2014 - Leoville Barton, Saint-Julien

Inky plum in colour, firm tannins, Cabernet dominant at 10 years old, savoury and balanced and one to look out for, a totally brilliant, delicious Léoville Barton that I cannot recommend highly enough for lovers of classical, finessed, savoury St Julien. One of my wines of the lineup. Black chocolate, cassis, pomegranate, tobacco, cigar box, gliding through the palate, concentrated and intense but delicate and finessed. It's good, so drinkable, with ageing potential. 60% new oak.

The 2014 Léoville Barton has a seductive and beautifully composed bouquet with ample brambly red fruit, sous-bois and light pencil shavings scents. This has real finesse. The palate is well balanced with fine tannins, a keen line of acidity and more salinity than its peers. What feels like top-quality new oak smooths the finish but does not impose itself. This is a classy Saint-Julien from the Barton family. Tasted blind at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting.

The 2014 Leoville Barton has a medium to deep garnet-brick color. It is a tad broody to start, with notions of tar, damp soil, and smoked meats giving way to a core of blackcurrant cordial and fruitcake, plus a hint of unsmoked cigars. The medium-bodied palate has a firm structure of grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the muscular black fruits, finishing long with a spicy kick.

The 2014 Leoville Barton is one of the must-buys of the vintage. Now in bottle, it has a very pure bouquet that gains intensity in the glass, laden with blackberry and raspberry coulis scents, cold wet stone, a wonderful mineralité that becomes more conspicuous with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with tensile tannin, a fine line of acidity that lends this precision and nervosité. There is class and sophistication in situ, not a powerful Léoville Barton, but beautifully poised. This is just a brilliant forerunner to the 2015 and it should represent great value.

Tasted blind. Black core, garnet rim. Intense, generous blackcurrant fruit. Just a touch meaty as it opens. Dense, too. Not easy at the moment and the tannins need a lot more time. Retasted later: dark and rich but not easy at all. I upped the score by half a point on retasting because that meatiness seemed to be part of the wine (rather than brett). Not welcoming right now. Needs a lot of time. (JH)