2022 Château Léoville Barton En Primeur
CURRENTLY SOLD OUT, PENDING FURTHER ALLOCATIONS, PLEASE ENQUIRE
Released this morning, 2022 Léoville Barton is the first vintage to be made in the new winery and has added levels of purity and precision, scoring 96-97+ points from William Kelley in 'The Wine Advocate', who describes it as "One of the stars of the Médoc and a wine likely to equal or surpass its 2019 and 2016 counterparts".
With volumes down by 30% due to the low rainfall and small, concentrated berries in 2022, there is precious little Léoville to go round, hence this is offered on allocation. Please contact us as soon as possible to avoid disappointment!
Expected spring 2025.
To order, e-mails sales@richardkihl.ltd.uk
Producer Profile
Château Léoville Barton, St-Julien Grand Cru Classé
Château Léoville Barton is a Deuxième Grand Cru Classé in St.-Julien.
Léoville-Barton was once part of the great Léoville estate, which encompassed what are now Léoville-Barton, Léoville-Poyferré and Léoville Las Cases.
Irish Bordeaux merchant Hugh Barton (a friend of fellow Irish merchant Bernard Phelan of Phélan Ségur) first settled in Bordeaux in 1722. The Bartons first purchased Langoa and then in 1826 bought that part of the Léoville estate which was to become Léoville-Barton. With no château of its own, Léoville-Barton is made at Langoa. This is also the château featured on the label.
The 50 hectares of vineyards are planted to 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. The soils are gravel over clay, with a high proportion of old vines.
The Barton's spent the majority of their time in Ireland until Ronald Barton took over. He became the first Barton to be based at the estate. His nephew Anthony Barton, who took over in 1983, did much to define the austere, classical style here, favouring traditional vinification and as little intervention as possible, to allow the wine to express its terroir. The estate is now run by Anthony's daughter, Lilian Sartorius-Barton.
| RED | 2022 | Château Léoville Barton | 75cl | £220 per case of 3 | Château Léoville Barton 2022 / / 75cl £220 per case of 3 |
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| RED | 2022 | Château Léoville Barton | 75cl | £440 per case of 6 | Château Léoville Barton 2022 / / 75cl £440 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"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. 93-95 points" Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com------"Very polished and poised with blackberry and blueberry character. Medium body with tight and focused tannin tension. Lively finish. Harmonious for the vintage. 95-96 points" jamessuckling.com------"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. 94-96+ points" Jebdunnuck.com------"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. 96-97+ points" William Kelley, RobertParker.com-----"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. points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com |
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