Château Léoville-Barton
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Château Léoville-Barton is a vineyard in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Léoville-Barton is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growths) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.
Unlike many of its peers, Château Léoville-Barton has no château building; the wines are made at Château Langoa-Barton with which it shares ownership. The château depicted on Léoville-Barton's label is actually that of Château Langoa Barton.
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[edit] History
Léoville-Barton, along with Château Léoville-Las Cases and Château Léoville-Poyferré was once part of the vast Léoville estate. Since 1836, the estate has belonged to the Barton family, of Irish descent. The current owner is Anthony Barton, who has run the estate, along with its sister property Château Langoa Barton, since 1983.
[edit] Vineyard
Léoville-Barton's 116 acres (47 hectares) of vineyard is located in the central part of the appellation along the Gironde river. The soil composition, is mostly gravel with a subsoil of clay. The plantings are 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot , and 8% Cabernet Franc with the vines averaging 30 years of age.
[edit] The Wine
Two red wines are produced from the vineyards of Château Léoville-Barton, an eponymous grand-vin, and a second wine called La Reserve de Léoville-Barton into which is made from lots produced by younger vines or lots deemed lacking the quality of the grand-vin. After a hand picked harvest, fermentation takes place in temperature controlled wood vats for two to three weeks before being transferred into oak barrels (50% of which are new) for aging before bottling.
