Léoville Barton St-Julien 2005

'Top 5 Wine of the Year 2022'/98 points Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux): "74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc. Deep ruby red, this is great stuff, broad-shouldered, laced with aniseed, liqourice, touches of bitter black chocolate, muscular tannins and a luscious fruit core. Lip smacking stuff, with 2005 energy and excitement. Gets more serious as it opens, revealing black pepper spice, sage, rosemary and white pepper. A wonderful wine, one to sink into. You can easily wait to drink this, and it will reward another three to five years in bottle, then go for decades. If you do open it, give it a long carafe. 50% new oak. Drink: 2024-2050. (6/24/22)"

98 points (19/20) La Revue du Vin de France: "The 2005 keeps all its promises, with fascinating density and mellowness on the palate. (2008)"

97 points Jeb Dunnuck: "The 2005 Château Leoville Barton isn’t far off the style of the 1990, although perhaps it’s a touch more structured and concentration. Youthful ruby hued with classic currant, graphite, and crushed stone aromatics, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, rich, layered mid-palate, still present tannins, and a great finish. This in an inward, structured, powerful Barton that’s just now at the early stages of its drinking window, and has another 30 years of overall longevity if well stored. Drink: 2024-2054. (4/6/24)"

97 points/'#1 Top Cellar Selection of 2008', Wine Enthusiast: "Power and elegance merge effortlessly in this superb wine. Its pure black currant fruit is tightly coiled, supported by just the right amount of firm tannins. Great aging potential. A triumph."

96 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "The 2005 Léoville-Barton is clearly one of the wines of the vintage. Powerful and strapping in the glass, the 2005 is a big, big wine. Huge swaths of tannin wrap around a core of inky black fruit, new leather, spice, gravel, mocha and licorice. The wine's sheer density is impressive, but its balance is even more compelling. I might be temped to give this another few years in the cellar. Readers lucky enough to own it will find a thrilling, potent Saint-Julien that overdelivers big time. I loved it. Drink: 2023-2045. (Apr 2021)"

96 points James Suckling: "This offers aromas of spices, dried dark fruits, meat and berries. Full and muscular on the palate, with strong tannins and a long, long finish. This is very powerful and chewy, but a little bit tight. This is a wine for the cellar. Don’t touch this until 2018. (12/7/10)"

96 points Wine Spectator: "Delivers breathtaking aromas of blackberry, currant, licorice and flowers. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and supersilky tannins. Dark chocolate, currant, berry and licorice follow through. This is racy and beautiful. Best after 2015. (3/31/08)"

96 points Bettane & Desseauve's Guides to the Wines of France: "With power, generosity, and body, this has enormous aging potential and great elegance. A wine true to itself. Drink: 2011 up to 2013. (2011)"

94 points Robert Parker: "Another prodigious, but brutally tannic, offering from the affable Anthony Barton, the inky/blue/black-hued 2005 Leoville Barton exhibits a sensational perfume of charcoal, burning embers, underbrush, cedar, creme de cassis, and subtle toasty oak. Painfully concentrated (much like the 2000 was at the same stage), with full body, admirable purity, and several boatloads of muscular tannin, this St.-Julien is built for 50-60 years of cellaring. Its purity and precision are typical of today’s winemaking, but Barton is certainly not making a wine for near-term gratification. This is another 2005 that will require enormous patience. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2065. (Apr 2008)"

94 points Stephen Tanzer (International Wine Cellar): "Deep ruby. Wonderfully perfumed nose offers cassis, minerals, tobacco, flowers, mocha and truffle. Bright, mineral-driven and concentrated, with terrific underlying backbone giving energy and definition to the dark berry, mineral and chocolate flavors. There's a floral lift here that's exhilarating to find in the very ripe 2005 vintage. Finishes very long and classy, with a firm tannic spine. An outstanding vintage for this wine. (May/Jun 2008)"

19/20 points Chris Kissack (Winedoctor): "A wonderful nose, perfumed and aromatic, rich in smoky, grilled black fruits. Dark, still showing some very pure blackcurrant and dark cherry scents, with a smoky, cigar box evolution just beginning to creep in. The palate is immediately seductive, with wonderful texture, fabulous presence in the mouth, and a perfect combination of a ripe and velvety tannic backbone with a fresh acidity. Almost an exotic feel to the fruit on the palate, the darker elements mixed with wild forest fruits to give it lift and interest. This is just a complete joy. The only reticence comes from the rolling ripe tannins in the finish, so this is one for the cellar still. (Jan 2015)"

18.5/20 points Stephen Brook (The World of Fine Wine): "Opaque red. The nose is dumb, with some tarry, chalky tones replacing overt fruit. Plump, luxurious, velvety -- this is a majestic wine, with gorgeous fruit and no excesses. The tannins are very much present, but there is no greenness. Unusually voluptuous for Léoville Barton, but that's no cause for complaint. Very long, spicy, and complete. (Issue #26; 2009)"