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| | Vintage | 2003 |  Label 97 of 527 
(NOTE: Label borrowed from 2001 vintage.)
 | | Type | Red | | Producer | Château Léoville Poyferré (web) | | Variety | Red Bordeaux Blend | | Designation | n/a | | Vineyard | n/a | | Country | France | | Region | Bordeaux | | SubRegion | Médoc | | Appellation | St. Julien | | UPC Code(s) | 015643241673, 086455010597, 087000333000, 087000339446, 087000341951, 087752007280, 087752010617, 3700188007798, 3760181350888, 3760181351205, 400005913624, 400005959264, 714153123218 |
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.7 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 817 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by dhwesley on 4/6/2024 & rated 93 points: Out of the bottle the color is red with a pronounced brown tinge. The nose is initially youthful (flowers, fruit) but after a few minutes it shows its age - port, earth, balsalmic. On the palate tannins are fully integrated and the wine is showing clear tertiary characteristics. Good length with a pleasant finish, tastes like it's "in the zone". Enjoying this right out of the bottle doesn't seem like a crazy idea.
After 4h the wine was pretty much in the same place, but an overnight ox really enhanced the elegant features of this glass. This is a classic Bdx profile (port, earth, ...) but the unique character of this wine is what I can only describe as "tobacco": peppery, smoky, full, smooth and rich.
I don't feel like it's holding much back at this point. There's no rush, but if you have bottles, now's a great time to enjoy them. Cheers! (1179 views) | | | Tasted by vvWine.ch on 3/1/2024 & rated 95 points: Noch kräftiges Rubinrot. Offene, tiefgründige Nase, sehr komplex, dunkelfruchtig, nicht warm sondern erstaunlich kühl anmutend, Brombeere, Pflaumen, Schwarzkirschen, viel Cassis, das Holz gut eingebunden, würzige Noten schwingen mit. Im Gaumen dicht, opulent, der Wein hat Körper, zeigt viel Konzentration, bleibt jedoch elegant. Langer, dunkelfruchtiger Abgang. Noch immer auf der "jugendlichen Seite" - kann angetrunken werden, hat grosse Reserven. Jetzt bis 2035+ (2069 views) | | | Tasted by PDavisMarble on 2/7/2024 & rated 93 points: Pretty and elegant, this is drinking well now. The softness suggests the high proportion of Merlot. The nose showed raspberries and plums, currants and leather. A touch of forest floor, and honey that echoed the nose. Beautiful and drinking well. (2545 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 1/26/2024: ibid my 10/2023 note (2768 views) | | | Tasted by CHarder on 1/20/2024 & rated 94 points: In a very very good spot right now. Drinking beautifully balancing fruit, maturity and still freshness. Would call it at peak for me but willmprob stay here for 3-5 years so no rush. (2809 views) | | | Tasted by Triforwine on 1/14/2024 & rated 95 points: Superb. Probably drinking at close to peak. Shows that LP is great even in less stellar left bank vintages. This is a big wine still with lovely fruit, smoke, forest flowers and a lovely dense but silky mouthfeel and still quite youthful with only a little sediment. Long awesome finish. Can likely be held but wonderful today. Easy 95 (subjectively). (2970 views) | | | Tasted by Böbel on 12/31/2023: Womderful to deer schnitzel with porcini mishroom sauce + pumpkin potatoe purée (2129 views) | | | Tasted by ThompsonandFrench on 12/23/2023 & rated 93 points: Delicious from the get go.
Slow ox’d for an hour +. No huge difference.
Ripe red berries; complete; balanced. On a plateau.
Wonderful! No need to hold back - get drinking! (2058 views) | | | Tasted by Juliansi on 12/15/2023 & rated 93 points: Bottle breathed 2 hours, this was my sharing. A 70% Cab, 25% Merlot and 5% PV in 80% new oak.
Amazing balance for wine from such a very hot vintage, and whilst the cassis nose never truly developed, the rich blackfruit palate shined.
Full bodied mouthfeel, and the balance I am describing is that wonderful combination of fruit, tannins and acidity which are so well integrated. Even in such a hot vintage, there's an elegant touch to the mouthfeel.
I asked that my bottle be in the last pairing to give it maximum air time as I had only just driven in from Ipoh to dinner at Damansara Kim.
I was very nervous to be paired alongside Eng's very special Las Cases 83.. but my Poyferre 03 showed such balance and depth, it was all good!
This was shared at our aged Bordeaux dinner hosted by Eng and joined by LMC, WMK, SKT and Choe.
This is my 1st of 2 bottles in the cellar.. I can now be confident to keep the last bottle for 2026-2029, its gonna be spectacular!
MERA at Farm to Plate
Damansara Kim, Malaysia
15th Dec 2023 (2218 views) | | | Tasted by jviz on 12/11/2023 & rated 91 points: A less fresh bottle than the last one I think. This one came off a little muddled and cloudy. Still no roasted notes but I’m less impressed than last time around 2.5 years ago. (2441 views) | | | Tasted by Bcw1989 on 12/10/2023 & rated 96 points: Wonderful wine. Fruit forward and tannins subsided. Decanted 1.5 hours ahead of meal. Lots of red ripe fruits. Delicious wine. Lots of year ahead of it! (2156 views) | | | Tasted by Nutty08 on 12/8/2023 & rated 93 points: Showed better than expected. Just a hint of over ripeness on the nose, but this was mostly dense dense fruits with leafy tobacco notes. Concentrated palate lush. Finish a bit angular with coarse tannins--where the vintage started to show. Still, have to say it's aging better than expected. (2111 views) | | | Tasted by djs on 11/11/2023 & rated 91 points: Decanted into wide base decanter for four hours. Not ready to drink on first night. Left in decanter over night. Much better 24 hours later. (2670 views) | | | Tasted by nkirsch on 11/7/2023 & rated 93 points: good balance between fruit, earthiness, slightly dry but still a nice finish (2583 views) | | | Tasted by Purple Tooth on 10/14/2023 & rated 93 points: Another bottle that had me re-thinking how important lineups are in the world of wine tasting and opinions. I've had this several times and the last bottles have impressed me the least. Not because they are too ripe or too old, but because they seem to be stuck in limbo. They have not developed a strong Bordeaux profile after 20 years and that is a bit of a concern now. The wine is single pieced, perfectly balanced and never gives you a reason to quib and complain, yet it doesn't wow by any means. Its rather quiet and shy and I think that this is probably in its rebalance mode after 20 years because the structure and freshness is all there. I put this in the HOLD_camp for 5 years now. (3342 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 10/6/2023 & rated 93 points: The 2003 Leoville Poyferre shows a beautiful, fresh, plush, almost-overripe raspberry nose, full of cedar, leather, and a little potpourri. It's on the palate that the signature of the vintage is found with a rather lush, low-acid profile that almost makes it better suited to drinking on its own rather than with food. There's nothing particularly off-base here in terms of the fruit quality or oak (unlike many 2003s) yet nor has this really reached the highest echelon of Leoville Poyferre. Followed for 5 hours then revisited the 16 hours after opening, this actually shows best at its debut, becoming a little darker-fruited in disposition and less detailed with air. (3707 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 10/6/2023 & rated 96 points: Surprisingly fresh, texturally, the wine is opulent, silky, and showy on the palate, but the nose is not overripe. Instead, you find dark red berries, licorice, smoke, and perhaps touches of a robusto cigar wrapper. There is no reason to wait here, if you have a bottle, pull a cork. Drink from 2023-2030. (4936 views) | | | Tasted by Alexander Smith on 10/5/2023 & rated 94 points: Brief tasting note,
This did not taste like a 2003, no high Al or currents on the nose. This showed notes of dark lush fruit, chocolate, forest earth and black pepper. The palate had waves of dark fruit, mocha and spice, the palate was plump and warm yet with a spicy undertone, ripe fine tannins and a long slightly rich finish. A modern Bordeaux yet still a Bordeaux, kept well I feel this has a few years ahead of it. (2911 views) | | | Tasted by Vino Me on 10/5/2023 & rated 92 points: 3rd time I have had this wine. It is holding it's own but does not seem to have improved much since I last had it in 2015. A dirty purple color. Aromas of wet earth. Integrated tannins with cassis, blackberry and tutti frutti. A little sweeter than the Leoville Barton we drank next to it. Some oxidation on the finish. 91-92 points. (2623 views) | | | Tasted by d'Artagnan on 10/4/2023 & rated 93 points: Dégustation Spottswoode avec Beth Weber Novak: À l'aveugle.
J’hésite vers Pauillac, on me dit non. Joli nez bordelais un peu boisé. C’est rond et suave, moderne, mais les tanins sont fins. Millésime solaire. Un grand charmeur. Le côté rond, charmeur et boisé me fait trouver le domaine au 2e essai, j’étais relativement fier, mais j'ai pensé à un 2009 vu le côté solaire, ce qui n'était pas si fou. 93 pts (2499 views) | | | Tasted by sastewart on 9/22/2023 & rated 95 points: Wine Dinner with older Napa/Bordeaux. Opened 2 hours ahead. Beautiful bouquet of ripe cassis and cigar box. Medium body with plenty of dark fruit along with some earth and secondary tobacco notes a long bordeaux finish. My 16th bottle of 18. Purchased as futures and stored at 55 degrees. This wine remains in its prime and I doubt it will improve from here but it is outstanding now. Fit nicely with a 97 Togni, 01 Hillside, 88 Dunn Howell Mountain and a 2002 Pride Reserve Cabernet. Solid 95 points (2400 views) | | | Tasted by Marc on 9/11/2023 & rated 94 points: Stunning. Certainly the product of a warm vintag2, but this is defined, cedars, earthy, and focused. Rich and complete, it is mature, but is also hinting at at least another decade of evolution. (2704 views) | | | Tasted by ChrisR on 9/1/2023: Very similar to my last note. Powerful nose. Black raspberries and dark berries, quite a bit of green, like fresh-cut juniper, some spice. A bit soft, but not heavy. The softness makes the wine seem a bit prematurely aged, but otherwise it seems authentically Bordeaux. (2494 views) | | | Tasted by vagrantone on 9/1/2023 & rated 93 points: First bottle of 2003 Bordeaux wine tasted.
This bottle left a very nice impression.
Decanted about 6 hours prior to serving, which seemed a very good choice.
It clearly shows the "hot" nature of the 2003 but in a positive way.
I find the wine very skillfully made, avoiding over-extraction; yet creating a wine that has aged nicely for 20 years.
dominated by a very ripe plum fruit character, cedar and gravel.
Despite the vintage, the St Julien character shines through.
Drinking at its peak now.
A treat! (2539 views) | | | Tasted by hkbob on 8/19/2023 & rated 93 points: A step down from several other bottles of this enjoyed over the past few years. The aromatics were the star feature with fairly pronounced cigar box, sous-bois and cedar and a touch of sweetness. But the palate lacked the fleshiness of prior encounters leaning instead toward astringency and a shortish finish and barely perceptible secondary nuances of dark fruit. This may have been on an expedited evolutionary track. Still enjoyed but not to the same lofty heights as before. (3037 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Georgina Hindle
Decanter, Château Léoville Poyferré: producer profile (3/30/2022)
(Château Léoville Poyferré, Cabernet Sauvignon, St-Julien, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (10/13/2021)
(Ch Léoville Poyferré St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (3/8/2021)
(Ch Léoville Poyferré St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (3/1/2021)
(Ch Léoville Poyferré St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (2/24/2021)
(Château Léoville Poyferré St.-Julien, Red, France) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, December 2018 (12/1/2018)
(Château Léoville-Poyferré St Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jane Anson
Decanter, JA Château Léoville Poyferré vertical 2018 (6/13/2018)
(Château Léoville Poyferré, St-Julien, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, June 2016 (6/1/2016)
(Château Léoville-Poyferré St Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (3/21/2013)
(Ch Léoville Poyferré St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, March 2013 (3/1/2013)
(Château Léoville-Poyferré St Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (9/13/2012)
(Ch Léoville Poyferré St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (10/1/2010)
(Ch Léoville Poyferré St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (5/28/2009)
(Ch Léoville Poyferré St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (5/19/2009)
(Ch Léoville Poyferré St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (1/23/2008)
(Ch Léoville Poyferré St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | The World of Fine Wine, December 2007, Issue #18
(Château Léoville Poyferré) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (11/3/2005)
(Ch Léoville Poyferré St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, October 2005
(Chateau Léoville-Poyferré St Julien) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2005, IWC Issue #120
(Chateau Leoville Poyferre Saint Julien) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (4/7/2005)
(Ch Léoville Poyferré St-Julien Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2004, IWC Issue #114
(Chateau Leoville Poyferre Saint Julien) Subscribe to see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, Léoville-Poyferré 1936-2018 (Sep 2022)
(Léoville-Poyferré Léoville-Poyferré Red) Subscribe to see review text. |  By Gary Vaynerchuk
Wine Library TV, Bringing the Thunder, Episode #240 (5/22/2007)
(CHAT LEOVILLE POYFERRE) #1; COLOR-dark; NOSE-classic bell pepper, V8 juice, black cassis, black currant, musty (like an attic); TASTE-incredibly silky on the attack through the finish, this is a polished Old World wine w/ beautiful extracted New World fruit (hot 2003 vintage), perfect balance & harmony, extremely good, black currant & cassis, red cherries, beautiful raspberries, secondary layers of smoked tobacco, really ripe candied flavors on the finish, smooth as a wine gets, this is Ultimate Bordeaux; RP-98; GV-97+ 97+ points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (10/7/2006)
(Château Léoville Poyferré) Very reticent, faint berry nose; complex on palate, concentrated, berry, cassis, vanilla palate; long finish 93 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Decanter and JancisRobinson.com and JamesSuckling.com and Winedoctor and The World of Fine Wine and Vinous and Wine Library TV and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Château Léoville Poyferré Producer website - Read more about Chateau Leoville Poyferre
A visit to Leoville Poyferre -https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/08/chateau-leoville-poyferre.html
Source: VinConnect (VinConnect.com)
Léoville, dating back to 1638, was the largest vineyard in the Médoc region. Jean de Moytié, Counselor of the Bordeaux Parliament and nobleman, owned a beautiful gravel slope of vineyard near the Garonne River. At the time it was named after its owner, Mont-Moytié.
In 1740, Jean de Moytié’s great granddaughter married Alexander de Gascq, whose family owned what is now Château Palmer. With great ambition, Alexander began imposing his style by changing the name from Mont-Moytié to Léoville (Lionville). His aim was to make Léoville a model estate and the reference point for the best Médoc wine. He invested and innovated, planting smaller grape varieties, bordering the rows with pinewood, renovating the cellar and aging the free-run wine in barrels. After Alexander’s death and 35 years of expansion and planting, Léoville in Saint-Julien was the largest property in the Médoc, stretching over 300 acres.
One hundred years and numerous transactions later, Léoville Poyferré was born. Although the property was by then much smaller, its outstanding wines gained early recognition and the property was ranked 2nd Growth in the 1855 Classification. In 1920, Paul and Albert Cuvelier, at the time well-known Bordeaux wine brokers, decided to invest in Médoc vineyards and acquired Château Léoville Poyferré.
The Cuvelier Family had previously purchased Château Le Crock in 1903, at the time a classified First Cru Bourgeois Supérieur of Saint-Estèphe. Château Le Crock is surrounded by the Classified Growths Château Cos d’Estournel and Château Montrose, and has a magnificent park, vast meadows and an island. Later the family added Château Moulin Riche, a classified Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, in 1932.
This portfolio of Bordeaux properties continues to be managed by the Cuvelier Family. Didier Cuvelier runs the Château Léoville Poyferré since 1979 and Olivier Cuvelier manages the wine merchant company H.Cuvelier & Fils since 1985. Château Léoville Poyferré, Château Moulin Riche and Château Le Crock all benefit from the same attention by the technical and winemaking team of Château Léoville Poyferré.
Only the best grapes make it into the Grand Vin Léoville Poyferré — fruit from the youngest vines becomes the Pavillon de Léoville Poyferré, while Château Moulin Riche is vinified out of a 20-hectare separate plot which is situated next to Château Talbot.
Since Didier Cuvelier took over the Chateau, the family has invested time and resources in qualitative measures to restructure and improve winemaking techniques and technology. Supported by consultant Michel Rolland since 1994, they have rediscovered the chateau’s admired classical style, characterized by rich tannins, finesse and unrivaled silky texture. The Léoville-Poyferré Grand vin is a wine that benefits immeasurably from ageing; it can be approached after 12 to 15 years, but it will age gracefully for 40 years, in some cases even longer.
With the epic 1982 vintage, Léoville-Poyferré recaptured the magic of the late 19th century, and its resurgence culminated with the 2009 vintage when it received the highly-coveted and rare 100-point score from Robert Parker.Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanMédoc Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the Medoc
VdB
The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines.St. Julien VdB
Read more detailed information on St. Julien and its wines The seventeenth century pioneers Traces are to be found of a Saint-Julien de Rintrac, perhaps Saint-Julien's earliest name, as from the thirteenth century. But we have to wait until the seventeenth century pioneers, urban and rural aristocrats, discover the exceptional merits of these terroirs.
Traces of this system still exist today in the structure of estates within the appellation: by the side of the two villages of Beychevelle and Saint-Julien, the large estates are heavily preponderant, representing more than four fifths of the total surface of vineyards.
The terrain is practically identical over all the commune. Only the proximity of the estuary, sometimes close, sometimes further away, can cause slight variations in climate. In fact, Saint-Julien-Beychevelle's layer of gravel takes the form of a huge rectangle over 3 miles long and 2 miles wide. And the alluvial deposits are particularly well fragmented into ridges of Garonne gravel of the early Quaternary. Accordingly, the vines are safeguarded from stagnant water.
The wines from the Saint-Julien appellation may be recognized by their unparalleled bouquet, particularly harmonious and mild. They have a fine deep colour and combine the finesse of their aromas and a solid constitution. They have body, are very rich in flavour and have a delicious and delicate bouquet.
Production conditions (Decree dated November 14, 1936)
In order to have the right to the Saint-Julien appellation of controlled origin, red wines must:
- come from the commune of Saint-Julien and from precisely defined parcels in the communes of Cussac, and Saint-Laurent, "excluding the parcels situated on recent alluvium and sand on impermeable subsoils",
- satisfy precise production conditions: grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare). |
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