Area under vines: 50 hectares
Soils: gravel on clayey subsoil
Average age of the vines: 30 years
Production: 200,000 bottles a year
Ageing: in 60% new oak barrels for 24 months
Grape varieties:
Second wine: Reserve de Leoville Barton
Learn more about Château Leoville Barton
here
The 2005 Leoville-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.
Anticipated maturity: 2023-2045
Leoville 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.
Anticipated maturity: 2025-2050
