied wine needs 5-8 years of cellaring and should evolve easily for 25-30 years. (RP) Inner quote mark (4/2015)

91 points James Suckling
Outer quote mark Floral and fruity red with hints of vanilla. Medium to full body, fine tannins and a crisp finish. Loosely knit. This needs three or four years to come together. Inner quote mark (2/2015)

ABOUT THE WINE : The property's wines offer an exuberant bouquet of dark fruit (cherries and blackcurrants), spices, cedar and coffee. On the palate, they are concentrated and distinguished, characterised by powerful but very supple tannins and a superb velvety texture. This grand vin needs several years in the cellar to open up, and has a remarkable potential to age.

ABOUT THE WINERY In 1826, Hugh Barton, already proprietor of Chateau Langoa, purchased part of the big Leoville estate. His part then became known as Léoville Barton. Six generations of Bartons have since followed, and continued to preserve the quality of the wine, classified as a Second Growth in 1855. In 1983, Anthony Barton, the present owner, was given the property by his uncle Ronald Barton who had himself inherited it in 1929. Anthony Barton's daughter Lilian Barton Sartorius now helps her father in managing the estate. Together, they maintain the traditional methods of winemaking, producing a typical Saint-Julien of elegance and distinction. The Château Léoville Barton is the property of the Barton’s family and Lilian Barton Sartorius manages it with her two children, Mélanie and Damien.

INTERVIEW WITH ANTHONY BARTON 



INTERVIEW, MEETING, TASTIN with JAMES SUCKLING