Château Léoville Barton 2006

La Revue du Vin de France

The Wine Independent

Wine Enthusiast

Right at the top of its form, this 2006 is one of the finest wines to come out of the vintage. The wine is structured and dense, but with such heartwarming ripe fruit that the tannins are almost submerged. There is just a hint of wood, but juicy black currant continues right through to the end. In a year, the fruit will lessen, and long aging begin.

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Tobacco, cigar box, cedar wood and spicy red fruits make up the perfume. Still deep in color, there is some lightening at the edges of the glass that is becoming apparent. Austere in character, the Cabernet Sauvignon is fresh, crisp and tannic. This definitely needs several more years before it becomes close to user friendly.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Tasted at Bordeaux Index's annual 10-Year On tasting in London. The 2006 Château Léoville-Barton has a surprisingly rich and opulent bouquet at first, although it calms down with aeration, offering crushed violet and black cherry scents, reminiscent of a fine Margaux. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip in the mouth. Here the class begins to appear with fine balance and poise, but like the Langoa, it lacquers the mouth with tannins and feels very backward, surprising given the vintage. Cellar this for another decade, folks. Tasted January 2016.

Jeb Dunnuck

From one of my favorite estates in Saint-Julien, the 2006 Château Léoville Barton is now fully mature (yet certainly youthful) and has a complex, layered profile that includes ample red and black fruits as well as perfumed notes of leafy herbs, cedar pencil, tobacco, and hints of crushed stone. Medium to full-bodied, nicely balanced, and textured, it has the more focused, straight, classic style of this château front and center, with integrated yet still present tannins, beautiful overall balance, and a great finish. A classy, layered, complex, textbook Bordeaux, it's going to continue drinking nicely for another two decades, with a gradual decline after that.

Decanter Magazine

85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot. A return to a more classic profile, with silky, dark damson and cassis, more structured tannins and great persistence. A lovely, extremely accomplished 2006, although it is still quite closed and backward right now.