Ch. Leoville Poyferre
2nd Growth Grand Cru Classe
Saint Julien
2009

The producer

All the Leovilles have had long, uninterrupted ownerships – Leoville Poyferre has been owned by the Cuvelier family since 1921 – but for a long time, whether deserved or not, was often considered the least attractive sibling; it was not until the late 1970s when Didier Cuvelier took over the reins of the estate, that quality started improving.  And recent decades have seen Poyferre lift its game dramatically with serious investments in cellars and winemaking facilities but also replanting of a large part of the vineyards and is today one of Saint-Julien’s finest 2^nd Growth estates.

The 80 hectares of vineyards are planted with two thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, a little under one third Merlot and the remainder made up of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Later picking of riper grapes, more Merlot in the final blend, and a slightly higher percentage of new oak barrels means that this is known as the softest, most subtle and voluptuous of the three Leoville estates.

The wine

The blend varies with vintage conditions but is usually comprised of two thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, with a little under one third Merlot and the remainder made up of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks, with malolactic fermentation in oak barrels, and then ageing in 70-80% new oak. Blending doesn’t happen until after the ageing is completed. Later picking of riper grapes, more Merlot in the final blend, and a slightly higher percentage of new oak barrels means that this is known as the softest, most subtle and voluptuous of the three Leoville estates, and a wine of much immediate pleasure as well as very good ageing potential.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.