Chateau Leoville Poyferre 2016
- JD
- JS
- WS
- RP
- WE
- D
- JD
- V
- JS
- D
- RP
- JD
- JS
- V
- RP
- D
- JD
- WE
- JS
- RP
- D
- WS
- JD
- JS
- D
- WS
- RP
- V
- JD
- WS
- RP
- JS
- WE
- D
- WE
- JD
- JS
- D
- RP
- WS
- JD
- JS
- WE
- WS
- D
- RP
- WE
- D
- JS
- JD
- WS
- RP
- WE
- JS
- JD
- RP
- WS
- WW
- WE
- RP
- JS
- WS
- JD
- WE
- RP
- JS
- WS
- RP
- JD
- JS
- WE
- D
- WS
- RP
- WE
- JS
- WS
- CG
- W&S
- WE
- RP
- WS
- JS
- W&S
- WE
- RP
- CG
- WS
- RP
- WE
- WS
- RP
- JS
- WS
- WE
- RP
- WE
- RP
- WS
- RP
- JD
- WS
- JS
- D
- W&S
- W&S
- WS
- RP
- WS
- WS
- RP
- RP
- WS
- WS
- RP
- JS
- WS
Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesWow. The power and depth to this wine is super with a full , fleshy palate. Yet, it’s so tight and integrated with panache and energy. Chewy tannins, yet seamless and melted into the wine. Extremely long and beautiful. Very polished now. This needs at least five to six years to resolve the steely tannins that run through this wine. Take a look from 2024. A blend of 61 per cent cabernet sauvignon, 27 per cent merlot, eight per cent merlot and four per cent cabernet franc.
Rating: 97+
Cellar Selection
Major investments were made to bring out the best in the vineyards, and the cellars were also renovated. In 1994, noted consulting oenologist Michel Rolland began to offer his precious winemaking advice. The final blend is made after many careful tastings. Chateau Léoville Poyferré is aged in oak barrels, 75% of which are new every year. It is an extremely well-balanced wine with a great deal of finesse and excellent aging potential.
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.
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.