2005 Château Léoville Barton, St Julien, Bordeaux

The 2005 Léoville-Barton is clearly one of the wines of the vintage. Powerful and strapping in the glass, the 2005 is a big, big wine. Huge swaths of tannin wrap around a core of inky black fruit, new leather, spice, gravel, mocha and licorice. The wine's sheer density is impressive, but its balance is even more compelling. I might be temped to give this another few years in the cellar. Readers lucky enough to own it will find a thrilling, potent Saint-Julien that overdelivers big time. I loved it.

Powerful and compelling, this blend of nearly 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot with a suggestion of Cabernet Franc was slow to open but with time produced polished aromas of red and blackberry fruit with hints of graphite, leather, and smoke. The texture is firm and tannic, but there is enough density to make it all work exceedingly well—one of the pleasant surprises of the tasting.

This offers aromas of spices, dried dark fruits, meat and berries. Full and muscular on the palate, with strong tannins and a long, long finish. This is very powerful and chewy, but a little bit tight. This is a wine for the cellar. Don’t touch this until 2018.

Tasted blind. Healthy deep crimson. Clean, intense nose. Lots of ripe if slightly simple blackcurrant fruit. Dusty end. No charmer! A mouthful of minerals. But there is life here too.

Tasted blind. Healthy, deep crimson. Clean, intense nose. Lots of ripe, if slightly simple, blackcurrant fruit. Dusty end. No charmer! A mouthful of minerals. But there is life here, too.

Drink 2020 - 2040

Bluer than most, and not that dense. But lifted and well past the austere stage. Richer than many vintages of Barton. Refreshing. Invigorating though very dry on the end and far from a heavyweight.

Deep ruby red, this is great stuff, broad-shouldered, laced with aniseed, liqourice, touches of bitter black chocolate, muscular tannins and a luscious fruit core. Lip smacking stuff, with 2005 energy and excitement. Gets more serious as it opens, revealing black pepper spice, sage, rosemary and white pepper. A wonderful wine, one to sink into. You can easily wait to drink this, and it will reward another three to five years in bottle, then go for decades. If you do open it, give it a long carafe. 50% new oak.

The 2005 Château Leoville Barton isn’t far off the style of the 1990, although perhaps it’s a touch more structured and concentration. Youthful ruby hued with classic currant, graphite, and crushed stone aromatics, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, rich, layered mid-palate, still present tannins, and a great finish. This in an inward, structured, powerful Barton that’s just now at the early stages of its drinking window, and has another 30 years of overall longevity if well stored.

The 2005 Leoville Barton is deep brick-colored. It needs a fair bit of shaking to wake up notes of blackberry preserves, crème de cassis, mince pie, and kirsch, giving way to a perfume of candied violets and wood smoke, plus a hint of cardamom. The light to medium-bodied palate is laden with black and red berry layers, supported by firm, ripe, grainy tannins and seamless acidity, finishing with epic length and depth. Gorgeous!

Meaty, spicy, dense and briary, this is not as polished or as elegant as the Poyferré, but it shows boisterous notes, structured tannins and some unresolved elements that will arm it for the future.  There is a decade or more ahead of this wine.

The 2005 Léoville Barton has a delightful bouquet with more red fruit than the Langoa, wild strawberry, redcurrant, light cedar and wild mint. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and modest depth, quite fresh with a slightly rustic finish. It becomes a little medicinal with time. The 2005 is cut from a different cloth to contemporary Léoville Barton but it is still worth seeking out. Tasted at the château.

The Château Léoville-Barton 2005 has a more multi-dimensional bouquet than the Langoa with blackberry, bilberry, a hint of “Liquorice All Sorts”, and crème de cassis. The palate is medium-bodied with dense ripe tannins, a gentle but insistent grip and superb delineation on the finish that reins the power back in, ensuring that this Barton is a linear classic in style. There is excellent persistence here – a Saint Julien from the top drawer that will give as much pleasure to you as your kids once they reach drinking age, of course).

Drink 2019 - 2050

What can you say about Anthony Barton? He has made yet another classic wine that will not be approachable for a decade but will last 50 or more years. The inky/blue/purple-coloured 2005 Leoville Barton offers up aromas of forest floor, cedar, spice box, black currants, background oak, and smoke. 

Boasting massive concentration, full body, and exceptional purity, but excruciatingly tannic and backward, this cuvee is meant for those with 19th-century tastes but exhibits modern winemaking's purity and precision. Patience is demanded with this beauty, as it will take many years to approach any level of accessibility/maturity. 

Anticipated maturity: 2020 - 2060+

Léoville Barton’s 2005 has an inky ruby/purple color and shows fairly high tannin levels, but the balance is slightly better that the Langoa Barton, which is very hard. This is probably a 30-year wine and needs at least another 20 years of cellaring, and while the tannins are high, they are balanced more thoroughly and competently. With deep cassis and red currant fruit, the wine is earthy, spicy, medium to full-bodied, and needs at least another decade. Drink it between 2025 and 2050.

Deep ruby. The wonderfully perfumed nose offers cassis, minerals, tobacco, flowers, mocha and truffle. Bright, mineral-driven and concentrated, with a terrific underlying backbone giving energy and definition to the dark berry, mineral and chocolate flavours. A floral lift here is exhilarating to find in the very ripe 2005 vintage. Finishes very long and classy, with a firm tannic spine. This is an outstanding vintage for this wine.