Very aromatic with cherries and blackberries. Hints of flowers. Full body, lightly chewy yet ultra-fine tannins and a fresh finish. Tangy and delicious. Racy.

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 mineralite that becomes more conspicuous with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with tensile tannin, a fine line of acidity that lends this precision and nervosite. 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.

This has a solid core of cassis, blueberry confiture and plum sauce flavors, wrapped with warm ganache and licorice snap notes, kept honest by graphite rivets along the finish. This has lots of muscle, but stays lean and long.