Château Langoa Barton 2020

Solidly built, with a bright violet note leading the way, followed by cassis and blackberry flavors that are vivid and defined. Shows apple wood and bramble notes that add a grippy, juicy feel to the finish, while an iron note adds cut and drive. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2036. 6,400 cases made.

Wood aspects on the nose: vanilla, cinnamon, toast and caramel. Ripe, but clean and tight, there’s depth and intensity to the fruit which is focused and narrow, giving a sleek but tense frame and drive of flavours. There is underlying acidity and a juiciness that comes through, and this has a long, persistent flavour but it does remain quite narrow. Nicely worked and restrained. It grows more and more, but the wood is still quite present and needs to settle. Just feels a little dry, tight, high-toned and spicy which is slightly off-putting.

This is very linear and structured, with blackcurrant, pine-needle, graphite and cedar aromas and flavors. Intense. Full-bodied, chalky and intense. Superb. Best of the trilogy. Drink after 2027.

Full bottle 1,345 g. Cask sample taken 6 April. 53.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 8.5% Cabernet Franc. Healthy deep purplish crimson. High-toned, fully ripe nose that is rather seductive before a glossy, polished-tannin dry finish. Promises well for the future while being relatively charming even now. Not the most concentrated 2020 but everything is in balance. Well done. Sappy, dry finish. Very St-Julien. Some restraint despite the initial seduction. (JR)

The 2020 Langoa-Barton is a total charmer, just as it was from barrel. Succulent red cherry fruit, cedar, sweet pipe tobacco and crushed flowers give this radiant, mid-weight Saint-Julien gorgeous aromatic presence. There's good energy to keep things in balance. I imagine the 2020 will drink well pretty much right out of the gate. It is already so alluring.

Here you find a powerful, fresh blast of ripe, dark currants, blackberries, mint, cedar, tobacco, herbs and spice that meld perfectly with the powerful, ripe, long waves of red fruits. The chewy finish offers more refinement than usual in its lingering fruits and tannins. Clearly, all the work they have been doing at Langoa Barton has paid off, as this is the best vintage of Langoa I have ever tasted! Drink from 2027-2050.

Dark ruby garnet, purple reflections, opaque core, rim brightening. Delicate herbal savouriness, black berry fruit, tobacco nuances, mineral touch. Juicy, red berry fruit, fresh acid arc, vivid, ripe tannins, elegant and persistent, has presence, sweetness and certain ageing potential. (2025-2055).

Fine intensity and purity, herb-infused dark fruit with some new oak toast and coffee notes. Ample and ripe yet with fine polish and good proportions, dense and flavor-intense with great length.

Tasted on multiple occasions, the 2020 Château Langoa Barton comes from a mix of different sites in Saint-Julien, which makes it a great representation of the vintage and appellation. The blend is 53.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc. It exhibits a deep ruby/purple hue along with a beautiful bouquet of red and black cherries, currants, leafy tobacco, and cedar pencil, with a touch of damp earth that emerges with time in the glass. Medium to full-bodied, balanced, and elegant on the palate, it has plenty of mid-palate depth and richness, velvety tannins, and a great finish. This plush, up-front, expansive, wonderfully textured Saint-Julien will benefit from just a few years of bottle age and cruise for two decades. It's the finest example from this château I've tasted. Bravo!

Complex red-berry bouquet, sour cherry juice, thyme, and light tobacco. On the tautly structured palate, a soft texture, ripe extract, and medium body. The focused finish shows wild cherry, dark graphite, and fine-grained astringency. This St. Julien is composed and will require a longer bottle maturation. Best value for money!

Kunz barrel sample 2021: (53.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 8.5% Cabernet Franc, 34 hl/ha, 13.5% vol. alcohol) Dense, velvety, fresh, complex bouquet—blackberry jelly, black cherries, cassis, fine bread crust, cedar, light tobacco. Closely knit, elegant, full palate with creamy, fine, sweet fruit; dense, dark, multifaceted aromatics; plenty of fine tannins; dense, elegant structure; long, fresh, powerful finish with many lingering flavors. Still has room to improve.

(53.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 8.5% Cabernet Franc, 34 hl/ha, 13.5% alc./vol.) Dense, velvety, fresh, complex bouquet: blackberry jelly, black cherries, cassis, fine bread crust, cedar, light tobacco. Tightly woven, elegant, full palate with creamy, fine, sweet fruit, dense, dark, layered aromatics, plenty of fine tannins, dense, elegant structure, long, fresh, powerful finish with lots of lingering aromas. Can improve further. 18/20 2027 - 2048

Restrained and serious, in keeping with the character of the vintage. Lovely silky tannins, unrolls slowly, with plenty of black fruits, mint leaf and pencil lead. This is delicious, restrained power, building on their success of recent vintages. 34 hl/ha yield, harvest from September 14 to 28.

Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Langoa Barton comes bounding out of the glass with eager-to-please notes of kirsch, juicy blueberries, and cassis, plus wafts of fallen leaves, underbrush, and allspice. The medium-bodied palate is plush and juicy, with open-knit black fruits and plenty of freshness, finishing with a spicy kick. It's fabulously delicious right now, but give it another couple of years to fully integrate and then drink it over the next 20 years+.

94-95

All the charm of this discreet cru is present. The palate is delicately fruity, enveloped and delightfully creamy, with plenty of sweetness on the finish. A composed wine that’s already irresistible. Best enjoyed within five years.

The sour cherry and blackcurrant notes harmonize well with the oak-influenced nuances, but one can hope the fruit will ultimately take the lead. The sweetness on the attack lends an inviting touch, well supported by supple, generous tannins. A charming wine, uplifted by a welcome freshness.

The nose is fruity, elegant, and offers power (in freshness and control), with a lovely multi-layered side as the wine opens in the glass, intensity, and a beautiful ripe/tangy fruit. It reveals notes of vibrant strawberry, redcurrant, and, more slightly, boysenberry, combined with hints of lily, violet, nutmeg, as well as discreet touches of star anise, almost saline minerality, and fine hints of toasty/sweet spices. The palate is fruity and offers complexity, freshness, minerality, a lovely tangy backbone, gourmandise, tension, as well as a certain depth and a finely tight grain. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy/juicy blackberry, juicy/fresh redcurrant, and, more slightly, fresh/tangy cherry, combined with touches of fresh raspberry, racy almost saline minerality, as well as fine hints of chocolate and caramelization. The tannins are precise, fresh, elegant, and racy. Good length and persistence.

The tannins in this wine are velvety, supporting the black fruits and richness. The wine has fruitiness but also structure and potential. Drink from 2027.