Chateau Langoa Barton 3eme Cru Classe, Saint-Julien 2010

The 2010 Langoa-Barton has a very pure and quite intense bouquet with black cherries, blueberry and star anis aromas that are typically Langoa. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, impressive body and grip with a liquorice-tinged, saline finish that maybe just lacks a little flesh and needs more on the aftertaste. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.

This is muscular and pretty concentrated on both aromatics and on the palate, lacks the generosity of the 2009 for the moment. I put it to one side for a full 24 hours, and was then able to reach through to the spiced plum fruits underneath, layered with charcoal, smoked earth and liquorice root. An excellent wine, but there is a gap between Langoa and Léoville in the vintage. 60% new oak for ageing.

Deep ruby. Very ripe, powerful aromas of blackberry, cassis, licorice and bitter chocolate. Sweet, dense, ripe and deep, with outstanding purity and intensity to its plush black fruit and spice flavors. This has the sweetness of a great Napa Valley cabernet along with buns of steel. Finishes with penetrating fruit and outstanding verve and persistence. For all its creamy richness, this should be extremely long-lived.

Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Langoa Barton springs from the glass with notes of kirsch, black cherry compote and blueberry pie with touches of dried mint, pencil lead, tar and new leather. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid frame of ripe, grainy tannins and loads of freshness supporting the dense, muscular black and blue fruits, finishing with a minty kick.

(73% cabernet sauvignon, 17% merlot, and 10% cabernet franc; 13.2% alcohol; 60% new oak) Dark ruby-purple. Aromatic notes of Oriental spices and smoky vanilla add an extra dimension to the ripe red cherry and strawberry scents. Creamy-sweet in the mouth, but with nicely integrated acidity lifting the ripe red berry and red cherry flavors complicated by sweet spices, licorice and pepper. The long finish features youthfully chewy but noble tannins. As good as this wine is, a little more density would have merited an even higher score.