### 1956 Château Léoville Barton

BY NEAL MARTIN | OCTOBER 29, 2018

I have a soft spot for off-vintage Claret – the more “off,” the better. There must be a masochistic side to my personality that draws me inexorably toward vintages that should come with a government health warning. They don’t come riskier than the _annus horribilis_ 1956, when Bordeaux infamously turned into the Arctic for a prolonged spell in February and vast swaths of vines perished in a mass execution by frost. Many châteaux could not produce a single bottle of 1956, though a few did eke out a tiny production. Nowadays, it is a vintage hardly ever seen. It took 20 years for me to stumble upon it, courtesy of a 1956 Léoville Barton served by co-proprietor Lilian Barton-Sartorius to celebrate 190 years of her family’s ownership, as a last-minute substitute for the 1966 that she intended to serve but could not locate. She offered a memorable anecdote about how then-proprietor Ronald Barton complained about hunters shooting their guns early in the morning during that deep freeze. But they were not guns; Barton was awoken by the sound of vines literally exploding as their sap froze and capillaries burst in their trunks. So this Cellar Favorite is a reminder that while some bottles might not offer sensory satisfaction, occasionally their historical significance gives an alternative kind of pleasure.

![](https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1540836901835-image+%2810%29.png)

The **1956 Léoville Barton** is attired in a magnificent Art Deco label (the one currently used for their second label, though it is more deserving of their Grand Vin.) It has a slightly deeper color than expected, and only a touch of turbidity. There is negligible fruit but quite a pungent chlorine/algae-like aroma that is not as malodorous as it sounds. The light palate displays vestiges of red fruit, a little dusty but not unpalatable. Inexplicably, the wine seems to ameliorate with aeration instead of oxidizing, gaining substance from the ether. It is a curiosity, a remnant of a disaster that struck Bordeaux that year. But it is a survivor with whom I am glad to make a fleeting acquaintance. **83** /Drink now



Cellar Favorite: 1956 Château Léoville Barton

Cellar Favorite: 1956 Château Léoville Barton (Oct 2018)

ConstantScore(-article_id:{312 381 422 466 735 1092 1114 1146 1208 1209 1210 1231 1235 1241 1242 1245 1249 1258 1261 1276 1283 1298 1302 1312 1321 1325 1338 1601 1734 1980 1998 2164 2193 2198 2268 2425 2529 2566 2825 2994 3120 3140 3371 3977 4341 4690 4691} #producer.id:20546 #article_id:[2035 TO 2035])

DocValuesFieldExistsQuery [field=_primary_term]

Léoville Barton

Content

Engage

Vinous

Social