A Cabernet-dominant blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2025 Château Léoville Barton checks in at 13.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.6. Crème de cassis, smoked tobacco, liquid violets, iron, and an incredible sense of graphite all define the aromatics of this brilliant, deep, pure, and layered beauty. On the palate, it's full-bodied, inward, and powerfully structured, and reminds me slightly of the 2010 with its deep, concentrated style. It has enormous potential.

Beautiful aromas, expressive and open, really fragrant with bright purple flowers and dark cherries. Supple and so energetic, you can feel some tension here with the tension coming from the really quite high acidity matching the soft fleshiness of the dark blackcurrant and raspberry fruit. I love the character, this has personality and focus. Quite a fun and really engaging wine with great balance and plenty of structure and outer bones that should soften and maybe thicken a little over ageing. I’m sure this will be a beauty. Crushed stone minerality on the finish. One of the lowest yields ever at 22hl/ha.

Beautiful vintage at Léoville Barton, delivers layer upon layer of crayon, graphite, textural interest and character, we are on another level of St Julien and right at the top of the vintage. Black chocolate and espresso coupled with finesse and fragrance that takes you into the heart of St Julien. A flood of flavour, what a brilliantly judged wine, powerful with air in all the right places. Just a breath below the brilliant 2023 for me.

The 2025 Léoville Barton was picked between 4 September and 18 September and matured in 60% new oak barrels. This has an exquisite bouquet already, with ebullient blackberry and bilberry scents, beautifully integrated oak, keeping the DNA of Léoville Barton despite the warm summer. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, gentle grip, very pure fruit and a cool and focused finish. With lower alcohol, between 13.0 and 13.5%, the terroir really shows through here. Superb.

With just a swirl, you find blackberries, espresso beans, cigar box, cassis, smoke, and licorice in the compelling aromatic profile. The palate is packed with soft, creamy, vibrant fruits, silky tannins, and polish, finishing with a big, chewy mouthful of sweet ripe, black fruits, and a refreshing touch of minty herbs that seals the deal in the finish. Drink from 2032-2065

A blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2025 Lafite Rothschild unwinds in the glass with a deep and brooding bouquet of dark berries, violets, rose petals and pencil lead. Medium- to full-bodied, supple and layered, with suave tannins, good concentration and bright acidity, it checks in at 12.5% alcohol and an unusually low (by the standards of recent warm vintages at Lafite) pH of 3.65. Harvest began here on September 2, with the estate's old-vine Merlot beginning on September 3 and the first Cabernet Sauvignon coming in from September 11 (earlier than in 2022), and the harvest wrapped up on September 20. William Kelley.

Dark ripe fruit and a touch of licorice on the nose. Medium- to full-bodied with a firm tannic structure on the palate, showing dark fruit, chocolate and walnut flavors.

The 2025 Léoville Barton is one of my early favorites of the vintage. It carries all the textural intensity and richness of a vintage with paltry yields. As such, it is not an especially classic Léoville Barton, but it is undeniably gorgeous. Black fruit, gravel, chocolate, new leather and licorice add to an impression of gravitas. As always, there's a healthy amount of press wine in the blend. Readers will have to be patient with the 2025, but there's a lot of potential. Tasted two times.