Chateau Leoville Barton 2023

JAMES SUCKLING: "The tannins here are cashmere-like. You can touch it, but at the same time it is weightless and beautiful. Medium- to full-bodied and textural. Soars at the end. This is really seamless and dialed in. Third year using the cellar. 87% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot and 3% cabernet franc."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2023 Léoville Barton is a lovely classic in the making, unfurling in the glass with aromas of cassis and blackberries mingled with notions of pencil shavings, licorice and violets. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it's layered, concentrated and suave, with beautifully refined tannins, vibrant acids and a long, penetrating finish. Benefiting from the Barton family's new highly functional winery, as well as experimentation with more discreet cooperage choices, it's somewhat reminiscent of the estate's terrific 2016. The 2023 blend is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Feine Kräuterwürze, Cassis, dunkle Herzkirschen, florale Nuancen, kandierte Orangenzesten sind unterlegt. Saftiger Körper, rote Kirschen, feine Tannine, frisch strukturiert, mineralisch und anhaftend, finessenreicher, trinkanimierender Stil, zeigt Länge und Potenzial, ein leichtfüßig und delikat wirkender Wein."