Chateau Leoville Barton 1994
- Vintage
- 1994
- Country
- France
- Region
- Bordeaux,St Julien
- Size
- 750ml
- Rating
- WA90, WS90
- Grape
- Bordeaux Blend
It is no secret that Anthony Barton's efforts over the last decade at his St.-Julien estate, Leoville-Barton, is resulting in terrific wines at still reasonable prices. This estate has been extremely successful in recent vintages. An impressive, serious, classic Bordeaux for collectors who are willing to forget about it for at least a decade, this well-endowed offering is a 30-year wine. The dense, murky, purple color, closed aromatics, massive flavor richness, and high tannin recall the old, non-compromised, beefy, blockbuster Medocs produced thirty years ago. However, this wine possesses sweeter tannin, and was made under far more sanitary conditions. It is a classic, but patience is definitely required. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2030. - WA90
A mouthful for the vintage, with its lovely berry, chocolate and tobacco aromas and flavors, medium to full body and chewy tannins. Fresh finish. Better in 1999. - WS90
Thomas Barton had been brought up in Curraghmore, Co. Fermanagh and left his native Ireland in 1722 at the age of 27 years old.
He worked with his maternal uncles Thomas and William Dickson who had considerable trade in France. It was in this connection that Thomas was sent to France, first to Montpellier, then to Marseille. He was not therefore pre-destined to be a wine merchant but when in 1725 he went to Bordeaux with its importance as an Atlantic port, Thomas became interested in wine and soon founded his first company which was later to become Barton & Guestier.
He rapidly created a financially successful business with a regular clientele in Ireland. He was a man of great authority, firm but honest in his transactions ; by 1737 he had already made a small fortune and was well respected in Bordeaux where he became known as “French Tom”. In 1743 he introduced his son William to the business but William was a man of very different calibre to his father and their relations were never of the best.
At this time the French law known as ‘Le Droit d’Aubaine’ stipulated that estates of any foreigner dying in France would revert to the French Crown. Although Thomas had applied for French citizenship, this was not in fact granted until after his death. For this reason he never bought any vineyards in France preferring to invest his considerable profits in property in Ireland.
He did rent an attractive home in the Médoc, Château Le Boscq in Saint-Estèphe, but it was his grandson Hugh who became the first member of the family to actually own a vineyard. Thomas died in 1780 aged 85.