CHÂTEAU LANGOA BARTON
2014 3ème Cru Classé Saint Julien
Lovely Langoa. Soft, supple attack. Nice easy strawberry and gentle plum fruit. Touch of mince-pie. Really attractive and easy style. Good rounded tannins and a lick of acidity give a more serious finish. Lovely for drinking - but perhaps bring out the Léoville for the in-laws. 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc. Rating: 93 L&S (Apr 2015)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2014 Langoa Barton has a potent menthol-tinged bouquet that occludes the terroir expression and renders this a bit generic. The palate is powerful and lush, with candied red fruit, blood orange and allspice. The 2014 is a more modern-styled Saint-Julien, though it just about pulls it off. There's just a bit of alcohol lingering on the aftertaste, but I can abide that. Tasted blind at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting. Drinking range: 2025 - 2036 Rating: 91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2024)
Abundant dark berry fruits, cool climate mint and tomato leaf fragrance, chalky tannins, slate tug as it opens, balanced and effortless. This is very St Julien, subtle and slow build, one to open over the next decade, not as long lasting as its sibling Léoville Barton, without the rich concentration of 2016 Langoa, but full of charm. 70% new oak. Drinking range: 2024 - 2040 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (Feb 2024)
The 2014 Langoa Barton has an earthy, slightly dour bouquet compared to its peers, missing the same degree of vigour. The palate is medium-bodied with gentle tannin, a little soft around the edges compared to the Gloria, easygoing by comparison with a light mintiness coming through towards the finish. This is a lovely Langoa Barton even if it jus falls short of my expectations after bottling. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2020 - 2035 Rating: 91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2018)
Berries and rather simple, brutal fruit. Very youthful indeed. Not a charmer! But it’s back-end loaded so it may well shine eventually. Absolutely not communicating at the moment… Lots of weight and concentration. One of the most backward wines we have tasted so far. Massive in every way. Drinking range: 2026 - 2050 Rating: 17.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Feb 2018)
The 2014 Langoa-Barton is pliant, open-knit and succulent. Sweet red berry, tobacco, licorice and dried flowers all develop nicely, but it is the wine's midpalate juiciness and suppleness that stand out. The oak and tannins could use a bit more time to settle down. Otherwise, this is very nicely done. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2019 - 2034 Rating: 91 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2017)
This has a well-built core of cassis, blueberry and plum sauce flavors, coated with a ganache edge and kept honest by a graphite accent through the finish. Dense but plush, showing admirable ripeness for the vintage. Drinking range: 2020 - 2035 Rating: 93 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Jan 2017)
The Château Langoa Barton 2014 is a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc cropped between 25 September and 8 October and raised in 60% new barrels. It has a backward nose that is tightly buttoned down: hints of blackberry, briary and cedar developing with time. The palate is harmonious with fine tannins, good density here for a Langoa Barton with new oak beautifully interwoven and filling out the finish. This is an impressive Langoa Barton, one of the most under-rated crus in Saint Julien. It's one that will surprise a few people once in bottle. Drinking range: 2019 - 2035 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2015)
Finely concentrated flavours after a floral, black fruits nose - cassis driven Cabernet with lots of middle fruit and elegant structure. Very good future as always for Langoa. (Highly Recommended St-Julien, Decanter Drinking range: 2019 - 2030 Rating: 91 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2015)
The 2014 Langoa-Barton is very pretty. Nuanced and precise to the core, the 2014 shows the more refined side of St. Julien. Dark red cherry, plum, spice, mint and lavender caress the palate as the 2014 shows off its hugely appealing, open-knit personality. The flavors are finely-sculpted in a Langoa-Barton that should provide considerable near and medium-term appeal. All the elements are in the right place. A dollop of chalk and white pepper adds aromatic lift on the close. The blend is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc. Tasted two times. Rating: 90-92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2015)
Very dark crimson. Medium-sweet attack on the nose. Luscious fruit and then some inkiness. Relatively juicy rather than tannic though there are lots of tannins too. Solid St-Julien and only very slightly green and astringent. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038 Rating: 16.5+ Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2015)
The nose has a smoky charm fragrant woodland violets and the start of the palate has a mix of fresh black fruits. There is mid sweetness well handled tannins the sweet fruit giving way to freshness at the back the finish lighter but has good length. Drinking range: 2026 - 2038 Rating: 88-91 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (Apr 2015)
The Bartons rarely disappoint with their wines, both in terms of quality and price, and this is a a typically concentrated, well structured Langoa. Savoury, graphite-scencted and full of bright cassis and damson fruit, this has the structure to age. Drinking range: 2022 - 2030 Rating: 93 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2015)
A beautiful young wine with raspberries and plums. Full, round and juicy. So much berry character. Round tannins and bright acidity. Rating: 92-93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2015)
Château Langoa Barton
Hugh Barton acquired the estate of Château Pontet-Langlois (and re-named it Langoa-Barton) in 1821, a few years before he then bought a portion of the estate of the Marquis de Léoville Beauvais, which he renamed Léoville Barton. The Barton's ownership of Langoa is the longest ownership by one family of any estate in the Médoc. There was no château to the Loville portion, and the wines were, and still are, made at Langoa. The Bartons had already been a fixture of the Bordeaux wine trade for a hundred years at this stage - Thomas Barton left his native Ireland in 1722 and settled in Bordeaux, eventually buying Château le Boscq in St Estèphe in 1745. His grandson Hugh, who bought the two Barton estates, developed a wine merchant's business with Daniel Guestier (Barton & Guestier), and the Guestier family proved crucial in protecting the Barton's châteaux during both the French Revolution and World War II when the Bartons had to flee France. Langoa Barton's vineyard classed as a 'Troisieme Cru Classé' in 1855, is quite small for this part of the Médoc with only 17 hectares in production. Planted with mostly Cabernet and Merlot, at 9100 vines per hectare, like Léoville itself. Also like Léoville, it is a terroir of deep gravel over clay. The average vine age is around 35 years.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.