Having unsuccessfully tried to acquire Château Lafite, Irishman Hugh Barton bought Château Langoa in 1821. Langoa has belonged to the Bartons ever since, making this one of the oldest family-owned estates in the Médoc. The magnificent 18th century château has three separate plots with clay and gravel soil.

Viticulture at Château Langoa Barton is traditional, and managed by the team from Léoville-Barton (a second growth). The vines are pruned in classic Médoc style, with three buds per cane. Langoa Barton does not practice green harvesting, preferring to reduce yields by selecting the most appropriate root stock. Leaf thinning and topping are carried out when necessary, and by hand.

The wine is made in the time-honoured Médoc way in cellars featuring a brand new crusher-destemmer and pneumatic presses. The grapes are carefully sorted and, once pressed, the juice is put into temperature-controlled wooden vats, where it ferments for about a week at 28-30°C (with pumping over twice a day), followed by two weeks of maceration.

Malolactic fermentation takes place in vat. After three months of barrel aging, the final blend is made in stainless steel tanks (the press wine is an important component) and then ages for a further 15-18 months in barrel, with a single racking done by Michel Raoult and his team. The wine is fined with egg whites before bottling.

Château Langoa produces classical wines that are well-structured and juicy. The similarity with Château Léoville-Barton is sometimes striking.

In the Bottle

Formerly in the shadow of Léoville-Barton (for a long time, many wine lovers took it to be Léoville Barton's second wine), Château Langoa-Barton has been making great progress thanks to meticulous work in the vineyard and cellar.

Since the beginning of this century, Langoa's quality has grown closer to Léoville Barton's.

After a difficult period in the mid 90s, almost all of the vintages since 2000 Langoa Barton have been remarkably successful.

Château Langoa Barton is an estate to watch closely, especially if the current trend towards improved quality continues.

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Langoa Barton, Lady Langoa (second wine)