"I liked all of the Leoville wines. The Las Cases was big and bold; the Barton, earthy; and the Poyferré elegant and poised." So said Richard Cohen, a member of the Orlando Tasting Group after our triad-concluding vertical tasting of the Poyferré Grand Vin.
Before describing this most recent tasting, let me provide some background information on the estate.
History
As described previously, the Leoville estates came about as a result of the dismemberment of Domaine Leoville beginning with the sale of selected vineyard plots to Hugh Barton in 1826. Léovile Poyferré surfaced when Jean de Las Cases passed her portion of the remaining estate on to her daughter who, at the time, was married to Baron Jean-Marie de Poyferré. Hence the estate name.
As shown in the timeline below, the estate changed hands twice between 1865 and 1920 but has since remained in the hands of the Cuvelier family. Didier Cuvelier took control in 1979 and his stewardship was instrumental in moving the estate into the top ranks of Bordeaux producers. Didier resigned in 2017 and was replaced by his cousin Sara Lecompte Cuvelier.
I have covered the St. Julien grape-growing environment previously. As regards the Chateau Léoville Poyferré environment, the chart below shows the estate's major vineyard blocks (except for one that is dedicated solely to Chateau Moulin Riche), the soil characterizations of those blocks, and general information on the built environment.
The Poyferré vineyards are managed by Alix Combes with David Aguirre as his assistant. The estate's manta is "vigilance, reactivity, adaptation" with human intervention only when necessary. Each vineyard worker is assigned a specific plot and is responsible for meticulous, nature-observant tending of same. The vineyard is ploughed for aeration as well as weed control, a part of the estate's commitment to eco-friendly practices.
Wines and Winemaking
The estate produces two wines: Léoville Poyferré and Pavillion de Poyferré, The Grand Vin is known for opulence, richness and aging potential while the Pavillion is more accessible. The Grand Vin has seen a rapid jump in quality beginning with the 1982 vintage.
Harvest
Three weeks before harvest the winemaking team gets together with consulting enologist Julien Viaud and they go through the vineyard tasting the grape berries to evaluate their ripeness. Analysis of phenolic and technical maturity complement and confirm impressions during daily tastings.
- Grapes are hand-picked and the clusters transported to the vat house in crates
- Sorted by hand before destemming and optically before crushing, the latter to remove any vegetal material.
Vinification
The grapes are vinified plot-by-plot by variety in 57 heat-regulated, stainless-steel tanks, 27 of which are double-walled. Young vines ripen earlier so they are picked and vinified separately. Row-ends are also vinified separately because they ripen later; they are picked later and used for kosher wine.
One-week pre-fermentation cold maceration enhances purity of fruit aromas and color intensity. Non-Saccharomyces yeast is added to the must at this time rather than the traditional Sulfur dioxide.
The must is pumped over daily until the end of alcoholic fermentation. The fermented wine is racked off the skins which are pressed for press wine.
Some small batches of kosher wine are made from grapes set aside specially for this purpose. Special teams are brought in for this purpose.
Malolactic Fermentation
In barrels. Because the barrel room is across the street from the vat room, the wine has to be transported over. This was, for a while, done by hand in steel tanks using tractors. More recently underground pipes have been laid to allow transfer of the wine from vats to barrel.
Aging
By variety and plot. Aged in French oak barrels for 18 months.
Tasting the Wines
The wines included in the tasting are shown below. They are arranged in flights by decade.
|
Year |
Cabernet Sauvignon (%) |
Merlot (%) |
Cabernet Franc (%) |
Petit Verdot (%) |
|
2009 |
60 |
29 |
6 |
5 |
|
2003 |
70 |
25 |
|
5 |
|
2000 |
60 |
40 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1996 |
50 |
35 |
4 |
11 |
|
1995 |
67 |
26 |
7 |
3 |
|
1990 |
63 |
25 |
5 |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
The tasting team is shown below. This is the smallest group to date (and, as a result, the fewest number of wines) due to scheduling changes disrupting the original order (Al was a part of the group but the picture was taken prior to his arrival.).
Flight 1: The 2000s
2009 Léoville Poyferré
Elegant on the nose with blueberries, eucalyptus, baking spices, and fudge. Good acidity. Graphite, forest floor, coal, and a salinity on the palate. Savory. Eucalyptus comes through on the palate. A bit of a green note. Lengthy finish. Beautiful wine -- Author.
Currently a little austere but can't wait to try it in 5 - 10 years. Blueberry notes. Grippy, with lots of black fruits -- Brian.
2003 Léoville Poyferré
Dark fruit, herbs, spices, tobacco, and cedar on the nose. Good acid level. Earthiness, spice, and plums on the palate. Wine belies the heat of the vintage -- Author.
This was a very Cabernet-dominant vintage. Not as fruit-heavy as some other 2003s. Plums, velvety tannins. Well on the road to full integration. Was my second choice overall of all the wines -- Brian.
This was the wine of the flight.
2000 Léoville Poyferré
Not as good as the two preceding wines. Almost over-the-hill. Some VA and an odd character. VA becomes more prevalent with time -- Author.
Tart cherries and cedar. A green note and starting to fall off a bit. Some tobacco notes but not there at all -- Brian.
Flight 2: The 1990s
1996 Léoville Poyferré
Dark fruit, graphite, pencil lead, black pepper, red pepper, and spice on the nose. Beautiful palate. Balanced. Some drying -- Author.
Loads of Petit Verdot in this vintage. Fantastic nose (in retrospect one of the best of the tasting). Wine still needs time. Somewhat reminiscent of a Leoville Las Cases -- Brian.
1995 Léoville Poyferré
Ginger, mint, eucalyptus, and pepper spice on the nose. Cherry on the palate along with salinity and a savoriness. Unresolved. Short finish -- Author.
While similar to the 1996, the acid and tannins were a little overwhelming for me. Good, not great. Cedar and less fruit than preceding wines. Very shallow/short wine -- Brian.
1990 Léoville Poyferré
Blueberry, eucalyptus, sweaty saddle leather, and cigar box on the nose. Red and dark fruit on the palate. Great finish -- Author.
Wonderful wine. Garnet/Ruby color and a great cherry nose. Luxardo cocktail cherries. Medicinal, but not in a bad way. Hint of thyme as well. Fully integrated and along finish. This wine is ready now -- Brian
This wine was adjudged the wine of the flight.
Flight 3: The 1970s
1978 Léoville Poyferré
Eucalyptus on the nose. Sour cherry and cough syrup on the palate. Bold aromas and flavors -- Author.
Very short wine but fun. Expectations met for what some called the "miracle vintage." Medicinal with sour cherries -- Brian.
****************************************************************************************************
After the completion of the flights, we voted for a wine of the night. The 1990 took the prize by a wide margin,
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