Château Léoville Poyferré Saint-Julien 2. Cru Classé 2017

“97 points. Tremendous effort from the Cuvelier family. Don't miss it.” - Vinous
"97 points. Graceful and fresh from the very first dance to the long good-bye." - Jeff Leve

Anmeldelser af Château Léoville Poyferré 2. Cru Classé Saint-Julien 2017

97/100 Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
“Before the licorice, black cherry, truffle, and cocoa-filled bouquet seductively arrives, you’ll notice a startling depth of color. Full bodied, rich and flowing with the darkest of red fruits and gently dusted with a blast of even darker chocolate, this wine is wrapped in cashmere. It is graceful and fresh from the very first dance to the long good-bye. Blending 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, this wine reached 13% alcohol. The harvest took place from September 20 to October 6. This is the final vintage with Didier Cuvelier at the helm and it is a testament to his many accomplishments at Leoville Poyferre.”

97/100 Vinous
“A ravishing Saint-Julien, the Léoville-Poyferré is also very clearly one of the wines of the vintage on the Left Bank. Raspberry jam, blood orange, mint, spice and mocha all race out of the glass as this sumptuous, flamboyant wine shows off its exotic personality. With its vertical lift and explosive energy, the 2017 has so much to offer. It has been nothing less than stunning on the three occasions I have tasted it so far. In 2017, the Grand Vin is 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Because of the late season rains, only 3 out of the 5 parcels that typically inform the Grand Vin were used. This a tremendous effort from the Cuvelier family. Don't miss it.”

97/100 Tastingbook.com

96/100 Vert de Vin Magazine
“The nose is fruity, aromatic, fresh, mineral, elegant and offers a beautiful definition as well as a beautiful finesse of the grain. It reveals notes of strawberry, blackberry and small notes of crushed raspberry associated with fine touches of juicy violet plum, flint/gravely minerality as well as a subtle hint of spices, violet, graphite and an imperceptible hint of vanilla. The mouth is fruity, well-balanced, elegant and offers a juicy/slightly acidulous frame, a good definition, gourmandize, a fine freshness as well as minerality. On the mouth this wine expresses notes of fresh blackberry, fresh raspberry and small notes of liquorice associated with fine touches of cherry, strawberry as well as fine hints of gravels, racy minerality, chocolate, vanilla as well as a subtle hint of grey pepper. Good length and persistence.”

95-96/100 James Suckling
“Very tight and energetic finish to this young, new red with currant and blackberry character. Hints of crushed stones. Dense and four-square with a chewy tannin structure and a long finish. Very muscular. Serious encore to the 2016. Same level?”

95/100 Wine Enthusiast
“Cellar Selection. This wine brings balance to the solid tannins and luscious fruits. Firm tannins plus layers of acidity give freshness and great aging ability. The wine has a great future.”

95/100 Jeb Dunnuck
“Based on a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Chateau Leoville-Poyferre saw malolactic in barrels and spent 18 months in 80% new French oak. Sporting a deep ruby/purple hue, it delivers big, powerful notes of blackberries, blackcurrants, crushed violets, tobacco, and a touch of chocolate. Possessing medium to full-bodied richness, a rounded, opulent texture, and sweet tannins, it’s unquestionably one of the biggest, richest wines in the vintage. Give bottles 4-6 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following 2-3 decades. Tasted twice.”

95/100 Decanter
“This has lower alcohol than usual, but doesn't sacrifice the mouthfeel. There's a succulent damson and cappuccino expression through the finish here, along with tautly constructed, bouncy tannins that are both expressive and powerful. It's one of the more rich and round wines in St-Juliens, as fits the house style. Extremely accomplished, it's powerful and will clearly age well. It's somewhere between 2014 and 2015 in quality, but not touching the majestic 2016. A success in the vintage, underlining again that St-Julien has had an extremely lucky 2017.”

94+/100 Robert Parker
“Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Léoville Poyferré needs a little coaxing to reveal pretty scents of violets, Black Forest cake and blueberry preserves with hints of raspberry leaves, roses, cigar box and fragrant earth. Medium-bodied, the palate has a quiet intensity with loads of subtle layers and a well-poised frame of soft, fine-grained tannins, finishing long and refreshing.”

Om Château Leoville-Poyferré

Marquis de Leovilles store ejendom Chateau Leoville fra 1600-tallet blev konfiskeret under Den franske Revolution og sidenhen bortauktioneret i fragmenter.

Marquis de Las Cases købte den ene halvdel, som i dag kendes som Chateau Leoville-Las Cases, mens den resterende halvdel deltes mellem familierne Barton og Poyferré. Og således blev ét Leoville-slot til tre vinproducenter!

Chateau Leoville-Poyferré etableredes som selvstændig producent i 1840, og femten år senere blev slottet indlemmet i 1855-klassifikationen med status af 2. Cru Classé.  Siden 1920 har Leoville-Poyferré været ejet af Cuvelier-familien, men først under Didier Cuveliers lederskab (fra 1979) begyndte man at nærme sig det nuværende kvalitetsniveau. Slottet har i dag omdømme af ”Super Second”, en betegnelse som antyder et niveau tæt på 1. Cru Classé.

Der dyrkes druer på 80 hektar i kommunen Saint-Julien. Terroiret er varieret, så høsten foregår parcelvis, hvorefter druerne vinificeres separat i 35 ståltanke af varierende størrelse. Dette giver optimale muligheder for kvalitetssortering og kompleks sammenstikning af den endelige ”Grand Vin”. Chateau Leoville-Poyferré, modner 18mdr på 75% nye franske barrique-fade.

Andenvin: Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre. Tredjevin: Moulin Riche.

Cuvelier-familien ejer desuden Chateau Le Crock (St-Estephe) samt Cuvelier Los Andes (Argentina) og den succesfulde Bordeaux-negociant, H. Cuvelier et Fils.