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This Week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous

Welcome to this week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous! Each week we compile a list of wines from the Vinous database that you need to add to your wine wish list. With all the various regions, producers, and grapes, no week will be the same! All of the wines listed in this feature are available for purchase on Banquet . This week's must-try wines are from Neal Martin’s article, Léoville-Poyferré 1936-2018 . Enjoy an excerpt from this article and reviews below! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Didier Cuvelier rejuvenated Léoville-Poyferré. A new chapter opened when his cousin, Sara Lecompte Cuvelier, took over the helm a few years ago. Following a vertical of recent vintages, this article examines one of Saint-Julien’s most respected estates. Last summer, during my extended stay in Bordeaux, when conducting verticals on a daily basis and accumulating a backlog that will take until the next century to write up (honestly, I’m trying), I dropped in at Léoville-Poyferré to taste the last two decades of wines with proprietor Sara Lecompte Cuvelier and head winemaker Isabelle Devin. It was an insightful tasting that demonstrated the direction that the estate has followed in recent years. Léoville-Poyferré, like most properties in Bordeaux, has endured its highs and lows over the years, but few would argue that it has really hit its stride over the last four decades.” --Neal Martin, Léoville-Poyferré 1936-2018, September 2022 1. 1990 Léoville-Poyferré 2. 2000 Léoville-Poyferré 3. 2003 Léoville-Poyferré 4. 2004 Léoville-Poyferré 5. 2005 Léoville-Poyferré 6. 2009 Léoville-Poyferré 7. 2014 Léoville-Poyferré 8. 2016 Léoville-Poyferré 9. 2017 Léoville-Poyferré 10. 2018 Léoville-Poyferré

Château Léoville Poyferré

Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2018

Delectable Wine
9.5

The 2018 Léoville-Poyferré performs similarly to the bottle tasted a few weeks earlier in the UK for my in-bottle round-up, although here I sense more opulence on the nose, perhaps more florality. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannins, broad and sensual, plummy with that beguiling symmetry on the finish. It needs several years in bottle but it will be well worth the wait. Tasted at the Léoville-Poyferré vertical at the château with Sara Lecompte Cuvelier. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
 — 2 years ago

Château Léoville Poyferré

Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2014

Delectable Wine
9.5

The 2014 Léoville-Poyferré is one of the standout Left Bank wines of the vintage. Demonstrating outstanding clarity and freshness on the nose, this seems to just "leap" out of the glass like an over-excited Yorkshire terrier. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins, silky smooth in texture, a perfect line of acidity and a harmonious finish that slips down the throat. This is going to be irresistible for the next 20 years. Tasted at the Léoville-Poyferré vertical at the château with Sara Lecompte Cuvelier. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
 — 2 years ago

Château Léoville Poyferré

Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2004

Delectable Wine
8.9

The 2004 Léoville-Poyferré has a light and airy bouquet with blackberry, antique bureau, forest floor and light fungal aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly dry tannins, a little austere but balanced, though I notice some attenuation and bitterness towards the finish. So-so for this estate. Tasted at the Léoville-Poyferré vertical at the château with Sara Lecompte Cuvelier. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
 — 2 years ago

Château Léoville Poyferré

Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1990

Delectable Wine
9.0

The 1990 Léoville-Poyferré is a wine that I have drunk on several occasions over the years. This ex-château example has a slightly rustic nose, maybe with a touch of VA, though the aromatics are stuffed with so much fruit that you cannot help but fall for its charms. Touches of mint and melted dark chocolate emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, impressive depth, nothing like the finesse of more recent vintages yet with satisfying depth and grip. Perhaps the summer warmth impedes more than the 1989 that I feel has more sophistication, yet this is still a thoroughly pleasurable Saint-Julien. Tasted at Saint-Julien restaurant. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
 — 2 years ago

Château Léoville Poyferré

Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2017

Delectable Wine
9.3

The 2017 Léoville-Poyferré has a beautifully defined bouquet with mineral-rich red fruit that is utterly refined and focused, a wine that looks as if it will be open for business before the more recalcitrant 2016. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. This is silky smooth in texture with plush black and blue fruit, pinned together by a killer line of acidity and impressive tension on the finish. Not a vintage to be ignored from this estate. Tasted at the Léoville-Poyferré vertical at the château with Sara Lecompte Cuvelier. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
 — 2 years ago

Château Léoville Poyferré

Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2009

Delectable Wine
9.6

The 2009 Léoville-Poyferré is intense but beautifully controlled on the nose with an enticing but not exotic mélange of red and black fruit laced with pencil box and smoke. Superb intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, brisk and spicy, brimming with energy and fanning out gloriously towards the finish. There is nothing overblown or extravagant, yet it harnesses the precocity of the vintage to glorious effect. Drinking supremely well now and for a number of years. Tasted at the Léoville-Poyferré vertical at the château with Sara Lecompte Cuvelier. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
 — 2 years ago

Château Léoville Poyferré

Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2000

Delectable Wine
9.2

The 2000 Léoville-Poyferré was poured blind at Medlar restaurant, though it was pretty easy to single out. This bottle is slightly higher-toned than the previous, black fruit, melted tar and a touch of roasted chestnut, maybe displaying just a touch more Brettanomyces. The palate is medium-bodied with good depth and concentration, white pepper and thyme lending more complexity towards the finish. It does not possess the precision that has defined recent vintages, yet it has an almost bucolic charm and the substance to suggest it will give another two decades of drinking pleasure. Tasted at Medlar in London. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
 — 2 years ago

Château Léoville Poyferré

Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.6

The 2016 Léoville-Poyferré appears to have closed up a bit on the nose, perhaps a little cowed by the strong showing of the 2015 on this occasion. It is very pure and begins to unfurl with aeration, but the aromatics are not coming out to play today. The palate is medium-bodied with fine boned tannins, beautifully proportioned and symmetrical. The oak is seamlessly integrated with a citrus touch on the finish. This will be awesome, but it will need time in bottle. Tasted at the Léoville-Poyferré vertical at the château with Sara Lecompte Cuvelier. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
 — 2 years ago

Château Léoville Poyferré

Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Delectable Wine
9.5

The 2005 Léoville-Poyferré is drop-dead gorgeous on the nose with pure red cherries, raspberry preserve, rose petal and potpourri scents, gaining intensity with every swirl. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity, silky smooth with a delineated, classic tobacco and smoked tinged finish that lingers in the mouth. One of the highlights of the decade and with much more to give. Superb. Tasted at the Léoville-Poyferré vertical at the château with Sara Lecompte Cuvelier. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
 — 2 years ago

Château Léoville Poyferré

Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2003

Delectable Wine
9.1

The 2003 Léoville-Poyferré has always been one of this infamous vintage’s success stories. Perhaps in recent years it has lost some of its vigour on the nose with black plum, brown spices, leather and that light Bovril aroma, but there is better delineation than many others. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and quite savoury. It is beginning to show some dryness and little monotony on the finish. I wonder whether its best days are behind it? Still a very decent showing however. Tasted at the Léoville-Poyferré vertical at the château with Sara Lecompte Cuvelier. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
 — 2 years ago