Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
94–96. Barrel sample. This very ripe, full-bodied wine is powered by sweet blackberries and solid tannins. It is a full, concentrated and complex wine that has a great future.
Barrel Sample: 94-96 Points -
Jeb Dunnuck
One of the more stacked, ripe and rockingly textured wines from the left bank, the 2012 Léoville Poyferré sports a deep ruby/purple color to go with terrific notes of crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings and violets. Rich, full-bodied, supple and forward, with low acidity and ripe tannin, give bottles 4-5 years (although it dishes out ample pleasure even today) and enjoy through 2037.
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James Suckling
Really beautiful now with blackcurrant, licorice and red-berry aromas, following through to a full body with layers of fine tannins and a beautiful finish. It’s really starting to drink nicely . Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Owned by the Cuvelier family since 1920, this property over the last 20 years has made some great wines in the Médoc. The 2012, a blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc, is opaque purple, thick-looking, and from bottle much more impressive than it was from barrel. This very extracted, rich, full-bodied, masculine Léoville Poyferré needs a good 5-8 years of bottle age and should evolve well for at least 20-25 years. Loads of blackberry and cassis, crushed rock and graphite notes are present in this medium to full-bodied, impressively concentrated and pure wine. Forget it for a while, as this is one of the bigger, richer Médocs.
Rating: 92+ -
Wine Spectator
A solid, muscular version, with a slightly chewy feel along the edges, while the core of steeped plum, anise and blackberry paste waits in reserve. Reveals ample graphite details on the finish, with a warm fruitcake note chiming in. Just needs some cellaring to lose the burly edge. Best from 2017 through 2024.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2012 Château Léoville Poyferré shows up as a solid performer from this vintage of variance. The wine's ripe red and black fruit flavors are joined with some savory herbs and dried leaves. This true-to-type Saint-Julien drinks nicely now with a baked pork tenderloin. (Tasted: January 30, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
An icon of balance and tradition, St. Julien boasts the highest proportion of classed growths in the Médoc. What it lacks in any first growths, it makes up in the rest: five amazing second growth chateaux, two superb third growths and four well-reputed fourth growths. While the actual class rankings set in 1855 (first, second, and so on the fifth) today do not necessarily indicate a score of quality, the classification system is important to understand in the context of Bordeaux history. Today rivalry among the classed chateaux only serves to elevate the appellation overall.
One of its best historically, the estate of Leoville, was the largest in the Médoc in the 18th century, before it was divided into the three second growths known today as Chateau Léoville-Las-Cases, Léoville-Poyferré and Léoville-Barton. Located in the north section, these are stone’s throw from Chateau Latour in Pauillac and share much in common with that well-esteemed estate.
The relatively homogeneous gravelly and rocky top soil on top of clay-limestone subsoil is broken only by a narrow strip of bank on either side of the “jalle,” or stream, that bisects the zone and flows into the Gironde.
St. Julien wines are for those wanting subtlety, balance and consistency in their Bordeaux. Rewarding and persistent, the best among these Bordeaux Blends are full of blueberry, blackberry, cassis, plum, tobacco and licorice. They are intense and complex and finish with fine, velvety tannins.