Ch.Leoville Poyferre 2008 750ml

Wine Advocate#194, May 2, 2011, by Robert M. Parker, Jr.
One of the finest over-achieving efforts in this vintage as well as a “best buy” for a top-flight St.-Julien, this 2008 is an irresistible success. It reveals an opaque ruby/purple color, lots of unctuosity and a boatload of sweet cassis and black cherry fruit intertwined with notions of licorice, smoke and oak. Full-bodied, remarkably concentrated and stunningly pure and textured, this sensational wine is already drinking well, and will be even better with 2-3 years of cellaring. It should last for 20-25 years. Bravo!

During the French Revolution, Marquis de Las Cases Beauvoir was forced to flee France and as a consequence the Leoville estate was broken up. This gave birth to the 3 separate Chateaux Leoville Barton, Leoville Las Cases and Leoville Poyferre.

Léoville Poyferré, a 2ème Cru Classé, has been owned by the Cuvelier family since 1921, yet it was not until the 1970s, when Didier Cuvelier took control at the château, that quality began to improve. In the last 20 years, Didier, with the assistance of Michel Rolland since 1995, has turned Léoville-Poyferré into one of St-Julien's finest estates.

Léoville Poyferré has 80 hectares of vineyards planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), Merlot (25%), Petit Verdot (8%) and Cabernet Franc (2%). Léoville Poyferré traditionally produced the softest and most supple wine of the 3 Léovilles, yet in the last decade the wines have definitely put on weight and body. This is largely due to the grapes being harvested riper and later and because of the increased exposure to new oak in the maturation process.

Meats, Beef and Venison