Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Château Léoville Barton 2023 – Saint-Julien, Grand Cru Classé en 1855, BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A classic Saint-Julien expression showing clarity, harmony, and structural polish, driven by a 77% Cabernet Sauvignon–led blend with 20% Merlot Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc as a support. The wine balances ripe fruit concentration with restraint, delivering precision, finesse, and a seamless flow from attack through finish.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackcurrant, ripe blackberry, red plum, cassis, graphite, cedar, subtle baking spice, crushed stone, light tobacco and gentle floral lift.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus body with finely woven tannins, excellent balance, fresh integrated acidity, supple texture, and a long, graceful finish that feels effortless rather than forceful.

Food Pairings
Herb-crusted lamb, roasted duck breast, grilled filet mignon, mushroom risotto, aged Comté or Gruyère.

Verdict
An elegant, dependable Saint-Julien that delivers purity, structure, and drinking pleasure without excess. Refined, polished, and quietly authoritative, a wine that rewards both immediate enjoyment and patient cellaring.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is the kind of wine that wins through composure and precision rather than horsepower. Easy to enjoy today, yet layered enough to keep you leaning back into the glass. Subtle sophistication done right. — a month ago

Steve Rura

9.3

Wow so good! Natural sparkling rosé with lotttsss of sediment. Juicy orange character makes this very drinkable. I love how inventive Portuguese wines are lately. — 4 years ago

Simone M

9.5

Delicious! Jammy, not overly acidic — 5 years ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.5

The most showy bottle I’ve had of this wine, 95 Mouton is in a terrific place, and an absolute classic, with Paulliac power and concentration, fine grained tannins and hugely persistent finish. Fantastic with the legendary EMP duck! — 4 months ago

Reed H Whitman

9.1

9-10 with friends over a great dinner of duck and prune gnocchi. — 3 years ago

Karissa Reynolds

9.5

Definitely on the sweeter side. Could be too sweet depending on the person. Would by again from Duck Walk — 4 years ago

Caitlin

9.9

Strong minerality, mild fruitiness — 5 years ago

ESF

9.8

Have a few more of these squirreled away, but opened for an old friend who used to buy a ton of Hewitson wines from me — this was nearly flawless, just a stunning presentation, best it’s shown — ever. — 5 months ago

Paul Barnaby

9.0

Would buy again. Light and good — 2 years ago

Ming L

9.7

The 3rd and final bottle of the 11’ vintage (a underestimated vintage IMO), and it keeps getting better. The slight green note from the previous 2 bottles is no longer present. At a great place now. While it does not have the usual richness and power, it’s impeccably balanced, fresh, seamless, and graceful, which is preferable to me.

And I can’t thinking of a better bottle to pair with Pekin duck.

Almost perfect!

— 4 years ago