Château Léoville Barton

Thomas Barton had been trading with Bordeaux from Ireland since the end of the 17th century, before leaving his homeland to settle permanently in the city. In 1725, he set up a trading house here (later to become Barton & Guestier) and within twenty years became an influential figure in the wine trade, nicknamed ‘French Tom’, whose reputation spread far beyond our borders and throughout Europe. His grandson Hugh succeeded him in 1786, at the age of twenty, and went on to strengthen the family trading business. Thanks to his energy and efficiency, Hugh Barton consolidated his fortune and decided to buy vines in the Médoc. In 1826, he bought a quarter of the former Léoville estate, which had been confiscated and divided up after the French Revolution. He renamed this parcel “Léoville Barton” to distinguish it from the others. Thereafter, three generations succeeded one another at the head of the vineyard, but Ronald Barton is credited with having maintained the integrity of the vineyards during the difficult years between the wars. Then, as a British national, he too was forced to leave France when the Germans occupied in 1940. Ronald Barton returned in 1945 and took over the estate. He was joined in 1951 by his Irish nephew, Anthony Barton, to whom he donated the estate in 1983. For almost 30 years, Anthony Barton travelled the world to promote the very high quality of his wine and establish its reputation as a Second Cru Classé. It is interesting to note that the Bartons are one of the last two families, along with the Rothschilds, to still own their châteaux since the 1855 classification. Today, Anthony has entrusted the destiny of the estates to his daughter Lilian Barton-Sartorius, and the close relationship between the two has strengthened and enhanced the international reputation of Léoville Barton. The long Barton lineage is clearly destined to endure, as Mélanie Barton-Sartorius, oenologist, and her brother Damien represent the tenth generation of Bartons working in the Bordeaux wine world.