Skip to main content

1996 Château Léoville Poyferré

$480.00
  • Producer
    Château Léoville Poyferré
  • Vintage
    1996
  • Grape Variety
    Cabernet Sauvignon Blend
  • Region
    Bordeaux
  • Sub Region
    Saint-Julien
  • Size
    Bottle
SKU: LEOPOY96EC

Léoville Poyferré shares much of its early history with the Léoville estate- the mother of the châteaux Poyferré, Barton and Las-Cases. Léoville was split after to the death of its owner Alexandre de Gascq and the impending French Revolution. A quarter of the original estate remained, belonging to Jeanne Poyferré whose name it took on henceforth. A string of bad luck including odium, poxes and war led the Lawtons, its owners to agree to sell to the Cuvelier family who were established throughout Bordeaux as négociants. All three of the estates which had originally together been Léoville won the ranking of deuxième crus in the 1855 classification, but through the middle of the 20th century, Léoville Poyferré’s reputation began to dwindle as a result of poor wines.

In 1979, the estate passed to Didier Cuvelier, an accountant with shrewd business sense who was able to recognise the investment required to put Poyferré back on the map of wine-lovers world over. Didier hired experts Emile Peynaud and Michel Rolland, modernised facilities and shifted the focus of his vines to Cabernet Sauvignon and has since been rewarded by seeing the quality of his wines go from strength to strength.

Tasting Notes

93 Points Robert Parker Jr.
This fabulous 1996 was tasted three times from bottle, and it is unquestionably the finest wine produced by this estate since their blockbuster 1990. Medium to full-bodied, with a saturated black/purple color, the nose offers notes of cedar, jammy black fruits, smoke, truffles, and subtle new oak. In the mouth, there is impressive fruit extraction, a tannic, full-bodied structure, and a classic display of power and finesse. The longer it sat in the glass, the more impressive the wine became. Backward, and massive in terms of its extract and richness, this should prove to be a sensational Leoville-Poyferre for drinking over the next three decades. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2028.

95 Points Decanter
The colour is starting to take on the brick-edged ruby that fully mature Bordeaux reaches and retains for decades in the best cases. Freshness is still very much in play, along with tobacco, cigar box and eucalyptus. 1996 was a brilliant vintage in the Médoc and it shows. This is a near-perfect 20-year-old Bordeaux; there is the generous signature of Léoville Poyferré wine but at this point, St-Julien balance and finesse has taken over, just relax and enjoy the results.

1996 Château Léoville Poyferré