La Réserve de Léoville Barton 2018

They say you should spend as much on a glass as you do a bottle. The glasses were bought, so I bought the bottle to match.

Léoville Barton needs little introduction, and this is the second wine of Château Léoville Barton.

Dense, extracted garnet with some purple still showing. Completely opaque through the core with some clearing towards the rim.

Very fruit forward from opening: Cassis, black cherry & plum, backed up by tobacco, graphite, cedar, chocolate & balsamic.

After a couple of hours in the decanter, some turned earth and mushroom started to come through on the nose, while raspberry appeared on the finish. Still absolutely loaded with fruit at this stage though.

Medium-bodied with incredible concentration. The acidity and tannins became far more noticeable the longer it sat with air, but neither ever felt intrusive. 

Serious grip and structure, but everything remained really well integrated.

With even more time, the fruit started to take a back seat and the graphite became unmistakable on the palate. 

Dense, ripe and powerful without ever feeling heavy or clumsy. Loads going on, and it just kept changing in the glass.

Absolutely delicious.

New glassware, new juice