{"id":712,"date":"2017-09-27T19:22:32","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T19:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=712"},"modified":"2017-09-27T20:16:40","modified_gmt":"2017-09-27T20:16:40","slug":"chateau-leoville-barton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=712","title":{"rendered":"Ch\u00e2teau L\u00e9oville Barton"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a lot to be said, both positive and negative, about wine tasting in Bordeaux.\u00a0 In fact we\u2019ve already said some<\/a> about the subject.\u00a0 What makes the snobbishness, the appointments and the limited variety of wines worth putting up with is, well, the wine.\u00a0 We are not the first to note that Bordeaux produces some of the world\u2019s greatest wines.\u00a0 If you\u2019re going to make the trip you really ought to taste the best of the best, and Ch\u00e2teau L\u00e9oville Barton (https:\/\/www.leoville-barton.com\/<\/a>) certainly falls into that category.<\/p>\n

As with everything in Bordeaux, and especially the section north of the city called the M\u00e9doc, there\u2019s a lot of history.\u00a0 Let\u2019s start with the name, Ch\u00e2teau L\u00e9oville Barton.\u00a0 While there is a beautiful ch\u00e2teau to see when you visit, it is not properly speaking a ch\u00e2teau in winemaking terms.\u00a0 The grapes are actually pressed in the adjoining estate of Langoa Barton.\u00a0 However, they are blended and aged on the ch\u00e2teau property.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of Ch\u00e2teau L\u00e9oville Barton.<\/em><\/p>\n

You may recognize \u201cL\u00e9oville\u201d with names other than Barton after it.\u00a0 That\u2019s because it was once a huge estate \u2013 the largest in Bordeaux, in fact \u2013 but was split up.\u00a0 That\u2019s why you can find L\u00e9oville Las Cases and L\u00e9oville Poyferr\u00e9 as well.\u00a0 (An interesting tasting might be the three side-by-side.\u00a0 We\u2019d love to do that someday.)\u00a0 The three are in the heart of St. Julien, an appellation known for sunny, approachable but profound wines.\u00a0 All were named as second growths, or deuxieme crus<\/em>, in the 1855 ranking.\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t always mean much today, but it certainly holds up for the L\u00e9ovilles.<\/p>\n

Finally, the name Barton comes from an 18th<\/sup> century Irishman named Thomas Barton who established himself in southern France and bought up some vineyards.\u00a0 (You may have heard of Barton & Guestier.\u00a0 Same Barton.)\u00a0 Power Tasting<\/em> is all about the wine tasting experience, and when you are in a great Bordeaux ch\u00e2teau, the history is a part of the experience.<\/p>\n

Your tour must be booked in advance and you had better arrive promptly.\u00a0 You will be met, escorted and explained to by your designated guide.\u00a0 Ours spoke English, but since Lucie was raised in French and Steve can get along, much of the tour was conducted in a mix of the two languages.\u00a0 If you have even a little French, you may get better explanations if you use that language.<\/p>\n

Much of the tour is of the ch\u00e2teau itself, which is lovely in the same way that Downton Abbey is lovely.\u00a0 It is still the Barton family home.\u00a0 At one point, we were in a corridor with windows facing the gardens.\u00a0 We saw a man in running clothes jogging by with some hounds.\u00a0 Our guide exclaimed, \u201cOh, there goes the count!\u201d<\/p>\n

As on most winery tours, you get to see the blending and barrel rooms.\u00a0 The huge wooden tanks (not stainless steel as in the United States and even much of France) are quite impressive.\u00a0 Our guide told us that L\u00e9oville Barton still holds with tradition.\u00a0 We think that all that really matters is in the glass, so let both tradition and modernity reign.\u00a0 Of course, the rows of barrels full of future great wine does raise a thirst.<\/p>\n

The tasting itself consists of two wines: Langoa Barton first and then L\u00e9oville Barton.\u00a0 (There is also a L\u00e9oville Barton second label, but we don\u2019t remember it being offered.)\u00a0 Langoa Barton is itself a third growth, so it\u2019s not shabby.\u00a0 Having the second growth L\u00e9oville Barton alongside \u2013 both made by the same people from grapes on adjoining ground \u2013\u00a0 really brings out what makes one wine better, or at least different, from the other.<\/p>\n

As we have said before, wine tasting in Bordeaux is snobbish like nowhere else in Wine Country, but it is worth going at least once.\u00a0 Let\u2019s not forget, they have real ch\u00e2teaux there and they\u2019ve been making great wine a long time before the New World did. You can taste their experience in the glass.\u00a0 Sant\u00e9 !<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a lot to be said, both positive and negative, about wine tasting in Bordeaux.\u00a0 In fact we\u2019ve already said some about the subject.\u00a0 What makes the snobbishness, the appointments and the limited variety of wines worth putting up with is, well, the wine.\u00a0 We are not the first to note that Bordeaux produces some … Continue reading Ch\u00e2teau L\u00e9oville Barton<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=712"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":753,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712\/revisions\/753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}