CHÂTEAU LÉOVILLE POYFERRÉ

The 2016 Léoville Poyferré is blessed with an outstanding bouquet of blackberry, cassis, pressed violets and just a touch of hung game/dried blood in the background; this is very impressive in terms of intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity, very harmonious if needing a little more grip and matière toward the finish. Looking back, I was mean in my score - it just needed more time to show its flamboyant touch. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2023 - 2048 Rating: 94+ Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Aug 2020)

Tasted on four separate occasions where this wine rated 97+, 98, 98, and 99, the 2016 Château Léoville-Poyferré is a brilliant bottle of wine and is certainly in the same league as the 2000, 2003, 2009, and 2010. Made from 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, aged in 80% new oak, this brilliantly concentrated, full-bodied, opulent beast of a wine offers a heavenly bouquet of crème de cassis, blackcurrants, smoked earth, tobacco leaf, and ample crushed rocks. It’s certainly one of the most flamboyant and opulent wines in the vintage, yet it remains perfectly balanced, with masses of polished tannins, no hard edges, and a fabulous finish. It will be drinkable in 3-4 years yet keep for 3-4 decades. Drinking range: 2022 - 2062 Rating: 98 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Feb 2019)

The 2016 Léoville-Poyferré is fabulous. Rich, ample and dramatic in bearing, the 2016 possesses striking intensity and vertical lift. The tannins certainly need at least a few years in bottle to soften, but there is so much to look forward to. Graphite, menthol, lavender and licorice complement the inky blue/purplish fruit beautifully. The bottled wine has a bit more Cabernet Sauvignon and less Merlot than the en primeur sample. I tasted the 2016 three times. It's least favorable showing was at the château. For readers and proprietors who think wines always taste better on site...they don't. Drinking range: 2026 - 2046 Rating: 97 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)

The 2016 Leoville-Poyferre is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Didier Cuvelier told me that color leeched out naturally and he conducted an 8 day pre-fermentation maceration. Matured in 80% new oak with some malolactic in barrel, it has a typical bouquet for this estate with opulent but neatly controlled, billowing scents of black cherries, black plum, crème de cassis and violets. The palate is beautifully balanced with fine tannin, a killer line of acidity and perhaps one of the most harmonious Poyferré that I have encountered at this juncture. It just glides across the mouth and slips down the throat with consummate ease. Superb. Drinking range: 2024 - 2060 Rating: 95-97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple. Very deep. Really rich and winning. Much more mouth-filling than the other wines from this stable. Really fresh but broad and ripe. Great freshness. Long and beautifully balanced. Drinking range: 2027 - 2045 Rating: 18 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2017)

The deep well of gorgeous cassis, blueberry paste and blackberry puree flavors will carry this for the long haul. Shows a terrific graphite underpinning and a flash of cold charcoal. This is a big one. Rating: 95-98 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2017)

The buildup on the palate is impressive with blackberry and blueberry character. Plenty of currants, too. Full-bodied, linear and tight. Racy tannins and a long finish. Shows tension, depth, real raciness and pure finesse. A combination of the best from both 2009 and 2010. Rating: 95-96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2017)

This is always a big, dramatic wine which does well in big vintages. Right through the palate you feel the beautiful architecture, and the beauty of 2016 means that the final impression is of a sophisticated but supremely balanced wine with a modern construction. Damsons and bilberries abound, with clear tension where the skin of the wine is pulled tightly over the drum. It is less of a 'classical' St-Julien than some this year, but it is entirely of itself, and excellent. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, with a full 55% of the overall production making it into the grand vin, which has 3.66pH. Michel Rolland has been consultant for many years, working closely alongside owner Didier Cuvelier. Drinking range: 2027 - 2050 Rating: 96 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2017)

A huge, soaring wine, the 2016 Léoville-Poyferré is powerful, vivid and captivating. Vertical tannins and massive concentration belie the wine's 13.6% alcohol. The more virile, brooding side of Saint-Julien comes through in this decidedly potent wine. In 2016, many Saint-Juliens possess incredible richness and voluptuousness. Léoville-Poyferré is arguably the most tannic and brooding of the wines of the appellation. I suspect the 2016 will take many years to be at its very best. A rush of dark fruit, leather, smoke, tobacco and chocolate add the final shades of nuance. Rating: 94-97 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

More than half of the production went into the Grand Vin in 2016, and the quality of the wine more than justifies it. Lively, perky and refreshing, it’s the best Léoville-Poyferré since 2010, with plenty of structure, granular tannins, smoky oak and a core of crunch, dark berry fruit. Drinking range: 2026 - 2036 Rating: 95 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2017)

The 2016 Léoville Poyferré is blessed with an outstanding bouquet of blackberry, cassis, pressed violets and just a touch of hung game/dried blood in the background; this is very impressive in terms of intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity, very harmonious if needing a little more grip and matière toward the finish. Looking back, I was mean in my score - it just needed more time to show its flamboyant touch. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2023 - 2048 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 1899)