Langoa Barton 2017

Deep ruby with a tight rim shows some potential. This 2017 gives Pauillac a perfumed black and red currant fruited nose. The firm palate flows fruit-coated tannins; the taste reflects the nose and balances nicely with the red-fruited(strawberries particularly) mid-palate flavours. Stylistically, this 2017 may be preferred by some for the freshness and lighter approach, but in recent vintages, such as this 2017, the style has more punch and longevity. It is a famous claret in Hong Kong and has a reputation for being well-priced. This 2017 used to be the tasting teams' house wine for Bordeaux Claret.

Langoa Barton 2017 is underrated, considering its high-cost performance in terms of excellent and consistent score ratings(WE94, JS94, VindeVert94; JMQ 93 and WS for 93). Some UK merchants would imagine this is a second wine of Leoville Barton. We don't think so, mainly for stylistic reasons: Langoa never resembled the 'elder' brother Leoville. We believe this second wine reasoning is because the Bartons happened to work under the same roof for ages.

This is a superlatively good traditional Saint-Julien, combining power and finesse with the ability to age in the medium term and improve over many years. A blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc, it ages 20 months in oak barrels (50% new) and will age for 12 to 40 years, in many cases longer. Foursquare is very stable in quality, and this 2017 can age over ten years even for being a lighter and more elegant vintage.