CHÂTEAU LÉOVILLE POYFERRÉ
2014 2ème Cru Classé Saint Julien
A ripe, generous and substantial wine for this appellation with some real concentration. Plenty of beautiful currant and blackberry character, as well as a solid core of ripe, dusty and velvety tannins and enough acidity to carry the long, savory finish. Drinking range: 2024 - Rating: 94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2021)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2014 Léoville Poyferré has a very complex bouquet with blackberry, bilberry, crushed stone, cedar and hints of violet. It is extremely focused, intense rather than overtly powerful. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp and generous, conveying much more tension and precision than the Léoville Las-Cases. It gradually fans out in the second half with real mineralité, quite profound in the context of the vintage. Outstanding. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2024 - 2055 Rating: 95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2018)
Wonderful deep crimson. Rather dull, inexpressive nose with thick inkiness. A tad sour. Much sweeter and more polished on the palate than some… Pretty well made. Drinking range: 2024 - 2040 Rating: 17 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Feb 2018)
Very pure, with a beautiful beam of violet and plum sauce carried by a chiseled graphite spine. Gorgeous anise and roasted apple wood notes are inlaid seamlessly on the finish. Shows ample grip and drive. Rock-solid. Drinking range: 2020 - 2030 Rating: 93 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Jan 2017)
The Château Léoville-Poyferré 2014 is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot picked between 1 and 14 October, a little later than some of its Saint Julien neighbors. It has one of the most opulent set of aromatics of the appellation, with crème de cassis, boysenberry jam and macerated small dark cherries - an extravagant bouquet in the context of the growing season. The palate is full-bodied with great density and power. There is a lot of weight in this Saint Julien, spicy in the mouth with a healthy pinch of white pepper towards the finish that feels long in the mouth, although I would like to see more finesse coming through by the time of bottling. As usual, this is one of the most decadent Saint Julien wines, but one that is well-crafted by Didier Cuvelier. Give this several years in bottle. Drinking range: 2021 - 2040 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2015)
Richly extracted aroma and palate - quite a broad style as is usual for Poyferré, and a very good future ahead. Always the richest of the three Léovilles. (Highly Recommended St-Julien, Decanter.) Drinking range: 2020 - 2035 Rating: 92 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2015)
The 2014 Léoville Poyferré is impressive. A big, broad-shouldered St. Julien, the 2014 blossoms in the glass with superb depth and richness. Dark red cherry, plum, spice, menthol, crushed flowers, herbs and leather are some of the notes that burst onto the palate in an energetic, tightly wound Poyferré. The 2014 finishes with notable depth and huge, explosive intensity, all of which suggest it will require considerable cellaring. This is without question one of the stars of the vintage. Rating: 92-95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2015)
Dark crimson. Meaty with a note of treacle on the nose. Simpler than some. Relatively round and approachable but with lovely balance. The fruit almost hides the tannins – which are certainly there. Just a little spindly on the end. But very appetising. Rather glorious really. Drinking range: 2024 - 2038 Rating: 16.5++ Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2015)
The nose has a smoky charm fragrant with woodland violets and the palate starts fresh light with bilberry and bramble. Concentrated and rich in the middle with depth of flavour the tannins support but feel ripe. Sweet fruit fills out the back palate the finish has depth of flavour. Drinking range: 2028 - 2045 Rating: 91-94 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (Apr 2015)
A very good rather than a great Léoville-Poyferré perhaps, but this is still a pretty smart Saint Julien from Didier Cuvelier and his team. Cakey and sweet with serious, age worthy tannins, this needs time to digest its oak, but should develop into a typically impressive red. Drinking range: 2022 - 2030 Rating: 93 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2015)
Château Léoville Poyferré
St Julien Deuxième cru 1855 When Baron Jean-Marie de Poyferré de Cères married the grand-daughter of the Marquis de Las-Cases-Beauvoir, he inherited a portion of the grand old Leoville estate. The Poyferré family owned the estate for long enough to see the granting of Second Growth status in common with the other Leovilles but, in time, oidium and financial difficulties led them to sell Leoville Poyferré. Eventually, it came in to the ownership of the Cuvelier family who own Poyferré to this day. For most of the 20th Century, compared to its namesake neighbours, Leoville Poyferré's fortunes waned as the quality of the wines fell back. Since 1980, however, considerable improvements have been made to the chais and the vineyards. The previously high proportion of Merlot has reduced, whilst the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon has risen to about 65% (Merlot is now a more Médoc-like 25%). Today, Leoville Poyferré can be seen on an equal footing with, at least, Leoville Barton. Grapes are fermented in stainless-steel, and then spend 18 to 20 months in oak (75% new). In the early years on the 20th Century, the cru bourgeois property of Château Moulin Riche was absorbed into Leoville Poyferré. The name was briefly resurrected as the name of Poyferré's second wine, although it is now produced as a wine in its own right from the vineyards of the old château. A second wine of both properties is Pavillon de Poyferré.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.