Chateau Leoville Barton Saint Julien 2022 750ml

#81 in Top 100 World Wines, 2025. Shows restraint in this opulent year. Quite complete and refined, and you immediately pick up a bit of sweetness from the fruit of this vintage, but it is not over the top. A lot of finesse and length, with structured, dusty tannins. A no-brainer buy from the vintage. 60% new oak. 83% cabernet sauvignon, 11.5% merlot and 5.5% cabernet franc. Drink from 2027.

• Country: France
• Region: Bordeaux
• Appellation: Saint Julien
• Size: 750ml
• Color: Red
• Alcohol by Vol: 14.0%

Varietal

Red Bordeaux

There are few regions in the world with stricter regulations in regards to wine production and grape varietals than those found in Bordeaux, France. Here, in the home of the world’s finest wines, the type and quality of grapes used is of utmost importance, and the legendary wineries which work on the banks of the Gironde river have mastered the careful art of juice blending to find the perfect balance for their produce. Whilst there are six ‘official’ Bordeaux grapes, the two key varietals for almost every fine Bordeaux wine are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and with good reason. Whilst Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are renowned for their acidity and astringency, strong fruit and spice flavors and full body, Merlot grapes are notably rounded, soft, fleshy and lighter on tannin. The combination of these two varietals, along with a small percentage of (commonly) Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc, is the perfect balancing act ”“ the two grape varietals cancel out each others weaker points, and accentuate all that is good about the other.