2012 Chateau Leoville Poyferre (750ml)

Cabernet Sauvignon from Saint-Julien, Bordeaux, France

B-21 Top Recommendation
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Sourced from over 80 hectares of estate vineyards in some of St. Julien’s best terroir, these exceptional vintages from Chateau Leoville-Poyferre boast Cabernet’s Sauvignon’s expressive dark fruit with elegant textured minerality and smooth, silky tannins, all luxurious, balanced Left Bank Bordeaux blends earning 94 plus point ratings and delivered ex-Chateau in perfect provenance at impressive value pricing.

While dating back to 1638, Chateau Leoville-Poyferre’s modern renaissance began in 1979, when Didier Cuvelier became the first member of his family to take charge of the estate after studying winemaking under the legendary Emile Peynaud. Implementing an extensive renovation of the vineyards with massive replanting and nearly doubling the estate’s holdings, Didier hired renowned consultant Michel Rolland to manage the harvest and refine the final blend, shifting the estate’s emphasis to Cabernet Sauvignon and crafting the Grand Vin in a richer, more opulent style by harvesting later to ensure even ripening.

Revisiting it at a retrospective tasting in 2021, James Suckling describes the full-bodied 100 pt. 2009 Leoville-Poyferre as “A red that gives wonderful pleasure now but will continue to do so for decades ahead.” Vinous critic Antonio Galloni calls the 95 pt. 2014 Leoville-Poyferre “Gorgeous” and “Super impressive” while Jeb Dunnuck describes the 97 pt. 2015 Leoville-Poyferre as an “unctuous, ripe, pedal-to-the-metal beauty." Dunnuck calls the 98 pt. 2016 Leoville-Poyferre a “brilliantly concentrated, full-bodied, opulent beast of a wine,” while the Wine Advocate’s Lisa Perrotti-Brown describes it as “simply alive in the mouth, culminating in an epically long finish that will leave your mouth practically tingling. WOW!” James Suckling calls the “serious” 95 pt. 2017 Leoville-Poyferre “one of the best of the appellation” while the Wine Enthusiast’s Roger Voss named both the 2017 and 2018 Cellar Selections built for the long haul. Finally, the “legendary” 100 pt. 2018 Leoville-Poyferre is a “a total thrill that tops my scale” according to critic Jeb Dunnuck while Antonio Galloni declares the perfect 2018 “dazzles from start to finish,” earning it the #7 spot on the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2021.

All poised to reward Bordeaux lovers for decades to come, these perfectly cellared, top releases from Second Growth Chateau Leoville-Poyferre delivers powerfully concentrated fruit of exceptional depth and length with rich, ripe tannins, now offered at specially negotiated pricing, some ready to enjoy and all set to evolve in the cellar. After a recent retrospective tasting over the last two decades, Vinous critic Neal Martin summed it up: “Leoville-Poyferre has really taken flight” often "challenging the First Growths" and now offered in perfect condition at a fraction of the price.

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One of the more stacked, ripe and rockingly textured wines from the left bank, the 2012 Léoville Poyferré sports a deep ruby/purple color to go with terrific notes of crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings and violets. Rich, full-bodied, supple and forward, with low acidity and ripe tannin, give bottles 4-5 years (although it dishes out ample pleasure even today) and enjoy through 2037.

94 points, Jeb Dunnuck (Jan 2018)

Really beautiful now with blackcurrant, licorice and red-berry aromas, following through to a full body with layers of fine tannins and a beautiful finish. It’s really starting to drink nicely . Drink or hold.

94 points, James Suckling (Mar 2021)

Less elegant than the 2011, but also less austere, there is plenty of get hold of here, with evident depth to the black cherry, blackberry fruits overlaid with chocolate shavings, brioche and liqourice. Sums up muchof what i love about this property - it has a kick and a sense of great cheer, along with the slate texture, tannic hold and balance of St Julien. No need to wait to drink although will age from here. Harvest October 8 to 19. 80% new oak.

94 points, Jane Anson (Sep 2021)

The 2012 Leoville Poyferre is medium to deep garnet colored. It features notes of cassis, blackberry preserves, and prunes with touches of fallen leaves, cedar chest, lavender, and pencil lead. Medium-bodied, the palate is firm and grainy, with plenty of black fruit preserves in the mid-palate and a long finish with loads of mineral sparks. It needs time!

94 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent (Aug 2022)

Owned by the Cuvelier family since 1920, this property over the last 20 years has made some great wines in the Médoc. The 2012, a blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc, is opaque purple, thick-looking, and from bottle much more impressive than it was from barrel. This very extracted, rich, full-bodied, masculine Léoville Poyferré needs a good 5-8 years of bottle age and should evolve well for at least 20-25 years. Loads of blackberry and cassis, crushed rock and graphite notes are present in this medium to full-bodied, impressively concentrated and pure wine. Forget it for a while, as this is one of the bigger, richer Médocs.

92+ points, Robert M. Parker, Jr., Wine Advocate (Issue # 218 - Apr 2015)

The 2012 Léoville-Poyferré has quite an atypical strict bouquet with blackberry, melted tar, graphite and crushed stone aromas. This opens very nicely in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy notes on the entry, fairly saline with good tension, superb backbone and density on the finish. This is very promising, but it may require more bottle age just to smooth out its edges. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index's Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.

92 points, Neal Martin, Vinous (Sep 2022)

Alcohol By Volume: 13.0%

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$99.88

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