Château Langoa Barton St Julien 1855 3ième Cru 1994

Undergrowth, leather, raspberry and sweet cherry fruits, alongside cloves, ash, campfire smoke. Fades a little on the finish but this is juicy and extremely moreish, could be polished off in half an hour with a good friend. This was the time in St Julien where owner Michel Delon was starting to do some green harvesting over at Las Cases, but Léoville Barton kept things traditional – reducing crops through pruning at the beginning of the season not through dropping fruit later on. Not a vintage that gets much love, but this is great for drinking now. Will not stay at this sweet spot for too long, so I suggest making the most of it. Michel Raoul technical director.