Neal Martin has just published his write up of the Southwold tasting of the 2020 Bordeaux vintage. Originally held in Southwold – hence the name – this blind tasting of the top 250 or so wines of the most recently shipped vintage has been held in our Battersea offices since 2016. We now call it “Southwold on Thames”.
Neal is more or less on the same page as us with his verdict of the vintage: great in places, ahead of 2018 in terms of outright quality though a whisker behind the much more consistent 2019. The peaks in 2020, though, are high.
A standout value buy of 2020 in terms of points per pound has to be Château Léoville-Poyferré, which scores 97 points. He writes “Saint-Julien raised the bar with a cluster of outstanding wines. This was perhaps the flight that solidified 2020 as a bona fide great vintage on the Left Bank. Léoville Poyferré is the one that really excels—just a fabulous wine.”
With 97 points 2020 Léoville-Poyferré outscores Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild and even Latour. It matches Haut-Brion and, of the left bank first growths, only Margaux trumps it (a case will set you back £4,400). At £800 per dozen, or £400 per six, this looks like a compelling proposition to us.
The 2020 was released in a special bottle inlaid with gold to commemorate 100 years of Cuvelier family ownership. Our stock is lying with us, packed in original wooden cases of six or twelve.
The 2020 Léoville Poyferré is quite backward on the nose, gradually unfurling with aeration to reveal introspective black fruit, licorice and touches of bay leaf. Returning after 20 minutes the aromatics develop life-affirming pixelation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine delineation—very pure and silky in terms of texture. This is lavished in some high-quality new oak, but there is plenty of fruit underneath. It will take several years to fully cohere, but it should be worth waiting for. This is stunning. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
The 2020 Leoville Poyferre is deep purple-black in color. Gregarious scents of redcurrant jelly, kirsch, and warm cassis prance out of the glass, leading to subtle nuances of wild sage, graphite, damp soil, and crushed rocks, before giving glimpses of a gorgeous underlying perfume of lilacs, lavender, and cinnamon stick. The fantastically vivacious, medium-bodied palate vibrates with amazing energy, delivering crunchy red and black fruit layers, framed by firm, fine-grained tannins and a racy backbone, finishing long and perfumed. Exquisitely graceful with a natural beauty, this is a real head-turner!
Deep colour with a sweet, dark fruited nose of blackberry, blackcurrant and wood smoke. The sweetness is measured on the palate, which has bright acids and chewy tannins. Brambly fruit has a lifted, floral edge which adds to the precision is this finely balanced Poyferre. Hints of exotic spice come through on an expansive finish, which manages the exuberance of the property superbly. Long and layered on the finish, this will drink very well from 2030.
A rich, powerful wine, the 2020 Léoville Poyferré offers up aromas of sweet berries, blueberry liqueur, exotic spices, incense and creamy new oak. Full-bodied, broad and layered, it's deep and concentrated, its ample core of fruit only partially concealing a hefty payload of sweet, powdery, generously extracted tannin. Poyferré is generally the most flamboyant and demonstrative of the three Léovilles, but in 2020, it's chunkier, broader shouldered and more brooding than usual. 2030 - 2050
Excellent quality, head and shoulders above most of the vintage even in St Julien. Blackberry, black truffle, damson, liqourice, crayon and crushed rocks throughout. Great stuff. Harvest September 14 to 30, 35hl/h yield, 3.8ph. Consultant Michel Rolland, winemaker Isabelle Davin, 80% new oak. A speical bottle as this vintage marks 100 years with the Cuvelier family.
The Grand Vin 2020 Château Léoville Poyferré, which is released in a stylish black bottle commemorating a century for the Cuvelier family, is reminiscent of the 2016 with its powerful, concentrated, yet vibrant and inward style. Pure crème de cassis, melted chocolate, loamy earth, graphite, and some spicy nuances all define the aromatics, and it's full-bodied, with a stacked mid-palate, nicely integrated oak, ripe tannins, and one hell of a great finish. This is another utterly brilliant wine from this team, which has been producing First Growth quality wines for many years now. The blend of the 2020 is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, aged in 80% new barrels, hitting 13.58% natural alcohol and a pH of 3.81. It will benefit from just 5-7 years of bottle age and will evolve for 50 years or more if well stored. Bravo. Tasted multiple times with consistent results. Drink 2028-2078.
