Description

The 80-hectare Saint Julien vineyards of Leoville-Poyferre are planted to 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. On average the vines are 45 years of age.
You can divide their vineyard into 5 different blocks that are fairly dispersed in the appellation. Those blocks can be further subdivided into 43 different separate parcels.
The wine is aged in an average of 75% new, French oak barrels for 18 months before bottling.

Chateau Leoville-Poyferre 2nd Growth St-Julien 2005, and all wines are eligible for at least 5% off any six bottles. And 10% off any 12 bottles. Some wines will be at a more significant discount and not subject to further discounts.

Mont-Moytie was one of the first chateaux in the Medoc to produce wine along with Chateau Margaux and La Tour de Saint-Lambert (aka Chateau Latour). After 100 years the estate ended up as part of the de Gascq family and renamed as Leoville or Lionville. By the time Alexandre de Gascq died, Leoville was one of the biggest vineyards in Bordeaux at more than 200 hectares.
The Saint Julien property was divided in 1840. Pierre Jean de Las Cases, the oldest son received a share, which became Château Leoville Las Cases. His sister, Jeanne, passed on her share to her daughter, wife of Baron Jean-Marie Poyferre de Ceres. That is the birth of what we know as Leoville Poyferre (at first, Baron de Poyferre.) and the Barton family received a share that became Leoville-Barton. The Leoville vineyards were divided but many of the vines remained intermingled, making harvesting a little chaotic from time to time.

In 1920 the Cuvelier family purchased Poyferre. In 1979 Didier Cuvelie took charge of Leoville Poyferre. His teacher was Professor Emile Peynaud who became a consultant too. When taking over, Didier started a massive replanting program that has helped boost the quality of the wines.

 

Chateau Leoville-Poyferre 2nd Growth St-Julien 2005 Wine Review

James Suckling
96 points
“Very clear and translucent with currants, blueberries and fresh mushrooms. Full-bodied with velvety tannins that are layered and beautiful. Together and polished with plushness and beauty.”

Bordeaux

Situated near the Atlantic coast of France. The Gironde, Dordogne and Garonne rivers provide its shape. Cool conditions and frequent rainfall, including during harvest time, make Bordeaux quite a marginal region with vintages frequently ruined by rain or saved from the rain at the last minute by timely sunshine.

St-Julien

Described as ‘the Gentleman’s Claret’ for its elegance and restraint. These wines often impress for the balance but never blow you away with overt characters or brass flavours. St-Julien wines age very well and in a good cellar, the top wines will probably outlive anyone of us.

Cabernet Sauvignon

The noble variety of Bordeaux’s left bank. Firm tannins, a streak of acidity and punctuated by flavours of cassis, violets, spice and leather. The best examples can age for the long-term. Although Cabernet does often require blending with Merlot, Cabernet Franc or Shiraz to fix the hole it has in its middle palate.

Merlot

It gets a tough time most of the places it is grown. But in Pomerol and Saint-Emilion Merlot not only dominates but makes some of the best wines in the world. Perfume, silky and plush. Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon season the wines with structure and acid but in some places, like Petrus, they are almost not needed.

French Wine

The land that so many New World (not European) wine producers look to emulate. To generalise about French wine, I would say it is savoury, lighter-bodied wines. They are the definition of elegant, complex. There are many styles, though. And there is a French wine for every palate. They lead the world in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy. Sparkling Wine in Champagne. Cabernet and Merlot in Bordeaux. Syrah(Shiraz) and Grenache in the Rhone Valley. Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris in Alsace. Sauvignon Blanc, and Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley. Gamay in Beaujolais.

Wine

Wine is the result you get from fermented grape juice. There is proof of wine production dating back 8000 years ago. Fashions, innovations and many other factors have influenced the way wine has evolved over the years.

The wine grape is pretty special. It contains everything you need to make grape wine except for the yeast, which lives on the outside of the skins.

Human inputs can influence the final product. This includes the viticulture (growing) choices. And the winemaker can shape the wine to a point too.

The best wines of the world often refer to terroir. This is a French term that refers to all the climatic, geological and topographical influences on a specific piece of land. And it is true that neighbouring vineyards, grown identically, can taste noticeably different.

Red Wine

Fun fact; most of the colour for wines comes from the skins. There are only a handful of grapes that have red juice. Alicante is the most well known of these grapes.

By macerating the juice on the skins, the wine gains tannins, and flavours. Certain compounds change the chemistry of the wine too.

Red wines tend to have higher alcohol. More tannin and more oak flavours compared to other styles of wine. But the thousands of grapes and terroirs they grow in influence this.

The Wine Depository

I, Phil, have been running The Wine Depository since 2011. The Wine Depository exists to make sure you are drinking the good wines. You can browse and pick what is interesting to you. Or you can make contact with me. I’ll make sure you get what you want, to your palate, to your budget and to your door.