Chateau Leoville Barton 2022 is a deep, structured and powerful wine with that haunting brilliant combination of dark cassis fruit and graphite/pencil shaving. The new oak flavours of cigar, chocolate and sweet spice are glossy and comforting and are in perfect balance with the dark black fruit flavours. Brilliant.

Chateau Leoville Barton has been owned by the Barton family since 1826. You’d have thought that they would have got round to building a Chateau by now, but uniquely, they have no such building and the wines are made at neighbouring Langoa Barton. Eighth and ninth generation Lilian and Damien Barton run the estate today and quality continues to soar. The wine remains one for aging and is firmly in the traditional camp, although it is no longer just seen as a reliable choice, but as being consistently one of Bordeaux’s best wines.