Chateau Leoville Barton
The winery Château Léoville-Barton is a Deuxièmes Grand Cru Classé from Saint-Julien. The story begins with Thomas Barton's arrival in France in 1722. He had left his native Ireland to work in the trade of his uncles who did a lot of business in France. After first living in Montpellier and Marseille, Thomas arrived in Bordeaux around 1725. It was around this time that he also became increasingly interested in wine. In Bordeaux, he founded his first wine (trading) company, which would eventually result in the longest family dynasty at the helm of a winery with an 1855 Grands Crus classification.
In 1786, his grandson Hugh Barton started as a wine merchant in Bordeaux, and after Thomas died in 1780, Hugh inherited his grandfather's wine trading house. The trading house was already flourishing around that time, however, Hugh managed to make it an even greater success. However, the French Revolution broke out and Hugh and his wife were arrested in October 1793. Their possessions were taken away. However, they were unexpectedly released in December 1793. They decided to leave France and return to England, however they maintained a good trading relationship with Bordeaux.
In 1821, Hugh was able to buy Château Langoa and in 1826 he bought a plot of the Léoville estate, which he named after himself: Château Léoville-Barton was born. In 1855, Château Léoville-Barton was ranked "Deuxième Grand Cru Classé" in the official Bordeaux classification. Château Léoville-Barton has no chateau building on its grounds. All wines are produced at Château Langoa-Barton, which has all wine production facilities. (The château shown on the current Léoville-Barton label is actually Château Langoa-Barton).
The winery has been run from England for three generations. However, Ronald Barton decided to move to Bordeaux in 1924 to run the family business from there. Especially in the time after World War II, he managed to restore the domains to magnificent condition. As Ronald had no children, his nephew Anthony inherited the family business in 1986. However, he had been working with his uncle within the company since 1951. Since 2010, Lilian Barton Sartorius (9th generation of the Barton family) has taken over from her father Anthony Barton. Her children also currently work at the company. Son Damien helps his mother in the business, while daughter Mélanie helps in the cellars as an oenologist.
The vineyards (47 ha) are located in Saint-Julien, on the left bank of the Bordeaux region, along the Gironde river, and are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (72%), Merlot (20%) and Cabernet Franc (8%). The soil is mostly gravel, with a subsoil of clay. The wine matures in 50% (or more) new French oak barrels. Besides the "Grand Vin", Château Léoville-Barton also produces a second wine, consisting mainly of grapes from the younger vines.
Léoville-Barton is a true "Vin de Garde" and very good vintages can be kept for many decades. Top vintages are: 1929, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1953, 1959, 1985, 2000, 2003, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2022. Although the various wines received very good reviews, the price remained very competitive.
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