Château Langoa Barton | Saint Julien
Château Langoa-Barton, classified as one of fourteen Troisièmes Crus (Third Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, was the first of the two Bordeaux wine estates bought by Hugh Barton in the 1820s, the other being Château Léoville-Barton a Second Classified Growth. Hugh Barton was a descendant of an Irish family which settled in Bordeaux in the 18th century and which has a long and distinguished history in the region’s wine trade.
Both properties are still family-owned and run, and together represent the longest tradition of unchanged ownership in the Médoc. Anthony Barton has now passed the reins to his daughter Lillian and her two children Melanie and Damien, who now represent the 9th generation of the Barton Dynasty.
Located in the centre of the Saint-Julien appellation along the banks of the Gironde river, Château Langoa-Barton has roughly 37 acres under vine. The plantings are dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon alongside Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Typical of the area, the soil composition of the vineyard is composed of a gravel topsoil over a clay sub-stratum. Château Langoa-Barton shares its cellar with its sibling Château Léoville-Barton and for years it was considered slightly lighter and more forward in style than Léoville. However, in the last decade it has become noticeably deeper in colour and richer and more concentrated on the palate. Château Langoa Barton is now often the equal of Léoville.