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Léoville Poyferré 2020

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > St Julien
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

Like its neighbour Léoville Barton, Poyferré usually offers good value for money when first offered en primeur. The wines here are more smooth, ripe and fleshy than the seriously structured wines of Barton and Lascases. The result is a delicious St Julien that can usually charm early in its life and can stand the test of time. A frequent winner of blind tastings. Plantings in the 80 hectare vineyard are 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 6% Cabernet Franc. Fruit from the younger vines goes into "Le Pavillon de Poyferré" whilst "Moulin Riche"is made from a separate part of the vineyard.

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Léoville Poyferré

Label

Tasting Notes

The 2020 Léoville Poyferré was bottled in June. It has a very intense nose, displaying more black fruit than its showing from barrel, also the opulence tempered since its bottling. Fine mineralité , hints of clove and bay leaf develop with time in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a smooth opening, still slightly lactic in style as I remarked from barrel, yet with immense depth and plenty of finesse. The structure really comes through on the finish, a pinch of cracked black pepper and tobacco lending complexity. This is a great Léoville Poyferré that will give more than four decades of enjoyment, though I advise waiting several years before broaching. Drink 2026-2050.

96
Neal Martin, vinous.com, February 2023

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!

97+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, June 2023

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

94+
William Kelley, Wine Advocate, April 2023

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.

97
Thomas Parker MW, Farr Vintners, October 2023

This is really floral on the nose with violets and roses, and some black berries and dark cherries. It’s medium- to full-bodied with firm and polished tannins, and plenty of hazelnut and milk chocolate. Structured, yet so finely textured. So attractive and enticing now but needs three or four years to show what it has. Try after 2026.

96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 2023

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.

97
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, February 2023

Full bottle 1,345 g. 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Plot-by-plot fermentation and ageing for 18 to 20 months (still in train, as the notes explain). Here they admit they don't do the final assemblage until June.
Dark crimson. Relatively voluptuous nose. Flattering initially but then with quite a charge of inky tannins underneath. Needs time. Notably dry on the finish but with good density. Rather more obviously dry and less flashy than some vintages. Very much made for the long term with a juicy, spicy undertow. Extremely youthful. Unusually, it seems drier than Léoville Barton. 13.7%
Drink 2030 – 2053

17.5+
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2021

(64% CS, 31% M, 3% CF, 2% PV; 13.7% ABV; 80% new)
Inky; closed to smell, blackcurrant-tight; rich, elegantly “packed” wine, with a perfectly poised, freshly defining acidity and a superfine, velvety tannin, an overall effortlessly harmonious balance; ripe rather than “sweet, ” long, graceful, rich, but not heavy, taut, close-grained, freshly ripe blackcurrant and mineral in flavor, very long across the palate, with a wonderful finish of subtle ripe fruit fragrance and fine gravel aromas. Most complete, a real beauty. 2030–50+.

94/95
Michael Schuster, The World of Fine Wine, May 2021
Read more tasting notes...

The 2020 Léoville Poyferré builds on the success of recent vintages, offering intense yet exquisitely defined black cherries, wild strawberry, cassis and crushed stone aromas. It is high-toned as usual but not quite as hedonistic as the recently tasted 2018. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins that belie the backbone of this Saint-Julien. Slightly lactic in texture toward the spicy finish; the oak will be assimilated by the time of bottling, leaving a very suave and sophisticated wine that will give 30–40 years of drinking pleasure. Easily one of the classiest offerings from this Saint-Julien in recent years. Drink 2025-2055.

95/97
Neal Martin, vinous.com, May 2021

Impressive purity of fruit on the nose with crushed raspberries, blackcurrants and blackberries. Some lead pencil, too. It’s full-bodied with very polished, intense tannins that go on for minutes. The quality and precision of the tannins are impressive, giving the wine form, energy and equilibrium.

96/97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2021

Deep purple-black colored, the 2020 Léoville Poyferré comes bounding out of the glass like an energetic young pup, delivering exuberant scents of crushed black cherries, juicy blackberries and warm cassis, with hints of ground cloves, dark chocolate, lilacs and tilled soil. The medium to full-bodied palate is wonderfully plush, delivering bags of ripe black fruits with a seamless backbone of acidity, finishing long and spicy.Drink: 2027 - 2051

95/97
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (May 2021 W), May 2021

Rich and concentrated with violet reflections and a wall of tannins. Well structured, it sets its feet deep in the ground and will need time to soften and develop. Good quality with depth. The tannins are far more present than the alcohol, setting it apart from the 2018. A yield of 35hl/ha. Harvest september 14 to 30. Planted blend (not 2020) 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc.

Drinking Window 2028 - 2042

96
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, May 2021
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.