Léoville Poyferré - Saint-Julien 2023

Jeb DUNNUCK

97

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/31/2026

Heavenly stuff, the 2023 Château Léoville Poyferré checks in as 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot that spent 18-20 months in 80% new French oak. It brings more sexiness and richness than most in the vintage, yet it isn't over the top and plays in the more classic, elegant style of the vintage. Crème de cassis, spring flowers, violets, graphite, and spicy wood all show on the nose, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a pure, graceful, and layered mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. I love its purity, and this is just loaded with charm. While it's already hard to resist, it should evolve gracefully on its balance, purity, and elegance. Drink 2030-2055.

The Wine Cellar Insider

96

byJeff Levethe3/30/2026

Espresso, chocolate, truffle, black cherries with flowers, and cinnamon spice in the background open the perfume. On the palate, the wine is silky, lush, opulent, and sexy. This is a superb accomplishment for the vintage. There is freshness, with ample fruit, sweetness, length, energy, and roundness. Interestingly light on its feet, yet it is no featherweight wine. This will age and evolve quite well, but it is going to offer a lot of pleasure in its youth. The wine is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2028-2055.

Vinous

97

byAntonio Gallonithe3/16/2026

The 2023 Léoville-Poyferré is every bit as compelling as it was en primeur. Silky and aromatic, with gorgeous mid-weight balance, the 2023 impresses with class and understated finesse. Black cherry, lavender, menthol, spice, new leather and licorice are all woven together effortlessly. I especially admire the wine's vibrancy and energy, qualities that build effortlessly into a pristine finish that is impossible to forget.

Vinous

95

byNeal Martinthe2/1/2026

The 2023 Léoville-Poyferré was a serious proposition when I tasted it from barrel. Now, in bottle since June '25, it has a typically sensual and very pure bouquet that seems to give the olfactory senses a metaphorical "warm hug." Lush red and blue fruit. The palate is beautifully balanced with very supple, very chiseled tannins. It has the sensuality associated with Poyferré, yet there is admirable structure and grip behind it. As such, I have little doubt that it will age gracefully over many years.

Jamessuckling.com

97

byJames Sucklingthe1/27/2026

A very solid and intense wine with plenty of pure blackberry, blueberry and chocolate character but still subtle and sophisticated. It's full-bodied, very structured, chewy and caressing, with pretty tannins and a long finish. Needs four or five years to soften. Best after 2029.

My Bettane + Desseauve

97

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/15/2024

Très grande réussite, aromatique typique du secteur des Léoville (cèdre et fruits noirs) et dans ce millésime la densité d’un grand cru de Pauillac. Magnifique grain de tannin : c’est l’une des stars du millésime.

Yvesbeck.wine

95-97

byYves Beckthe5/14/2024

Das Bouquet von Poyferré ist voller Subtilität, Klarheit und Finesse. Blumige Nuancen wie Pfingstrosen vermischen sich mit Johannisbeeren, Lakritz und süßen Gewürzen, ergänzt durch klassische Graphitnuancen. Der Wein ist dicht, tief und zeigt eine überzeugende Gelassenheit. Er ist charmant zu Beginn, aber das hindert ihn nicht daran, auch seine Kraft und sein Temperament zu betonen und schließlich seine Ausgewogenheit hervorzuheben. Ein außergewöhnlicher Wein, lang, einladend und geeignet, den kommenden Jahrzehnten zu trotzen!

Jeb DUNNUCK

95-97

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/13/2024

As to the Grand Vin 2023 Château Léoville Poyferré, it's similarly purple-hued and has a perfumed, upfront profile in its red and black fruits as well as notes of graphite, spicy wood, and spring flowers. It's quintessential Saint-Julien on the palate with its supple, elegant profile, and it’s medium to full-bodied, with a deep, layered mid-palate, gorgeous tannins, and a great finish. It's a stunning 2023 with depth, richness, and length. The blend is 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Petit Verdot.

The Wine Cellar Insider

95-97

byJeff Levethe5/6/2024

Flowers, cherry pipe tobacco, herbs, currants, black raspberries, licorice, and smoke open the perfume. On the palate, the wine is silky, vibrant, rich, and refined. There is freshness, with ample fruit, which allows you to focus on the finish which is all about the sweet, clean, and pure red fruits with their lift, and energy. This is interestingly light on its feet, yet it is no featherweight wine. Holding its own, this is quite fresh, almost vivacious on the palate. and in the red berry finish. The oak already feels well integrated into the wine. The wine blends 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. 13% ABV, Drink from 2028-2055. 95-97 Pts.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

98

byJane Ansonthe5/6/2024

Brilliant Poyferré, deep ruby colour, setting the scene for ink, campfire, espresso, mint, cassis and damson. Concentrated but with a delicious balance, this feels effortless and is truly a wine for Bordeaux lovers to seek out. Harvest September 14 to October 5. 80% new oak, 52hl/h yields, biggest since 2004, with more 1st wine than usual because the old Cabernet Sauvignon plots gave quality and quantity (after three low quantity years). Alix Combes new vineyard manager, replacing long time manager Bruno Clenet.

Vinous

95-97

byAntonio Gallonithe4/30/2024

The 2023 Léoville-Poyferré is positively stellar. Medium in body, vibrant and beautifully persistent, the 2023 is all class. It also signals a shift away from the richer (but equally successful) style favored here in the recent past, now moving toward an approach that favors more vibrancy. Dark red-toned fruit, blood orange, spice, mocha and cedar infuse the 2023 with notable freshness and verve. The new Léoville-Poyferré is quite the stunner. Tasted two times.

Vinous

95-97

byNeal Martinthe4/29/2024

The 2023 Léoville-Poyferré was picked from September 14 until October 5 at 52.78hL/ha and aged in slightly less new oak than usual, simply because of the large volume. In fact, some of the lots commenced their malolactic fermentation in vat rather than barrel. This has an intense bouquet with black cherries and iodine, becoming more floral with aeration. The palate opens with a medium body and pliant tannins, fleshy and ripe, dovetailing into a dense and multi-tiered mid-palate. Typical Poyferré in style, blood orange and light graphite notes are embroidered into the ripe black fruit, and there is noticeable glycerol on the finish. It is perhaps the most opulent of the three Léovilles, and yet it arrives with a modest 13.1% alcohol. This is a contender for the best Saint-Julien in show.

Falstaff

95

byPeter Moserthe4/29/2024

Inky deep ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, brightening on the rim. Delicate blackberryish nuances, ripe cherries, a hint of cassis and fine oak wood. Taut, ele- gant, dark berryish fruit, fine, integrated tannins, cool, lingers long, shows length and good ageing potential; this year in a balanced, elegant style.

Alexandre Ma

95-96

byAlexandre Mathe4/28/2024

Wine Advocate

93-95

byWilliam Kelleythe4/26/2024

Aromas of cassis, plums, pencil shavings and toasty new oak introduce the 2023 Léoville Poyferré, a medium to full-bodied, rich and chunky wine with a deep core of succulent fruit framed by sweet, generously extracted tannins. It's a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot that saw some saignée and osmosis for additional concentration. As usual, it's the creamiest, most "modern"-styled of the three Léovilles. Harvest began on September 14 and concluded on October 5, with fermentations a little cooler than usual, perhaps an intimation of a stylistic evolution in progress.

Jamessuckling.com

95-96

byJames Sucklingthe4/25/2024

This is already very pretty and polished with plenty of currant and plum character. Medium- to full-bodied with creamy, round tannins and a juicy finish. Caressing. Very refined.