Much like its more famous sibling, Leoville Barton, the 2006 Langoa Barton is a heady, ripe, dense, tannic, powerful wine possessing a deep ruby/purple color as well as aromas of underbrush, damp earth, creme de cassis, and licorice. Rich, layered, and impressive, it will be drinkable between 2013-2030. Robert Parker 90-92

Very dark crimson. Fresh glossy black cherry aromas. Very well balanced and gracious on the front palate with a nice fragrant dry, racy style. This could easily be Langoa [as indeed it was - I do try not to guess when tasting but this just swamped me with identity]. Very dry finish but not drying. Lift and grace. Just falls away very slightly on the finish. Bone dry - no tarty sweetness. Jancis Robinson MW 17.5

Intense black-red, solid concentration of blackcurrant Cabernet fruit, lots of extraction but not heavy, impressive fruit on the palate, ripe, good depth, potentially complex and very good medium term. Drink 2012-17. 4 stars. Score: 17 Decanter Magazine, Decanter.com
 
Blackish crimson. Dense, minerally, rather distinctively intense aromas. Very thick and sweet and dense. All stops pulled out here and the tannin quality is nice. Not too flabby. Well done. More powerful than most but still with a good texture. Lots of work and thought seems to have gone into this. Real progress. Score: 17+ Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com
 
This has another one of those very Burgundian nose with some black cherries, cedar and well-integrated vanillary new oak. Very good delineation. The palate has a lot of fruit concentration but it is rather smothered in oak at the moment. Perhaps a little overdone? It lacks a little freshness and tension on the finish. Tasted April 2008 Score: 87-89 Neal Martin, eRobertParker.com
 
Full ruby-red. Cassis, licorice and minerals on the nose, with some oaky torrefaction notes of espresso and mocha; this smells ripe. Good intensity and brightness to the black fruit and smoky oak flavors. A firm spine of acidity gives this a serious backbone and a slightly spiky impression early on. Finishes horizontal and persistent, with building tannins. In a modern, somewhat extractive style, but this has good energy and grip. Score: 88-90 Stephen Tanzer, Intl. Wine Cellar
 
Score: 90-93 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (176)

Pauillac. Readers looking for a modern day version of Latour's magnificent 1962 or 1971 should check out the sensational 1999 Latour. It is a big, concentrated offering, exhibiting a dense ruby/purple color, and a classic nose of minerals, black currants, leather, and vanilla. The wine is long, ripe, and medium-bodied, with high levels of sweet tannin. This surprisingly full, concentrated 1999 should be drinkable in 5-6 years; it will last for three decades.  Wine Advocate # 140 Apr 2002 Robert Parker 94 Drink: 2007 - 2032

A terrific effort, this sexy, open-knit, opulent effort possesses plenty of tannin, but it is largely concealed by the wine's wealth of fruit, high extraction level, and noticeable glycerin as well as unctuosity. Dense ruby/purple-colored, with a sweet, evolved nose of black fruits (cassis, leather, and blackberries), cedar, spice box, and liquid minerals, this powerful yet seamless Latour will be surprisingly accessible at an unusually young age. Long and full-bodied, with the acidity, tannin, alcohol, and wood all beautifully integrated, it will be at its finest between 2007-2030. A classic! Wine Advocate # 134 Apr 2001 Robert Parker (93-95) Drink: 2007 - 2030

This classically made, dense purple-hued wine exhibits enormous potential, but currently it is forebodingly backward, dense, and broad. Once again, proprietor Anthony Barton delivers a wine with superb concentration, a classic style, and the possibility of three decades or more of ageability. Like most of the finest Leoville Bartons, considerable patience will be required. The 2006 will need 8-10 years of cellaring, and may even rival the 2005. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2035. Robert Parker 92-94

Very dark crimson. Sturdy, tobacco leaf, savoury, some leather and then some ripeness and richness. Lots there, lots to draw you in and no excess of dryness even though it is pretty dry - Léoville Barton? Very energetic and even quite electric in terms of its impact on the palate. Seems to fade on the finish and then revives and completes the tasting experience. Jancis Robinson MW 18
 
Very balanced and pretty, with violet and currant. Full and silky. Gorgeous. Harmonious. James Suckling 92-94

Tasted at the UGC and at a negotiant. An attractive, floral nose with sweet ripe blackberry, blueberry and cedar. Great definition and lift. The palate displays lovely balanced, a succulent core of black fruits with huge grip. Notes of black coffee, liquorish and a tang of salt, slightly bitter on the very unresolved finish. This will need time, a complex, quite intellectual Barton that will come into its own in bottle. Tasted April 2007.Neal Martin 92-94 eRobertParker.com

Intense black-red, restrained but well-expressed concentration of fruit, a little spice and more going on than most other wines, good depth, personality and precision of fruit, good future. Drink 2014-25. 4 stars. Score: 17.5 Decanter Magazine, Decanter.com
 
Rich and ripe with soft black cherry fruit but not much real concentration on the mid palate. Very drying finish. Quite firm but sandpaper dominates. Score: 16.5 Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com
 
Lovely core of blackberry and currant, with smoky oak and chocolate. Full and velvety. Delicious already. Score: 88-91 James Suckling, WineSpectator.com
 
A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. This seems lighter on the nose than Langoa Barton, but it has greater delineation and lift with notes of blackberry, cedar, wild hedgerow and a touch of black plum. The palate is medium-bodied, well-balanced with ripe tannins. Very cohesive and harmonious with a great clarity and focus on the elegant finish. Very natural. Tasted April 2008. Score: 90-91 Neal Martin, eRobertParker.com
 
Good ruby-red. Serious, sexy aromas and flavors of black cherry, dark chocolate and camphor. Fat, sweet and suave in the mouth, with enticing firming acidity giving shape to the wine. More stuffing here than shown by its stablemate Langoa today. Finishes minerally, spicy and persistent, with good spine and verve for the year. Very nicely balanced wine, and not at all over-extracted. While Barton expressed the opinion, shared by many of his colleagues in the Medoc, that the merlots "were dull and lacked vivacity," the sample he presented had no shortage of personality. Score: 88-90 Stephen Tanzer, Intl. Wine Cellar

St Julien. Absolutely fantastic. This is one of the most exciting young reds I have tasted in a long, long time. It shows intense aromas of berries, currants and minerals, with hints of mint. Full-bodied and packed with fruit and tannins, its long finish is refined and silky. A benchmark for the vintage. Las Cases has always wanted to make first-growth quality in a top notch vintage, and it certainly did in 2000. Best after 2012. 15,000 cases made. Rated 100/100, Wine Spectator

This wine has put on weight and, as impressive as it was from cask, it is even more brilliant from bottle. Only 35% of the crop made it into the 2000 Leoville Las Cases, a blend of 76.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.4% Merlot, and 8.8% Cabernet Franc. The wine is truly profound, with an opaque purple color and a tight but promising nose of vanilla, sweet cherry liqueur, black currants, and licorice in a dense, full-bodied, almost painfully rich, intense style with no hard edges. This seamless classic builds in the mouth, with a finish that lasts over 60 seconds. Still primary, yet extraordinarily pure, this compelling wine, which continues to build flavor intensity and exhibit additional layers of texture, is a tour de force in winemaking and certainly one of the great Leoville Las Cases. In another sense, it symbolizes / pays homage to proprietor Michel Delon, who passed away in 2000. Michel has been succeeded by his son, Jean-Hubert, another perfectionist. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2040.  Wine Advocate # 146; Apr 2003 Rated 99/100 Robert Parker

Opaque. Nose is beginning to close. Amazing purity - black fruits and cassis. Supreme balance. Dark choc notes. Multi-layered with stunning definition akin to Lafite. Stunning wine - better than Barton. 25+ yrs (23/25 by Neal Martin and Tom Cannavan)

I have had this wine three times out of bottle, rating it 97 once and 98 twice. It is a colossal success and a potential legend in the making. Its saturated, dense inky/blue/purple color offers up notes of crushed rocks, acacia flowers, blueberries, black raspberries, and creme de cassis. A synthesis of power and elegance, this multi-layered wine has spectacular concentration, sweet but high tannin, and low acidity A stunning effort that showcases this legendary terroir, it is a brilliant, brilliant success. The quintessential Leoville Poyferre? Anticipated maturity: 2009-2030. Wine Advocate # 164; Apr 2006 Robert Parker 98 points

Originally built in the 17th century, Château Loudenne is one of the oldest Cru Bourgeois properties. The humble pink chateau sits on the banks of the Gironde where it is one of the first Châteaux to greet visitors who enter the Médoc from the Atlantic via the Gironde. The southernmost Chateau in the Medoc, Loudenne stretches over a superb estate of 132 hectares, with 48 hectares. The grand vin, Château Loudenne, a Médoc Cru Bourgeois Supérieur is a blend of 48% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec.

Michel Rolland is the consultant oenologist. Beautiful deep color with shades of violet. A nice nose of fresh red fruits: raspberry and blackcurrant. The attack in mouth is plain, rich of very ripe fruit tannins dominated by blackcurrant jam. Good balance between acidity and tannins. This wine has fine woody scents well mixed with the fruit aromas which last in the finish leaving a liquorice flavor.

Delivers blackberry and pretty, toasty oak, with flowers. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, long finish of ripe fruit, espresso and a hint of licorice. Balanced and refined. Best after 2011. 16,665 cases made. –James Suckling, 90 Points; The Wine Spectator