2010 Château Léoville Barton, St Julien, Bordeaux

Black with a purple edge. Less obviously aromatic than the Langoa 2010. Drier but still very ripe and voluptuous. Tea leaves and a savoury note. Real energy. This should be a very long-term player.

Tasted blind 8 Apr: Still lots of blue in the colour here. Scented and mineral. Relatively lightweight. Bone dry. A bit austere at the moment. Makes me think that these 2010s need a fair amount of weight to work? Quite long though. This wine may overtake Langoa in the long term but is certainly less expressive at this stage.

A splendid showing, much stronger from bottle than it was from barrel, the Leoville Barton is one of the spectacular wines of the vintage. Inky purple to the rim, its huge tannin gives this wine real potential for 30-50 years of longevity. It is a classic, powerful Bordeaux made with no compromise. A superstar of the vintage, the wine has notes of pen ink and creme de cassis, good acidity, sweet, subtle oak, and massive extraction and concentration. I thought it was one of the most backward wines of the vintage two years ago, and nothing has changed in the ensuing upbringing of the wine in cask except that the wine now seems even richer, denser and fuller than I previously thought. The beautiful purity, symmetry, and huge finish of nearly a minute make this one of the all-time great classics from Leoville Barton. Anticipated maturity: 2028-2065+.