Château Léoville-Poyferré

One of three estates carved from the great Léoville property — Bordeaux's largest vineyard at over 200 hectares before it was divided from 1840 — alongside Léoville-Las Cases and Léoville-Barton. Ranked a 2ème Cru Classé in the 1855 classification, it takes its name from Baron Jean-Marie de Poyferré de Cères, who married into the family that inherited this share. The négociant Cuvelier family, in the Bordeaux trade since 1804, bought the estate in 1920; its modern renaissance began in 1979 when Didier Cuvelier took charge, brought in oenologist Émile Peynaud (and later Michel Rolland in 1994), and launched a nineteen-year replanting program that lifted the wine back to the front rank of Saint-Julien.

About 80 hectares under vine, planted to roughly 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot at 8,500 vines/ha, averaging around 45 years old with some Cabernet Sauvignon dating to the 1940s. The vineyard is mostly gravel over sand, clay, and limestone, spread across five blocks and 43 parcels dispersed through the commune, its best plots near the D2 (Route du Médoc) where they intermingle with Léoville-Las Cases and Léoville-Barton and reach the Pauillac border at Pichon-Lalande. The grand vin is aged around 18 months in an average of about 75% new French oak. Didier Cuvelier retired after the 2017 vintage; his niece Sara Lecompte Cuvelier now manages the estate. Second wines: Château Moulin Riche and Pavillon de Léoville-Poyferré.