CHATEAU LEOVILLE BARTON 2eme Grand Cru Classe, Saint-Julien 1996 Bottle

Description

The 1996 Léoville Barton has received significant acclaim, notably 93 points from The Wine Advocate, which highlights its youthful appearance and deep garnet core. The wine’s aromatics reveal briary hedgerow, black truffle, and sandalwood, showcasing impressive intensity while firmly in its secondary stage. On the palate, it is medium-bodied with grippy tannins that contribute to its classic structure, enhanced by spice, white pepper, and cloves alongside slightly animalistic red berry fruit. This vintage is described as being in a "happy" place, offering superb precision and an old-school claret experience. Vinous awarded it 92 points, praising its full ruby colour and rich flavours of blueberry, roasted nuts, and mint, concluding with a long, ripe aftertaste, making it an exceptional choice for enjoyment.

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Château Léoville Barton is a vineyard in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Léoville Barton is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growths) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.

Unlike many of its peers, Château Léoville Barton has no château building; the wines are made at Château Langoa-Barton with which it shares ownership. The château depicted on Léoville Barton's label is that of Château Langoa Barton.

THE WINE ADVOCATE 93 points
Drink Date 2016 - 2035
"The 1996 Leoville Barton appears more youthful than the 1996 Langoa Barton in the glass with a healthy deep garnet core. The aromatics unfurl gracefully in the glass revealing briary, wild hedgerow, black truffle and sandalwood scents -- firmly in secondary aroma stage but with appreciable presence and intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin that form its firm and classic structure, spice, white pepper and cloves infusing the slightly animally red berry fruit. This is an adorable Léoville Barton that is occupying a very "happy" place at the moment -- superb precision, old school claret at its best. Decant for an hour no more, then enjoy. Tasted July 2016."

VINOUS 92 points
Full ruby color. Blueberry, roasted nuts, mint and a hint of game on the nose. Fat, sweet and multilayered; rich, ripe and deep. Offers a generous mouthfeel for a young '96 from the Medoc. Substantial ripe tannins spread out over the palate. Very long, ripe aftertaste. - Stephen Tanzer