TN 1996 Ch. Leoville Poyferre, or accidents will happen

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

Just a last-minute grab and go and boy did I walk into one. I would say this wine drank at a level shown only by the top handful of wines in my experience, and it wasn't really anticipated. My last recollection of this a few years ago was of a pretty austere and either a drying up or just not showing well wine. Add to it some questions/disappointments with '96s floated here recently ... but enough, now for the wine.

High pitched and full bodied, great cut, great scale, very classy. This harkens back to the juicy exuberance this wine showed on release. I recall it as being like smokey Welch's grape drink. Now just add that veneer or patina of maturity. Something in the bouquet that was both an aroma and a palpable sensation. Some blueberries and dense figgieness to the flavors. Perhaps the only thing missing was better or at least more elegant food to do it more justice, but it went well with home-made pizza.

If I could have just one wine that says, left bank, here it is, or maybe, St. Julien here it is, this would be it for me. And if I was looking to pay a price now, I would opt for this one as opposed to something from any recent exalted vintage.

[jckba]

It’s always nice when a wine surprises to the upside, nice note.

[AKR]

We had one a summer or so ago, but it wasn't as nice as yours sounds. I have one left I think, and pulled it recently.

[Nicklasss]

After all these years, i'm happy to read that you liked a Léoville Poyferré. Not that I notice you did not liked it before Art, but there is a general misunderstanding about the 2nd Classified Growth. Seems like it is the no 3, of the 3 Léoville...

As every bottle is different, i guess that Léoville Poyferré is as good as or a hair behind the other Saint Julien called Léoville. Same kind of terroir, vinified next door to LLC, 2 times BWE WOTY (LLC awarded for the first time lately with a light controversy, and Léoville Barton that everyones love never awarded!).

Léoville Poyferré is a great wine, from the best aoc of the Médoc, Saint- Julien. Period.

Nic

[AlexR]

I was particularly impressed with the 2009 LP en primeur, as I was with the other top wines of St. Julien.

I have a couple of bottles in the cellar, and hope that they turn out as well as I had hoped.

Alex R.

[jckba]

I was particularly impressed with the 2009 LP en primeur, as I was with the other top wines of St. Julien.

That’s the same way that I felt about the 2010.

[JimHow]

What the heck do I do with my 3L of 1996 Leoville Poyferre.

[JonB]

Leoville Poyferre is one of my favorites. They seem to be made in a slightly more modern style, but I enjoy them with age, and still have a few 89-point RP 1989s in the cellar (I may have shared one with Nic when he was in Seattle some time ago).

[JimHow]

Leoville Poyferre is the only property that has the distinction of garnering two BWE Wine of the Year awards, from the 2002 and 2008 vintages.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

I would say Nic that I prefer this Leo P to any Leo B I've had--there's considerable joie de vivre in the glass unlike Leo B which I find kind of stern. While I've liked what I've tasted of aged LLC I can't say I have any idea what that wine is like along a maturity curve. Sadly though with the exception it seems of Leo B in "drinkers vintages" these chateau are out of my comfort zone price wise. If I'm in the area and looking for a classed growth the best I can do is kick the tires on a Talbot, pretty much. But I agree, when one says "claret" I'm pretty much thinking, "St. Julien."

[DavidG]

What the heck do I do with my 3L of 1996 Leoville Poyferre.

One of your big lawyer Christmas parties? I'd say a BWE Convention but getting it there would be a pain.

Really large formats promise a lot of fun, and can be if opened for a large enough group. But finding the right time and place to do it can be a hassle. I've owned only 2 bottles larger than a magnum. A 3L of 1988 Beaucastel, which will be opened for the Friday night BWE DC dinner, and a 6L of 1989 Guiraud, which went off to auction when we downsized.

[JimHow]

I’ll certainly bring it to a BWE event, I just wonder when it might be at peak!

[DavidG]

Ahh, I see I misinterpreted.

Well CT notes are all over, from drink up soon to in a sweet spot right now to needs more time. Several people whose palate I trust say it's ready to drink now. But from a 3L?

If I believed Coravin was reliably safe for truly long term storage after sampling (I don't), that would be one way to try it.

Or you could go with the standard Blanquito response and give it another 5 years. But don't ask again or you'll forever be 5 years from opening it.

[DavidG]

Some guy on CT had this to say in 2010:

In the end: A very impressive showing tonight from this 1996 Leoville Poyferre. I'll give it a 93+. It was a St. Julien Duhart Milon tonight, with beautifully ripe black currant fruit, cedar and RMP "pencil shavings" on the nose, deep Asian Lafite/Duhart ruby/purple color, I don't want to create an issue where none presently exists, but this is a Hong Kong / Singapore kind of wine.... If Alfred Tesseron were running this estate it would be featured at or near the top (behind Lafite, Carruades, Duhart, in that order) at the finest restaurants in the East. Tremendous nineteen-ninety-six bouquet. This wine is fourteen years old and reaching its "plateau of maturity" <rolls eyes>, but will age well for another twenty years. Earth and leather in the end, like one of those old-school Gruaud Laroses. It will be fun to watch this wine turn into something different, a tobacco and coffee aging old-styled claret. I have a 3L of this wine that I'll probably uncork in about 15-20 years. Right now, this impressive, "layered" wine continues to soar.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

Just curious David what was the thought process behind a 6L dessert wine purchase?

Jim, my bottle of Leo P really tasted like a brand-new mature wine, if that makes any sense. It had that veneer or patina of maturity but was remarkably fresh and juicy with lovely acidity. Wide open for business but with that cut, verve or nerve that seems to be a sine qua non of classic Bordeaux. My bottle probably would evolve positively for another decade, and this, remember is after a couple of years of uncontrolled Hawaiian climate storage. My guess is larger formats with cool, reasonable stable storage would be remarkably unevolved at this point.

[DavidG]

Art, 1989 was my daughter's birth year, and I envisioned pouring it at her wedding. Over time I realized that the spectacle of a huge bottle might be lost on most and perhaps even detract from the real focus of the celebration. Nevertheless I held on to it, thinking an occasion might arise. But when we moved to wine cabinets instead of a walk-in cellar, there just wasn't going to be room any longer.

[Nicklasss]

The 3L must be open on a 3 days offline in Maine, and sample 1L a day.

Or bring it to Canada, for Justin Trudeau to drink it alone, while changing and showing different costumes.

Or send it to the Olympic men canadian hockey team, to forget they lost against Germany, and their "promotion" to artistic skating...

Nic

[marcs]

As I said on another thread, I am planning on bringing a vertical of Leoville Poyferre to the Saturday dinner, featuring the 1996, 2000, and 2003 LPs. All good vintages.

I bought the 2000 and 2003 at release but the 1996 is secondary market, I hope it was well treated.

I think I started collecting like a decade or so later than a lot of you guys, in 2001, so I don't have so many wines at the current peak Bdx years of about 1985-1996. But I don't think opening a 2000 is infanticide any more, many are entering a stage of early maturity.

My 1996 is just a 750, I bow before Jim!

[Nicklasss]

That will be just fine Marcs. I'll be happy meeting you for the first time, with a glass of Leo Poy. The 2000 won a BWE convention blind tasting a few years ago.

My big problem, I don't know what i'll bring on Saturday?

Nic

[DavidG]

The 2000 LP won the blind tasting at BWE 14, beating 2000 Pichon Baron and 2000 Calon Segur and their 2002 counterparts by a large margin. I bet it’s even better now. It sounds like the 1996 is drinking really well now too. Looking forward to trying them and the 2003 Marcs.

[Nicklasss]

Happy to see you back JonB. Yes the 1989 that you brought at that dinner in Seattle in 2012 I guess, was way better than a rating of 89. It was the best that night, beating my 2001 Cos d'Estournel easily.

Nic

[stefan]

2000 Leoville-Poyferre is a stunner. Last night I popped and poured a 2000 Lagrange, which is quite good and very typical (a Nic kind of St Julien), but lacks the excitement of L-P.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

Funny, I had the 1999 Lagrange last night. It was very mature and more solid than I expected for the vintage but it did lack excitement, certainly after the 1996 Leo P showing so well earlier in the week. Nice mature claret though.

[Blanquito]

Just picked up a 96 LP on auction after reading this thread. Looking forward to it, never had it before.

[JimHow]

I always found it a pretty quintessential 1996 Medoc but it has been years since I’ve had it.