Bordeaux 2020 at Two Years: St Julien

The success of the 2020 vintage seen in St Estèphe and Pauillac extends down into St Julien; this much became apparent as I tasted my way around this appellation late in 2022.

The first port of call in any assessment of the vintage in the St Julien appellation is not out among the vines, but in and around the village of St Julien itself. At the heart of the village sit two of the three Léoville estates, Château Léoville-Las-Cases and, just across the road, Château Léoville-Poyferré. The third slice of this ancient and storied property lies a few hundred metres to the south, where we find Château Léoville-Barton, sitting in a shallow dip created by the action of a small stream – in reality little more than a roadside ditch for most of its course – which passes by the property before heading out to join the waters of the Gironde.

This is where I started my tastings in St Julien, and it is also where I finished them, so it makes sense to take a look at the wines of the three Léoville estates first.

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