2017 Château Léoville Poyferré

Community Tasting Note

Mark1npt Likes this wine:

94 Points

Sunday, October 22, 2023 - First one of these from the cellar. Decanted for 2 hours prior to putting back into the bottle to take to HMCs for dinner.

Great floral, perfumed nose to start. Better than the palate was initially and for the first 2-3 hours. The palate was very light, red fruited and a tad tart at the pnp. Air is this wine's friend! At 4+ hours this gains weight, it darkens a bit and really smooths out. Before that it's a bit closed/tannic. You can easily pour these now if you want for their more modern profile, just give them at least 4 hours of air to shine. 89 at the pnp.....90-91 2 hours in, and 94 after 4 hours of air....smooth, spicy, perfumed, solid. Some say this is an off year in Bdx...I'm not buying it.

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10 comments have been posted

Comment posted by WineGuyDelMar:

10/22/2023 5:35:00 PM - Haven’t bought or tried any 17’s. I image they will be like 2012 or 2014. Are they worth buying?
Comment posted by Mark1npt:

10/22/2023 5:47:00 PM - I got this one at first tranche for $79 and it is a great buy at that price. Some consider '17 a bad year, it wasn't bad. It just wasn't '16, '18, or '19! Those were superlative vintages. This is a more restrained vintage, smooth and integrated with time tonight. I don't know that it ever gets better than 94, but I'm ok with that. A more traditional Bdx take if you will, vs the Napa like big fruit vintages of '16, '18 and '19.
Comment posted by WineGuyDelMar:

10/22/2023 5:52:00 PM - For BDX I much prefer 10 & 15 vs 09 & 16. For a little more isn’t it better just to buy 15’s? At $79…That’s a great price for this wine. 14 isn’t a bad year either. Only compared to 09, 10, 16, 16, 18 & 19.
Comment posted by Mark1npt:

10/22/2023 6:58:00 PM - I'm totally with you on the vintages, but we were THERE in '17, had lunch at the Chateau and wanted some wines from our visit that year so I bought them knowing, they were 'good' not 'great'. Happy I did. Some Bdx people ONLY buy the best years where they can make the most money off their investments when they go to sell, or brag to their friends. I buy my wines for sentimental reasons for what memories they provided, and to DRINK! This was well worth $79! Maybe it'll be worth $125 eventually? I don't really care as I plan on drinking all mine. With thousands of bottles bought over the last 20+ years, I've never ever sold one bottle yet. I'm very proud of that ........
Comment posted by Wine G:

10/25/2023 3:12:00 PM - Just packed away a 6-pack of the LP 2020s in my cabinet....love the black anniversary bottles!
Comment posted by Mark1npt:

10/25/2023 6:23:00 PM - Wine G.....you will not be disappointed. My last buy was '18. I'm getting too old for '20s! Lol.....I'm sure you will love them, a great producer and very good qpr. Cheers!
Comment posted by Wine G:

10/26/2023 8:25:00 AM - Agreed! I've been on the LP and LB train since 2015... overall some of the best bang for the buck in bordeaux, no doubt!
Comment posted by Mark1npt:

10/26/2023 8:44:00 AM - Yes, the qpr is quite good. Nothing beats having really good wines at really good prices! Cheers!
Comment posted by Juliansi:

10/26/2023 6:05:00 PM - Great to hear that one should not be put off by the 2017, Mark1NPT.. and I like your prep information too. Wow... I like the evolution of the score, up to 94 with more and more air!!

I have a pair of 2014s in my cellar, and waiting for delivery of some bigger vintages of Leoville Poyferres (1996, 2003/5/9) to join the cellar too. Will only take delivery when I free up some space, but there are some big weekends planned over the next three weeks.. so maybe I have a chance!

All the best...
Comment posted by Mark1npt:

10/26/2023 6:17:00 PM - Julian, not all '17s suffered the same fate in Bdx that year. Some can really hold their own, but again for the investor, they will never buy '17 because it isn't a 99-100 pt vintage and that's all they care about. Cheers my friend!