Château Langoa-Barton: Vineyards
The vineyards of Château Langoa-Barton lie close to the D2 and the Long, as it heads down to the Gironde. Some are located behind the château, next to those of Château Léoville-Barton and Château Léoville-Poyferré. Others lie a little further south, again close to the D2, sandwiched between the vineyards of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, Château Beychevelle and Château Branaire-Ducru.
Today the vineyard matches closely that which was classified in 1855. There are 17 hectares planted to vines, the soils underfoot a typical left-bank melange of gravel deposits with lenses of clay. The vines are 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, the remainder being 34% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc. This is a considerable decline in Cabernet Sauvignon, which only a couple of decades ago accounted for 70% of the vineyards, as described by Bernard Ginestet in St Julien (Aurum Press, 1984). Some other sources put it as high as 74%.
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