Château Léoville Barton is a vineyard in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Léoville Barton is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen ''Deuxièmes Crus'' (Second Growths) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Unlike many of its peers, Château Léoville Barton has no château building; the wines are made at Château Langoa-Barton with which it shares ownership. The château depicted on Léoville Barton's label is that of Château Langoa Barton.

History

Léoville Barton, along with

Château Léoville-Las Cases Château Léoville-Las Cases is a winery in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Léoville-Las Cases is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one o ...

and

Château Léoville-Poyferré Château Léoville-Poyferré is a winery in the Saint-Julien-Beychevelle, Saint-Julien Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Léoville-Poyferré is also the name of the red wine produced by ...

was once part of the vast Léoville estate. The estate was purchased by

Hugh Barton Hugh David MacEwen Barton, CBE (17 January 1911 – 16 April 1989) was a British Hong Kong businessman who served as chairman and managing director of Jardine Matheson from 1953 to 1963. Biography Barton was born on 17 January 1911 in Ireland. ...

in 1826, and continues to be owned by the Barton family, of Irish descent. The current owner Anthony Barton began running the estate in 1983, along with its sister property

Château Langoa Barton A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. No ...

. The previous owner was Anthony's uncle Ronald, who died in 1986. The two St. Julien properties have the longest continuous duration of ownership by the same family of any of the other current proprietors in Bordeaux.

Vineyard

Léoville Barton's vineyard is located in the central part of the appellation along the

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...

river. The soil composition is mostly gravel with a subsoil of clay. The plantings are 72%

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

, 20%

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...

, and 8%

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being us ...

with the vines averaging 30 years of age.

Wine

Two red wines are produced from the vineyards of Château Léoville Barton, an eponymous grand-vin, and a second wine called La Reserve de Léoville Barton which is produced from lots consisting of younger vines or lots deemed lacking the quality of the grand-vin. After a hand-picked harvest, fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled wood vats for two to three weeks before being transferred into oak barrels (50% of which are new) for aging before bottling.

Green Spot Irish Whiskey

In June 2015, the Château partnered with Irish Distillers Midleton Distillery and Dublin-based Wine and Whiskey Merchants Mitchell and Son to create a Bordeaux wine finished expression of the iconic Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey.

References

External links

Château Langoa-Barton
official site
Château Léoville-Barton
official site
Château Mauvesin Barton
official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Leoville-Barton, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers