### 2016 Leoville-Barton [Bordeaux Blend] 750
The 2016 Leoville-Barton Bordeaux Blend is a red wine from the St Julien sub-region of Bordeaux, France. Produced by Leoville-Barton, this wine is composed of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot, and comes with a 13.1% alcohol content, sealed with a traditional cork closure.
The wine has received high praise from several prominent wine reviewers. James Suckling awarded it a score of 97, describing it as having a "terrific intensity of dark berries, almost peppery blackcurrants and violets with attractive and integrated, spicy oak and an earthy edge." He further notes the wine's "super powerful and long, linear core with plenty of fruit flesh strapped in tight for a long and thrilling ride into the finish." Suckling recommends trying the wine from 2024.
Wine Spectator also rated this wine 97, highlighting its vivid array of flavors including "pastis-soaked plum, blackberry, black currant and blueberry paste," all carried by a "perfectly integrated brambly spine." The review mentioned notes of "tar and ganache," giving the finish an extra kick while maintaining a balance within a "mouthwatering roasted apple wood frame." This wine is described as "both regal and rambunctious," and is suggested to be best enjoyed from 2025 through 2040.
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, via William Kelley, echoes these sentiments with another 97-point score, praising the wine's "aromas of cassis, dark berries and cigar box mingled with subtle hints of loamy soil." Kelley finds the wine "seamless and exquisitely balanced, with beautifully refined tannins, bright acids and a long, penetrating finish," emphasizing its structural refinement.
Wine Enthusiast, with a score of 96, attributes the wine's richness to the age of the vines, describing it as "ripe and concentrated, rich in tannins but with wonderful black fruits." The publication anticipates the wine will be ready to drink from 2026.
Jeff Leve from The Wine Cellar Insider also gives it 96 points, emphasizing its "intensity, vibrancy and length," and describing it as "full-bodied, tannic, joyous and classic." Leve suggests that waiting about 15 years will reveal the wine's full potential.
Decanter, awarding a score of 94, appreciates the wine's "intense, luxurious, fresh yet also very classically Bordeaux" nose, and admires its "density on the palate" along with its refined, elegant, and smooth character.
Jeb Dunnuck gives it a score of 96, noting its "pure crème de cassis, graphite, liquid rock, and essence of lead pencil shavings," and finds it "full-bodied, concentrated, and backward." Dunnuck advises hiding bottles at the back of a cellar, suggesting they be opened after at least a decade.
Finally, The Wine Independent, via Lisa Perrotti-Brown, also gives it 96 points, describing it as "deep garnet-colored" and "built like a brick house with a solid wall of firm, grainy tannins and lovely tension."
Overall, the 2016 Leoville-Barton is a well-regarded wine, praised for its depth, complexity, and aging potential.