2016 Chateau Leoville Barton Saint Julien

96 points Decanter
I love this - there's concentrated cassis on the nose with a strong, smoky edging. On the palate the coffee and dark chocolate is clear, a little bitter in an extremely attractive way, leaning against the rich, sweet black fruits. There's no question those tannins are in full play. An excellent wine with a great life ahead. Matured in 60% new oak. (JA) (10/2018)

96 points Jeb Dunnuck
Deep purple-colored and a classic Saint-Julien with its pure crème de cassis, graphite, liquid rock, and essence of lead pencil shavings, the 2016 Château Léoville Barton is full-bodied, concentrated, and backward, with bright acidity and ripe yet certainly present and building tannins. This old-school, classic Léoville Barton has a fine thread of acidity keeping the wine focused and fresh. It’s a beauty, but mostly potential at this point, although it does have beautiful fruit. Savvy readers will hide bottles at the back of their cellar, and I wouldn’t start to think about opening bottles for a least a decade. It’s going to be incredibly long-lived. 96+  (2/2019)

96 points Vinous
The 2016 Léoville-Barton is fabulous. A wine of breadth and power, the 2016 has so much to offer. The black cherry, chocolate, gravel, smoke and licorice flavors are all boldly sketched. A host of expressive savory and mineral notes develop into the substantial finish. (AG) (1/2019)

96 points Wine Enthusiast
The Barton family’s flagship wine benefits hugely from the age of the vines. This wine is ripe and concentrated, rich in tannins but with the wonderful black fruits that can be conjured from this vineyard. (RV) (5/2019)

95 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Leoville Barton delivers a superstar nose of crème de cassis, plum preserves and blueberry compote with suggestions of fragrant earth, unsmoked cigars, licorice and cedar chest. Medium to full-bodied, rich and seductive with firm yet velvety tannins, it has a decadently rich finish. (LPBO) 95+  (11/2018)