2023 Château Léoville-Poyferré, Cru Classé St-Julien

The 2023 Léoville-Poyferré is positively stellar. Medium in body, vibrant and beautifully persistent, the 2023 is all class. It also signals a shift away from the richer (but equally successful) style favored here in the recent past, now moving toward an approach that favors more vibrancy. Dark red-toned fruit, blood orange, spice, mocha and cedar infuse the 2023 with notable freshness and verve. The new Léoville-Poyferré is quite the stunner. Tasted two times.

The 2023 Léoville-Poyferré was picked from September 14 until October 5 at 52.78hL/ha and aged in slightly less new oak than usual, simply because of the large volume. In fact, some of the lots commenced their malolactic fermentation in vat rather than barrel. This has an intense bouquet with black cherries and iodine, becoming more floral with aeration. The palate opens with a medium body and pliant tannins, fleshy and ripe, dovetailing into a dense and multi-tiered mid-palate. Typical Poyferré in style, blood orange and light graphite notes are embroidered into the ripe black fruit, and there is noticeable glycerol on the finish. It is perhaps the most opulent of the three Léovilles, and yet it arrives with a modest 13.1% alcohol. This is a contender for the best Saint-Julien in show.

This is already very pretty and polished with plenty of currant and plum character. Medium- to full-bodied with creamy, round tannins and a juicy finish. Caressing. Very refined.

Aromas of cassis, plums, pencil shavings and toasty new oak introduce the 2023 Léoville Poyferré, a medium to full-bodied, rich and chunky wine with a deep core of succulent fruit framed by sweet, generously extracted tannins. It's a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot that saw some saignée and osmosis for additional concentration. As usual, it's the creamiest, most "modern"-styled of the three Léovilles. Harvest began on September 14 and concluded on October 5, with fermentations a little cooler than usual, perhaps an intimation of a stylistic evolution in progress.