Wow I love this wine. A tremendous QPR at $60 or less.
I know, it’s a baby, but since I bought in two small tranches and had not tried it yet, I decided to pull a cork last night. Tonight it is really shining. Yea, I know, old school Bordeaux ain’t supposed to sing this young. But it does, and yes, it still has lots of maturation to do, and it will shine then, I feel it. In fact, I am buying more.
A very perfumed St. Julien. Big dark fruits and cassis, dank earth, some hints of leather and iron. The palate is quite meaty, solid range of darker fruits but with impressive structure, red fruit acids and tannins. Chalky but sweet tannins. Long, chewy finish. Love the mouthfeel on this wine, such presence. Bought some 2019 as well, this Chateau is firing.
I had the 1996 and 2003 in the last couple of years and these develop so well. It doesn’t seem to have as vocal of a fan base as its bigger brother, but that is actually a benefit to the consumer.
Yep. As much as I like the 2016 Leoville Barton, I would much rather have 5 bottles of the Langoa versus 2 of the Leoville. I also like the 2019 Langoa a lot.
2014 Langoa is lovely and more than merely approachable - a vintage that didn’t seem to please the critics, but as a Bordeaux drinker, I like 2014s more and more with each passing year.
For Bordeaux drinkers with more classic palates, 2014 is outstanding. I own more of this vintage than any other recent vintage. I think the more refined critics loved this vintage, it’s the more internationalized critics that like the big more lush wines like Galloni, Suckling, LPB, Martin(?) and Leve, that steer more toward overly-ripe vintage is like 2015 and 2018.
I am in the 2014 of this wine, but have not tried it. I still cannot believe that these classified growths were coming out at under $50, which is what I paid for the Leoville Barton.
My recent (2022) tastes of the 14’s including Langoa suggest they are quite approachable, but very you g. But you probablyalready know that. Great pricing on those 14’s!
Great to know - thanks - oddly enough Langoa is not a château I know very well. I remember being underwhelmed by some 95s I bought and never really getting back into it. I do have one or two bottles but not the 2016 so far, so I’ll look out for some.
Years ago - maybe 7-8 or so - I went to Bern’s with a small group of some Berserkers. We did the whole cellar tour, including the separate building. Was amazing walking around the aisles of thousands of dust covered and old bottles, seemingly no order to the organization at all. I distinctly recall one aisle having a stack of four apparently unopened cases of the 1961 Langoa Barton. I made a mental note to order one of those next time I returned, but by the time I did it, they were all gone. But they did have a 1961 Chateau Pavie that was quite delicious, and felt young enough to be an 82.
I popped a 2019 last night to get a feel for it. My note sounds a lot like your 2016. We even used the same exact phrase “long chewy finish” lol. I bought for $42 EP and still available <$50. Such a great value.
2019 Château Langoa Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (6/9/2023)
The nose of the Langoa is dark and sultry, full of cassis, wet stone and scorched earth. almost pessac-like. Palate comes across dense, large scaled, and not shy. Blackberry fruit fanning out into black currant, a spine of acid, salty minerals, and a bit of tobacco. Powdery but slightly rustic tannins, leading to a long, chewy finish. Perhaps a step behind the finest 2019s in terms of charm and depth, but this is great value and will surely drink well for 20-25 years. (93 points)
I have never thought of Langoa as a great wine (except for the 2005, which was considerably better than the Leoville Barton).
But what it is, is a really good bottle of Bordeaux, and I buy it in half bottle. It is cheap, it is a great value, and in half bottle, it tends to mature around ten years in, so perfect for a week night dinner. I went very deep with 2019, so not planning any 2022 purchase.
Robert, you need to find some ‘05, your kind of wine.
