2018 Château Léoville Poyferré, St Julien, Bordeaux

2018 Château Léoville Poyferré, St Julien, Bordeaux

Product: 20188002158
Prices start from £448.00 per case Buying options
2018 Château Léoville Poyferré, St Julien, Bordeaux

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Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
Case format
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6 x 75cl bottle
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £448.00
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £495.00
1 x 300cl double magnum
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £375.00
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Description

Poyferré's maître de chai, Didier Thomann, believes this wine is better than both their 2010 and 2016. Think 1982, he says. In terms of ripeness, he has a point, but this is a much more polished wine. The tannins are glossy, but there is also great density. Elements are almost New World in style, but it retains its Bordeaux heart. Drink 2026-2040.

Blend: 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot

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Critics reviews

Antonio Galloni, Vinous94-97
The 2018 Léoville-Poyferré is a stunning wine that shows a very distinct shift in style under the leadership of Sara Lecompte Cuvelier towards greater energy and vibrancy. The 2018 soars out of the glass with stunning aromatic presence. In its latest incarnation, Léoville-Poyferré is marked by a distinct emphasis on freshness and less extraction than in the past, with sweeter, riper tannins than is the norm. It will be interesting to see if that is an expression of the vintage, or a move toward a gentler approach to winemaking, but I suspect much of it is the latter. Dark red cherry, menthol, pine and wild flowers abound in a stunning, vibrant Saint-Julien that will leave readers weak at the knees. Tasted three times.
Vinous Read more
Wine Advocate94-96+/100
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Loville Poyferr begins sporting a veil of cedar, opening out to reveal profound notions of crme de cassis, warm kirsch, Black Forest cake and Indian spices plus hints of chargrilled meats and Sichuan pepper. Full-bodied and built like a brick house, the taut, muscular black fruit has a solid frame of firm, ripe tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long with loads of savory nuances. Aging is anticipated to be for 18 months in barriques, 80% new. The current blend is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 23/04/2019 Read more
James Suckling97-98/100
Other96-99
Jeb Dunnock Read more

About this WINE

Château Léoville Poyferré

Château Léoville Poyferré

Château Léoville Poyferré is a wine estate in St Julien on the Left Bank of Bordeaux. It was once part a larger estate called Léoville, which was established in 1638 and divided up centuries later following the death of its owner. That original estate gave rise to the three separate properties now called Léoville Barton, Léoville Las Cases and Léoville Poyferré. The latter took its name in 1840 from Baron Jean-Marie de Poyferré, who inherited the estate along with his wife, the daughter of Jeanne de Las Cases. Léoville Poyferré, like Barton and Las Cases, was ranked a Second Growth in the 1855 classification.

The estate has been owned and run since 1920 by the Cuvelier family. Having established themselves as wine merchants in Lille in Northern France, the family had recently bought Château Le Crock in St Estèphe before expanding into St Julien with both Léoville Poyferré and Château Moulin Riche. The family firm is led today by Sara Lecompte Cuvelier, who took over from her uncle Didier Cuvelier in 2017. She works with long-time winemaker Isabelle Davin. Michel Rolland has been the consultant here since the mid-1990s.

The portfolio here includes the grand vin, Château Léoville Poyferré, along with the estate’s second wine, Pavillon de Léoville Poyferré. Moulin Riche was once considered an unofficial second wine of Léoville Poyferré but has since 2009 been very much its own estate wine.

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St Julien

St Julien

St Julien is the smallest of the "Big Four" Médoc communes. Although, without any First Growths, St Julien is recognised to be the most consistent of the main communes, with several châteaux turning out impressive wines year after year. 

St Julien itself is much more of a village than Pauillac and almost all of the notable properties lie to its south. Its most northerly château is Ch. Léoville Las Cases (whose vineyards actually adjoin those of Latour in Pauillac) but,  further south, suitable vineyard land gives way to arable farming and livestock until the Margaux appellation is reached.  

The soil is gravelly and finer than that of Pauillac, and without the iron content which gives Pauillac its stature. The homogeneous soils in the vineyards (which extend over a relatively small area of just over 700 hectares) give the commune a unified character.

The wines can be assessed as much by texture as flavour, and there is a sleek, wholesome character to the best. Elegance, harmony and perfect balance and weight, with hints of cassis and cedar, are what epitomise classic St Julien wines. At their very best they combine Margaux’s elegance and refinement with Pauillac’s power and substance.

Ch. Léoville Las Cases produces arguably the most sought-after St Julien, and in any reassessment of the 1855 Classification it would almost certainly warrant being elevated to First Growth status.

Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Léoville Las CasesCh.Léoville Barton, Ch Léoville Poyferré, Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou, Ch Langoa Barton, Ch Gruaud Larose, Ch. Branaire-Ducru, Ch. Beychevelle

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Cabernet Sauvignon blend

Cabernet Sauvignon blend

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and  Australia.

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