schiller-wine: Winery Tour and Tasting at Château Léoville-Barton, Appellation Saint-Julien, 2ième Grand Cru Classé and Château Langoa Barton, Appellation Saint-Julien, 3ième Grand Cru Classé - Bordeaux Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours, France

Pictures: Winery Tour and Tasting at Château Léoville-Barton, Appellation Saint-Julien, 2ième Grand Cru Classé and Château Langoa Barton, Appellation Saint-Julien, 3ième Grand Cru Classé - Bordeaux Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours, France

The 9th and last full day of the

Total Immersion in Bordeaux: World Class Wines and Exquisite French Gourmet Cuisine - Bordeaux Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours, France

started with a cellar tour and tasting at Château Léoville-Barton, Appellation Saint-Julien, 2ième Grand Cru Classé and Château Langoa Barton, Appellation Saint-Julien, 3ième Grand Cru Classé. Interestingly, while the wines of Léoville-Barton and Langoa Barton come from different vineyards, they are made in the same production facility, side by side. In fact, the wines of both châteaux are made at Château Langoa Barton.

Pictures: Arriving

The Barton Family

The Barton family is able to trace its Bordeaux roots all the way back to 1722. That was the year that Thomas Barton left Ireland for Bordeaux. Like many successful owners, Barton started out as a Bordeaux negociant.

The first foray into ownership for the Barton family was in St. Estephe, with Chateau Le Boscq in 1745, which was awarded Cru Bourgeois status in 1932. In 1995, the Barton family sold it to Dourthe.

Also in 1745, the Barton family partnered with another powerful Bordeaux family to form a Bordeaux wine negociant company, Barton and Guestier. It was controlled by the Barton family until the Seagram Group got control in 1986. Today, Barton and Guestier is part of the international wine and spirit company Diageo.

The next major purchase for the Barton family took place in 1821. That was the year they bought Chateau Langoa Barton. Following the purchase of Langoa Barton, they bought a second St. Julien estate: Culled from the vineyards of Château Leoville Las Cases, that estate became Chateau Leoville Barton, a deuxième cru en 1855. Interestingly, because no wine making facilities came with the purchase, they were forced to make the wines at Château Langoa Barton. Until today, production of both wines takes place at Langoa Barton.

When Ronald Barton, who had inherited the family’s property from his father, who was tragically killed in a hunting accident in the 1920's, died without an heir in 1986, his nephew Anthony took control of the family properties. Anthony had already moved from Ireland - where the family maintains a home - to Bordeaux in 1951.

Pictures: Winery Tour and Tasting at Château Léoville-Barton, Appellation Saint-Julien, 2ième Grand Cru Classé and Château Langoa Barton, Appellation Saint-Julien, 3ième Grand Cru Classé

The 3 Léoville Chateaux

The 3 Léoville chateaux are the result of vast property broken up a long time ago. But up until the French Revolution, Léoville was the largest Médoc wine-growing property.

The story of the 3 Léoville estates go back to 1638. At the time, the estate was called Mont-Moytié, named after its founder, Jean de Moytié. Domaine Mont-Moytié remained in the family for almost 100 years. It is through the marriage of one of the Moytié women that the estate passed into the hands of Blaise Antoine Alexandre de Gascq, who was the seigneur of Léoville and a president of the Bordeaux parliament.

The groundwork for the split was laid in 1769, when Blaise Antoine Alexandre de Gascq died without an obvious heir. As a consequence the Léoville estate was inherited by four family members. One of them was the Marquis de Las-Cases-Beauvoir. One quarter was sold off by the four heirs. A number of years later, in 1826, this part of Léoville estate was purchased by Hugh Barton and became Château Léoville Barton.

The other three quarters remained in the family. This was the state of affairs when the Marquis was succeeded in 1815 by his son, Pierre-Jean and his daughter, Jeanne. Pierre-Jean inherited what is now Château Léoville Las Cases, whilst the portion that came to Jeanne was passed onto her daughter, who married Baron Jean-Marie de Poyferré; this is the part that is today Château Léoville-Poyferré.

Although the estate bears the name of the Poyferré family to this day, it was not in their ownership for a long time. But it was under the ownership of the Poyferré family when the estate was classified as a deuxième cru in 1855 (as were the Barton and Las-Cases estates).

In 1865 Château Léoville-Poyferré was purchased by Baron d'Erlanger and Armand Lalande, bankers and local courtiers. The Lalande family, and later through marriage also the Lawton family, were in charge of Château Léoville-Poyferré until after World War I had passed. The Cuvelier family bought Château Léoville-Poyferré in 1920.

While the vineyards were separated, the buildings remained connected, just as they are today.

Anthony Barton and Lilian, Mélanie and Damien Barton-Sartorius

Anthony Barton was born and grew up in Ireland. After he got his educated in England, he headed to Uncle Ronald in Bordeaux in 1951. There, he started off in his family’s merchant firm of Barton and Guestier and met his future wife Eva, with whom he has 2 children. Athony and Eva Barton live at Chateau Langoa-Barton.

Picture: The Barton Family

Anthony Barton has already transferred ownership to his daughter Lillian, who is married to Michel Sartorius.

Pictures: Anthony Barton and Annette and Christian Schiller at the Fete de Bordeaux 2012. See: Fête du Bordeaux of Calvert and Woodley in Washington DC, 2012, USA

Lilian Barton-Sartorius and Michel Sartorius have two children who are in the process of taking over from their parents. Daughter Melanie has completed studies in agriculture and enology in Burgundy and Bordeaux. Their son Damien also put in two years in agriculture school, followed by studying at a business school.

Pictures: With Lilian Barton Sartorius and Mélanie Barton Sartorius in Washington DC

Pictures: With Damien Barton-Sartorius at the 2017 Fete du Bordeaux Dinner in downtown Washington DC

Château Léoville-Barton

Château Léoville-Barton is a Deuxième Cru en 1855 in the Saint-Julien appellation.

There are now 47 hectares of vineyards at Château Léoville-Barton, planted with 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. Vinification is performed in the cellar at Langoa-Barton, as there is in fact no château at Léoville-Barton.

The grand vin is Château Léoville-Barton, the second wine is La Reserve de Léoville-Barton. Total production is 20.000 cases.

Château Langoa-Barton

Château Langoa-Barton is a Troisième Cru en 1855 in the Saint-Julien appellation.

Located along the banks of the Gironde river, Langoa-Barton has 15 hectares under vine: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot.

About 7,000 cases of Château Langoa-Barton are produced.

Château Mauvesin-Barton

In September 2011, the Barton family purchased an additional Bordeaux estate, Château Mauvesin, in Moulis. It is an estate with 48 hectares of vines in a single block surrounding the château. 40 of those hectares, which are planted with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in roughly equal measure, are in the Moulis appellation, the rest being Haut-Médoc. The property has been owned by the Baritault du Carpia family and their predecessors since the late 15th century. The imposing, classically proportioned château was built in 1853.

When the Bartons took control of the property, the extensive cellars underwent a quick temporary renovation. The Bartons installed 22 new, squat stainless-steel vats in various sizes, allowing increased precision during vinification and blending. For the harvest, the Bartons brought in a new tractor that offloads the grapes by vibration, a vibrating sorting table, and an optical sorter—a rare sight in Moulis.

Tasting

We tasted 3 wines in the tasting room next to the wine cellar.

Pictures: Tasting

The Wines

2014 Château Mauvesin

Wine-searcher aveage price in US$:20

A ripe full-bodied wine that has great structure and fine tannins. The bold red fruits are right to the front. It is a wine with great potential, generous tannins and the acidity of the vintage beautifully balanced. This wine will develop well. Drink from 2024. Wine Enthusiast.

2012 Château Langoa-Barton

Wine-searcher aveage price in US$:73

90 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Plenty of juicy blackcurrant fruit and background oak are present in this plump, medium to full-bodied, ripe, well-made wine. Not nearly as tannic as I feared, this wine shows a forward plumpness, excellent purity, texture and length. Drink it over the next 15-20 years. (RP) (4/2015)

2017 Château Léoville-Barton

Wine-searcher aveage price in US$:74

93-96 points Vinous

One of the few truly exceptional Left Bank wines of the vintage, the 2017 Léoville-Barton is simply fabulous. The 2017 also has the distinction of having a very high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. Inky crème de cassis, white flowers, lavender, crushed rocks, menthol and spice give the 2017 a distinctly layered, resonant feel. The 2017 offers fabulous density and structure, although the tannins need time. The blend is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot. The September rains were especially challenging for the Merlot and Cabernet Franc. As a result, Cabernet is pushed up in the blend, while there is no Franc at all. Tasted two times. (AG) (5/2018)

schiller-wine

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Winery Tour and Tasting at Château Léoville-Barton, Appellation Saint-Julien, 2ième Grand Cru Classé and Château Langoa Barton, Appellation Saint-Julien, 3ième Grand Cru Classé - Bordeaux Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours, France

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