Château Léoville-Poyferré

Château Léoville Poyferré, Second Classified Growth in 1855, is a family-owned estate situated in the prestigious Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée of Saint-Julien in the Médoc. The vineyard stretches over 80 hectares.

The vineyard is planted with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon (35 hectares), 25% Merlot (17 hectares), 8% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc (together 11 hectares), at a density of 8,500 vines per hectare.  In the vineyard, the vines are encouraged to root deeply by an annual working over of the soil to a depth of 50 cm in alternate rows.  The vineyard work is largely manual, with early removal of unnecessary shoots, control of yields by debudding and green harvesting, leaf stripping to improve aeration and fruit exposure, hand-pruning and hand-harvesting.  The result of all this work is a yield typically in the order of 45-50 hl/ha.

The soil is a Garonne gravel.  The terroir of Saint-Julien is different because it contains an array of soil types.  The vines benefit from this diversity because the nutrients that are absorbed by the plants are more diverse, giving the resulting wine added complexity.  The drainage potential of these gravelly soils is optimized, thanks to the sculpting of the knolls and slopes through many years of erosion.

The wines are fermented in the 35 temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats of varying sizes, then macerated for three to four weeks, before selection is made.  The grand vin is Château Léoville-Poyferré (20,000 cases per annum), which goes into barrels where malolactic fermentation occurs.  Typically, the oak is now 75% new each year.  Wines produced from the plots once belonging to the cru bourgeois estate Château Moulin Riche (17,000 cases per annum), are vinified completely in cuve, before being transferred into a mix of new and one-year-old barrels.   All the wines see 18-20 months in oak, with racking every three months and an eventual fining with egg whites before bottling.

Winemaker’s Notes: “The vine is an extraordinary plant with the natural capacity to adapt to weather changes and rising temperatures. Since 2001, the beautiful Indian summers, along with the absence of rainfall during the equinoxes, have allowed the Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen perfectly. Is this Bordeaux’s answer to global warming ? Man’s work : careful mastery of the yields and rigorous selection at each step of the vine growing and winemaking processes have made this one of the most attractive vintages of the decade, on the level of the memorable 1982. After a cold, wet winter (488 mm of rainfall from November to March) the subsoil was well endowed with water. The spring was hot and humid but these high temperatures helped the vines to develop quickly. The flowering occurred mostly during a dry, hot period with ideal conditions for even development of the grapes. From May, temperatures were already reaching 31.4°C and the thermometer even showed 38.8° on 30th June. July was very hot and sunny except for the first 5 five days. The month of August and first two weeks of September were warm and dry, finishing off the vintage perfectly. The ever deeper root system of our vine plants allows them to get through periods of drought with no problem at all. The ripeness tests carried out from the 7th September gave very surprising results: high potential alcohol and acidity as well as a promising phenolic content. The de-leafing on the sunrise side and second generation bunch removal optimized the quality of the harvest. Welcome showers on 18th and 19th September added the final touch to this exceptional vintage.”

Varietal Blend: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc

Production: 212,233 bottles

Tasting Notes: Deep, intense color. The nose is complex and elegant. Empyreumatic with black fruit and spicy notes. The attack is nice and frank, with great amplitude on the palate. Ripe, silky, elegant tannins on the finish. Smooth and opulent. Pleasantly lingering aromatic finish. 2009, a vintage full of sunshine.

2014 Reviews: “…very complex bouquet with blackberry, bilberry, crushed stone, cedar and hints of violet. It is extremely focused, intense rather than overtly powerful. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp and generous, conveying much more tension and precision than the Léoville Las-Cases…Outstanding.”-95pts, Vinous

2002 Reviews: “…exhibits a saturated ruby/purple color, high levels of tannin, and sweet, noble black currant fruit intermixed with some licorice, espresso roast, and pain grille…medium to full body, high levels of tannin, and good acidity in a more structured, classic style than the 2003.” – 90pts, Robert Parker

1995 Reviews: “Black licorice and currants on the nose. Very fragrant. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a long finish. Still needs time to come together.–’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2008.”-92pts, Wine Spectator

1989 Reviews: “…outstanding. Dark ruby-colored center, verging on purple. Superripe aromas of cassis, berry and mint. Full-bodied, very sleek, with fine tannins and a long, long, caressing finish.” –90pts, Wine Spectator