Chateau Leoville Poyferre 2025

Decanter: An extremely captivating Poyferré this year. Beautiful vivid and vibrant colour in the glass with soft rose and violets on the nose. Juicy and alive, immediately so charming, chewy, fleshy but cool and stony. Mouthfilling with licks of liquorice, tobacco, cola and hints of clove. I love the restraint on show - this is still a powerful wine but so much more relaxed than it could have been. Graceful yet impactful, full of ripe fruit with such a generous and happy attitude. I love it. Potential upscore in bottle. A yield of 20hl/ha, one of the smallest yields. Owner Sara spoke of lower fermentation temperatures, shorter macerations and shorter pumping-over to keep soft tannins. No deleafing, kept cover crops and used cold rooms to let grapes cool before optical sorting, especially for the more fragile Petit Verdot. Julien Viaud consultant. 5% Petit Verdot completes the blend."

Falstaff: Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Feines Edelholz, kandierte Veilchen, ein Hauch von Cassis und schwarzen Beeren, einladendes Bukett. Saftig, elegant und balanciert, frische Herzkirschen, reife, schmelzende Tannine, extraktsüß und lange anhaftend, sicheres Entwicklungspotenzial."

Jane Anson: Luscious, fabulous construction and grip, a true slow unroll, with waves of orange peel minerality, cocoa bean and espresso, silky texture, great quality, squid ink, yield extremely low at around 20hl/ha but manages to retain an opulent drinkability once you give it time in the glass. An easy one to recommend, and this has so many hidden depths. Harvest September 8 to 23. 3.73 pH. 20.38 hl/ha. 80% new oak. 3.71 pH. Harvest September 8 to 23. Old vines at Poyferre naturally low yields, and with the dry summer, this was the first year since 2011 to do no saignee at all during fermentation because already such natural concentration."

Jeb Dunnuck: Ripe, sexy amounts of red, black, and blue fruits, smoke, tobacco, and scorched earth all define the 2025 Château Léoville Poyferré, a blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. It's full-bodied on the palate, with a round, layered, exuberant mouthfeel, plenty of velvety tannins, and ample mid-palate depth. It's a ripe, opulent, beautifully balanced 2025 in the making."

The Wine Cellar Insider: Tobacco leaves, smoke, flowers, cherries, chocolate, licorice, currants, and espresso beans create the aromatic profile. The palate is even better with its lusciously-textured wealth of sweet, vibrant, and pure, red, with black fruits. There is freshness, vivacity, and creamy tannins which all go together creating a complete, and balanced wine. The finish meshes chocolate with currants, spice and herbs that start off strong, and keep on going. The wine blends 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. 13.5% ABV, 3.71 pH. Yields were only 20 hectoliters per hectare. Harvesting took place September 8 - September 23. Along with 2022, this is the earliest harvest in the history of the estate. The wine is aging in 80% new, French oak barrels. Drink from 2030-2065."

James Suckling: Beautiful on the nose. Stylish and concentrated, medium- to full-bodied, with freshness and a savory note in the finish. Cohesive and precise, with fine-grained, focused tannins. Very structured at the end. A solid and bracing Medoc."

Lisa Perrotti-Brown: Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2025 Léoville Poyferré pops from the glass with energetic notes of freshly crushed black currants, fresh plums, and boysenberries, leading to suggestions of mint tea, iris, and charcoal with a waft of mossy tree bark. Medium-bodied, the palate vibrates with energetic black and red berry flavors, supported by super-plush tannins and a lively backbone, finishing long and perfumed. Gorgeous! The blend is 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. It has a pH of 3.71 and the alcohol is 13.5%. The wine is aging for 18 to 20 months in French barriques, 80% new."

Vinum: Aktuell vom Holz geprägt, reife Frucht, Cassis, Brombeere, Vanille, ein Hauch Cola; der Gaumen ist seidenweich, top Tannin, das Holz auch hier wahrnehmbar, jedoch nicht störend, der Wein wirkt geschliffen und präzis, ist im Abgang langanhaltend und frisch. Hochwertig, in seinem Stil."