BEN'S PICK: LANGOA TACKLES LÉOVILLE
Ben Giliberti, CW Director of Wine Education
The Bartons of St.-Julien – Langoa and Léoville Barton – are widely regarded as two of Bordeaux’s finest and most fairly priced classified growths. They’ve been in the Barton family’s hands for more than 180 years, which is the longest period of single-family ownership in Bordeaux. Both Bartons are made at Langoa; in fact, the building pictured on the Léoville label is Château Langoa.
Yet, Léoville Barton sells for nearly twice the price of Langoa. There are two reasons for this, only one of which I agree with. Let’s take them one at a time.
Along with the other Léovilles (Las Cases and Poyferré, with which Barton was once joined), Léoville Barton was anointed a 2nd Growth in the still influential 1855 classification, just one notch below the first growths (e.g., Lafite, Latour, and Margaux). In contrast, Langoa was ranked as a 3rd growth. No matter how you slice it, first is always more prestigious than second, and second is always more prestigious than third. Rank has its privileges, and one of those privileges is a much higher selling price. I get that.
What I totally don’t get is the perception that Léoville Barton is better and more age-worthy than Langoa. That has not been my experience, which dates back to the otherworldly 1953 Langoa (tasted at Langoa in 1986 with the late Anthony Barton; “…the realization of a wonderful dream,” is how he described the '53 that day). While I would not deny for an instant that Léoville Barton is making truly great wine (its 2016 was Wine Spectator’s #1 Wine of the Year), so has Langoa – at a much easier to swallow price.
To wit: Bordeaux critic Neal Martin: “The common consensus is that Léoville Barton is by rote, superior to Langoa, but the more my experience grows the less I think that is valid… I have become more and more convinced that Langoa is just as good, occasionally even better than its sibling. It produces a great St.-Julien wine in its own right. Moreover, that wine has a propensity to age in bottle with just as much élan... I cannot think of any [other] Left Bank wine that not only represents great value but comes with such a propensity to age so gracefully.”
I could not agree more. This week, I’m pleased to present the triumphant Château Langoa Barton - St.-Julien 2020 at the low CW Direct Import price of $47.99 on purchases of 6 bottles or more ($49.99 for 1-5 bottles; reg. $64.99). While remarkably seductive now (decant 30 minutes in advance), like the '53, it will live long and prosper. Please note: quantities are limited.
2020 Langoa Barton is made from 53.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, and 8.5% Cabernet Franc. Langoa’s élevage is virtually identical to Léoville’s; Langoa is aged in 50% new oak, while Léoville gets 60% to tame its more tannic structure. Léoville and Langoa are made separately, with no inter-changing of lots or vineyard sources. Langoa is most emphatically not a second wine of Léoville Barton.
Although the Barton’s winemaking facilities and vineyard practices are thoroughly up to date, especially after their recent cellar renovations, winemaking remains “traditional” in the best sense of the word. To cite my favorite example, since the late 1980s, it’s become common in Bordeaux to push the vines to produce many more grapes than they otherwise would and then clip off the excess later in the summer. Léoville and Langoa have artfully bucked that trend. As Anthony Barton explained to me years ago, “We believe excessive production at any stage diminishes the typicité of the wine [faithfulness to the terroir] even if the grapes are later trimmed off. At Léoville and Langoa, we make sure that the extra bunches never get there to begin with.”
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In 1722, Thomas Barton left his native Ireland to settle in Bordeaux, where he founded a merchant wine company. Wine production began in 1821 when Thomas’s grandson, Hugh Barton, purchased Langoa Barton, the smaller of the two Barton classified growths at 37 acres..png)
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