Château Leoville-Poyferré

Owned by the Cuvelier family since 1921, the third of the Léoville’s has been regarded as the most lightweight for decades. That changed when Didier Cuvelier took charge in the 1970’s, and a period of continuous improvement now sees this château amongst the finest châteaux of St-Julien. For me this was one of wines of the vintage. Aged in 80% new oak, a big impressive and weighty wine, richly structured, voluptuous and generous.

The harvest started on the 8th September, with the Merlot the first to be picked. Isabelle Davin, the winemaker, said the grapes were the most perfect she had ever seen – the phenolic ripeness and colour ‘beautiful to see, taste and smell’ as the first batches were crushed. This wine displays a wonderfully hedonistic sweet and savory edge, brimming with mulled black forest fruits, gripping yet not aggressive tannins, layers of pencil, cedar and spice. In the mouth the sweet oak is richly woven around the wine, adding weight, support and a texture that gives the impression of power and ‘thickness’ to an already impressively muscular wine. The tannins, flecks of redcurrant and acidity combine to give a real tension to the wine on the finish.

Enjoy with roast ribs of beef and yorkshire pudding with a horseradish, crème fraiche and mustard sauce.

Yields of 33.44hl/ha. Aged in 80% new oak barrels for 18-20 months