This genuine and delicious red is a reminder never to underestimate the Langoa side of Barton. Drinking beautifully now, it’s on the early side of maturity and serves as a textbook example of St-Julien—for those who adore the region or want to see how its classics are evolving. Aromatically, it’s stunning, with ripe red fruits, licorice, and truffle. On the palate, the core of ripe red fruit carries through a long, elegant, and flavorful finish. I truly admire how it captures the richness of the 2009 vintage while maintaining a classic claret profile. A real gem from both producer and region, we’re also thrilled to offer it with perfect provenance at a terrific price. Aged Langoa-Barton is a wine too often overlooked, but every time we taste it with the team, it’s one of the clear favorites. It was again today—a tribute to Anthony Barton and the undeniable wines made at this address.

I have always admired Langoa-Barton for many reasons. First and foremost are the quality and flavors of the wines, of course, but also for the pretty tremendous value that they represent. This 2009 has a massive nose! All dark ripe red fruit scents with a little bit of herb and cedar. On the palate, a beautiful spiciness followed by a blast of rich red fruits and fine acidity. Baking spices and savory herbs round out the lingering finish. This and the 2016 Rauzan-Segla are two of the best Bordeaux that I have had this year.

While everyone who is Bordeaux savvy knows that 2009 is an exceptional vintage, sometimes we forget just how wonderful they can be. This has aged so beautifully, it almost breaks my heart to drink it. Almost. The nose is just a study in refined elegance, there's a touch of olives and leather showing a bit of the age, but under that is really lush and ripe juicy blackberries and black currants. The palate is a study in contrasts, while the fruit is a fairly fresh there are a lot of tertiaries starting to poke out, and it's all the guys you love the most. There's definitely a deep bit of savory umami, more of that black olive, a lot of dense and lightly tarry earth, and then the fruit comes around making the whole thing completely, dusty black and red cherries serving as a great platform for the tertiary flavors to develop. This is an outstanding wine from an outstanding vintage and something you absolutely should not miss if you love a well aged and well developed Bordeaux.