2008 Château Langoa Barton, St Julien, Bordeaux

2008 Château Langoa Barton, St Julien, Bordeaux

Product: 20081012172
Prices start from £450.00 per case Buying options
2008 Château Langoa Barton, St Julien, Bordeaux

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Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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12 x 75cl bottle
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Description

Deep purple-red, deep, slightly smoky, slighty briary black fruits nose, both freshness and depth on the palate, elegant concentration of fruit, tannins that will blend in to show an expressive, classy wine.
(Decanter - Apr-2009)

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate90/100
This potential sleeper of the vintage has come around nicely now that it is in bottle. Elegant yet substantial, it exhibits a dense purple color as well as a sweet bouquet of black currants, cassis, cedarwood, herbs, toast and loamy soil undertones. Medium to full-bodied with sweet tannin (a component that was not evident from barrel), it should drink nicely for 15 or more years.
(Robert Parker- Wine Advocate- May 2011)

Impressively big, muscular, and formidably backward, this dense, full-bodied 2008 possesses beautiful fruit, but extremely high tannins as well as a blockbuster style that is difficult to fully appraise. It will require at least 6-8 years of bottle age, and should last for three decades. It will probably be at least 2-3 points better than my conservative score suggests.
(Robert Parker- Wine Advocate- April 2009)
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Jancis Robinson MW16.5/20
Dark and concentrated. Wild flowers and dark and dangerous aromas. Sweet foxglove start – definitely floral – and then slightly hollow. Drying finish. Not quite complete, though competent enough. Very dry finish but lots of personality.
(Jancis Robinson - jancisrobinbson.com - Apr-2009) Read more
Wine Spectator89-92/100
Bright blackberry and currant aromas, with flowers. Cool and fresh on the nose. Full-bodied, with fine tannins and juicy fruit.
(James Suckling - Wine Spectator - Apr-2009) Read more
Robert Parker90/100
This potential sleeper of the vintage has come around nicely now that it is in bottle. Elegant yet substantial, it exhibits a dense purple color as well as a sweet bouquet of black currants, cassis, cedarwood, herbs, toast and loamy soil undertones. Medium to full-bodied with sweet tannin (a component that was not evident from barrel), it should drink nicely for 15 or more years.
(Robert Parker- Wine Advocate- May 2011)

Impressively big, muscular, and formidably backward, this dense, full-bodied 2008 possesses beautiful fruit, but extremely high tannins as well as a blockbuster style that is difficult to fully appraise. It will require at least 6-8 years of bottle age, and should last for three decades. It will probably be at least 2-3 points better than my conservative score suggests.
(Robert Parker- Wine Advocate- April 2009)
Read more

About this WINE

Chateau Langoa Barton

Chateau Langoa Barton

Château Langoa-Barton, 3rd Classified Growth, was the first of the two Bordeaux wine estates bought by Hugh Barton in the 1820s, the other being Léoville-Barton, 2nd Classified Growth.

Hugh Barton was a descendant of an Irish family which settled in Bordeaux in the 18th century and which has a long and distinguished history in the region’s wine trade. Both properties are still family-owned and run and together represent the longest tradition of unchanged ownership in the Médoc. After the death of the late Anthony Barton in 2022, his daughter Lilian and grandson Damien Barton have now taken the reins.

Langoa Barton has 20 hectares of vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon 71%, Merlot 21%, Cabernet Franc 8%) lie on gravelly-clay soils. Vinification includes 18 months' maturation in oak barriques (50% new). Langoa Barton is vinified and matured in exactly the same way as Léoville-Barton and any difference between them must be put down to variations in the soils and exposure of their respective vineyard blocks.

Both Langoa and Léoville wines are models of typical St Julien restraint and elegance, and the château’s fair pricing policy, always with an eye to the long term , has won it many loyal friends amongst its customers. For years, Langoa Barton was considered slightly lighter and more forward than Léoville. However, in the last decade it has become noticeably deeper in colour and richer and more concentrated on the palate. Langoa Barton is now often the equal of Léoville.

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St Julien

St Julien

St Julien is the smallest of the "Big Four" Médoc communes. Although, without any First Growths, St Julien is recognised to be the most consistent of the main communes, with several châteaux turning out impressive wines year after year. 

St Julien itself is much more of a village than Pauillac and almost all of the notable properties lie to its south. Its most northerly château is Ch. Léoville Las Cases (whose vineyards actually adjoin those of Latour in Pauillac) but,  further south, suitable vineyard land gives way to arable farming and livestock until the Margaux appellation is reached.  

The soil is gravelly and finer than that of Pauillac, and without the iron content which gives Pauillac its stature. The homogeneous soils in the vineyards (which extend over a relatively small area of just over 700 hectares) give the commune a unified character.

The wines can be assessed as much by texture as flavour, and there is a sleek, wholesome character to the best. Elegance, harmony and perfect balance and weight, with hints of cassis and cedar, are what epitomise classic St Julien wines. At their very best they combine Margaux’s elegance and refinement with Pauillac’s power and substance.

Ch. Léoville Las Cases produces arguably the most sought-after St Julien, and in any reassessment of the 1855 Classification it would almost certainly warrant being elevated to First Growth status.

Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Léoville Las CasesCh.Léoville Barton, Ch Léoville Poyferré, Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou, Ch Langoa Barton, Ch Gruaud Larose, Ch. Branaire-Ducru, Ch. Beychevelle

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Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and  Australia.

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