Chateau Léoville Barton Saint-Julien 2. Cru Classé 2018 i trækasse

Falstaff

Dark ruby garnet, violet reflections, delicate rim lightening. Attractive nuances of precious wood, black berries, a hint of liquorice, notes of fresh orange zest, complex bouquet. Juicy, ripe cherries, subtle extract sweetness, silky, ripe tannins, structure rich in finesse, saline finish, very good length, shows great harmony and length, a classic.

Tastingbook.com

James Suckling

Sweet berries, blackberries, raspberries and violets follow through to a full body with extremely creamy, polished tannins that caress the palate. It’s really long and polished. Gorgeous finish.

Wine Spectator

Cassis, crushed plum and steeped blackberry fruit is all packed into this wine, along with tar, violet and roasted apple wood notes, plus a terrific tug of warm earth. Shows lots of energy in reserve, with a tightly knit finish pulling everything together. Cellaring required.

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

With a dark, inky, purple accented hue, the perfume pops with all its ripe, blackberry and currants, accompanied by cigar box, forest floor, herbs, cedar and cigar wrapper notes. Full-bodied, concentrated, powerful, yet refined, the finish is deep, long and intense. Wait at least a decade before pulling a cork. It is going to be difficult to pick the best vintage of Leoville Barton from the 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2018 but it is going to be fun tasting them together over the next several decades.

Jeb Dunnuck

This estate has been on fire in recent vintages, and the 2018 Château Léoville Barton is up there with the best of them. Based on 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot that was brought up in 60% new French oak, this classic, flawlessly balanced, straight-up awesome Saint-Julien has loads of cassis and mulberry fruits as well as notes of freshly sharpened pencils, leafy tobacco, chocolate, and earth. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and concentrated on the palate, it has building tannins and healthy acidity, yet the fruit is pure, perfectly ripe, and wonderfully integrated with all the wine's components. As is normal with this cuvée, it closes down with extended air and is going to take a solid 8-10 years of bottle age to reach the early stages of maturity. It's going to evolve for 30-40 years in cold cellars.

Wine Enthusiast

In this wine, fine and rich tannins partner with powerful black-plum and black-currant fruits. Densely textured while also having swathes of rich fruits, the wine shows both a firm side and one that offers total deliciousness. As it matures, both these aspects will come together.

Jean-Marc Quarin

Decanter

Well-polished blackcurrant, cassis and bilberry, everything pretty silky and firm. Not fully showing its generosity at this point but no question that it is going to get there soon. Clear charcoal, graphite and woodsmoke as it opens up. A ton of life ahead, and an appealing sense of mint freshness. Lives up to its en primeur promise - this is Léoville Barton at its most confident

Vert de Vin Magazine

The nose is elegant, precise and offers complexity full of finesse, a certain power and a multi-layer side. It reveals notes of fresh blackberry, ripe wild strawberry and small notes of small ripe wild black fruits associated with a touch of violet as well as fine hints of toasted, vanilla, a subtle hint of camphor, cardamom, a discreet hint of cuben pepper and ripe almond. The palate is fruity and offers juiciness, freshness, a good definition, gourmandize, a certain tension, suavity as well as a good structure, a small power, a very discreetly tight grain and a beautiful multi-layer side. On the palate this wine expresses notes of juicy/pulpy blackberry, bright cassis and small notes of wild strawberry associated with touches of lily, a racy minerality, small fleshy fruits as well as a hint of fleshy plum, cherry, mocha, toasted hazelnut, a discreet hint of sweet spices, toasted oak and hazelnut. An imperceptible hint of fresh mild tobacco on the persistence. Tannins are elegant, precise and very finely firm. Delicacy full of power.

VV Wine

What a complex nose, a little drug, smoke, stone, blackberries and cherries, cassis, floral aromas, a hit. The palate is strong and powerful, sensationally structured, lots of power, not a gram of fat, precise and with breed, class and length. This Barton is excellent and will mature superbly.

Anthocyanes Yohan Castaing

Izak Litwar, Great Bordeaux Wines

Andrew Caillard MW