Tour and Tasting at Château Léoville Poyferré, Saint-Julien, 2ième Grand Cru Classé, with Anne Cuvelier - Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy WineTours 2017, France

Picture: Tasting at Château Léoville Poyferré, Saint-Julien, 2ième Grand Cru Classé, with Anne Cuvelier and Didier Cuvelier

Château Léoville Poyferré exists since 1840, when the big Léoville property was divided into three smaller entities. The current owner, the Cuvelier family, bought Château Léoville Poyferré in 1920. At that time the Cuvelier family was already established in the wine business as important wine merchants in northern France. Since 1979, Didier Cuvelier has managed the estate.

Anne Cuvelier was our host. Didier Cuvelier joined us for the tasting. At the end we were introduced to Sarah Cuvelier, who will take over from Didier Cuvelier next year.

Picture: Arriving at Château Léoville Poyferré, with Anne Cuvelier

The Cuvelier Family in the North of France, in Bordeaux and in Argentina

Château Léoville-Poyferré is owned by the Cuvelier family. The story of the Cuvelier family begins in 1804 when Henri Cuvelier set out to share his great passion for fine wine with his friends of the grand bourgeoisie residing in the rich and dynamic towns of the North of France. To this aim, he created Maison de Négoce de Vins Henri Cuvelier in Haubourdin, a wine merchant company whose success continued to develop throughout the 19th century.

Pictures: Introduction with Anne Cuvelier

100 years later, at the beginning of the 20th century, Paul Cuvelier and his young brother Albert, decided to purchase top quality estates in the Bordeaux area. They bought Château Le Crock in 1903, then Château Camensac in 1912 (which was later sold) and finally the prestigious Château Léoville Poyferré as well as Chateau Moulin Riche in 1920. In 1947, Max Cuvelier opened a second Wine Merchant company in Bordeaux, moving nearer to the family properties.

Two of Max Cuvelier’s children have taken over the family’s activities in Bordeaux: Didier Cuvelier has been running Château Léoville Poyferré, Château Moulin-Riche and Château Le Crock since 1979 and Olivier Cuvelier has been managing the Wine Merchant company H. Cuvelier and Fils in Bordeaux since 1985.

Pictures: Touring Château Léoville Poyferré with Anne Cuvelier

The Haubourdin wine merchant company was sold in 2002. The name has remained unchanged and it continues to distribute the Cuvelier estates wines.

In 1998, the Cuvelier family started to branch out to Argentina. Bertrand Cuvelier, the father of Anne Cuvelier, accompanied Michel Rolland in his great Argentine project, which was to become the “Clos de Los Siete” group. Three years later, Jean-Guy Cuvelier decided to join his cousin Bertrand in the joint aim of building a winery and producing fine wines worthy of the family tradition in Argentina.

Pictures: Harvest was about to beginn at Château Léoville-Poyferré

Château Léoville-Poyferré

The Cuvelier family bought Château Léoville-Poyferré – one of the 3 Léoville estates that currently exist - in 1920. The 3 Léoville chateaux are the result of vast property broken up a long time ago. But up until the French Revolution, Léoville was the largest Médoc wine-growing property.

In the beginning, the Cuveliers did not operate their chateaux themselves. This changed in 1979 with the accession of Didier Cuvelier, who at 26 became the first member of his family to take charge of Léoville – Poyferré along with Moulin Riche and Le Crock. Didier Cuvelier put Léoville – Poyferré on the map of wine lovers all over the world. Didier Cuvelier trained as a chartered accountant before passing the DUAD (a university diploma in wine tasting) in 1976.

The Grand Vin is Château Léoville-Poyferré (20.000 cases). The second wine is Pavillon de Poyferré.

Château Le Crock

The first purchase made by the Cuvelier family was their property in St. Estephe, Chateau Le Crock in 1903. Today the vineyards of Château Le Crock cover a total of 32.5 hectares and touch two of the most prestigious châteaus of the appellation, Château Cos d’Estournel and Château Montrose.

In the (annulled) 2003 Classification, Château Le Crock was a Cru Bourgeois Superieur. In the new system, in 2010, Château Le Crock qualified for the Cru Bourgeois Label.

Picture: Anne Cuvelier in Virginia with Jim Law from Linden Vineyards and Christian Schiller. See: Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Jim Law and his Linden Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux, USA

Picture: Annette Schiller and Anne Cuvelier at Eola in Washington DC. See: Château Léoville-Poyferré Winemaker Dinner with Anne Cuvelier at Eola in Washington DC, USA

Pictures: Armin Diel and wife (Schlossgut Diel), Didier Cuvelier (Leoville Poyferre), Annette Schiller (ombiasy PR and WineTours), Helmut Dönnhoff and daughter (Weingut Doennhoff). See: Weingut Robert Weil, Kiedrich, Rheingau, Germany: Super Sommerfest/Summer Party 2014

Château Moulin Riche

Château Moulin Riche was bought in 1920 by the Cuvelier family. Château Moulin Riche has 49 acres of vines which are planted as follows: 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc.

Pictures: Chatting with Cellar Master Didier Thomann of Château Léoville Poyferré

Château Léoville - Poyferré, Barton and Las-Cases

The Cuvelier family bought Château Léoville-Poyferré – one of the 3 Léoville estates that currently exist - in 1920. The 3 Léoville chateaux are the result of vast property broken up a long time ago. But up until the French Revolution, Léoville was the largest Médoc wine-growing property.

The story of the 3 Léoville estates go back to 1638. At the time, the estate was called Mont-Moytié, named after its founder, Jean de Moytié. Domaine Mont-Moytié remained in the family for almost 100 years. It is through the marriage of one of the Moytié women that the estate passed into the hands of Blaise Antoine Alexandre de Gascq, who was the seigneur of Léoville and a president of the Bordeaux parliament.

The groundwork for the split was laid in 1769, when Blaise Antoine Alexandre de Gascq died without an obvious heir. As a consequence the Léoville estate was inherited by four family members. One of them was the Marquis de Las-Cases-Beauvoir. One quarter was sold off by the four heirs. A number of years later, in 1826, this part of Léoville estate was purchased by Hugh Barton and became Château Léoville Barton.

The other three quarters remained in the family. This was the state of affairs when the Marquis was succeeded in 1815 by his son, Pierre-Jean and his daughter, Jeanne. Pierre-Jean inherited what is now Château Léoville Las Cases, whilst the portion that came to Jeanne was passed onto her daughter, who married Baron Jean-Marie de Poyferré; this is the part that is today Château Léoville-Poyferré.

Pictures: Touring Château Léoville Poyferré

Although the estate bears the name of the Poyferré family to this day, it was not in their ownership for a long time. But it was under the ownership of the Poyferré family when the estate was classified as a deuxième cru in 1855 (as were the Barton and Las-Cases estates).

In 1865 Château Léoville-Poyferré was purchased by Baron d'Erlanger and Armand Lalande, bankers and local courtiers. The Lalande family, and later through marriage also the Lawton family, were in charge of Château Léoville-Poyferré until after World War I had passed. The Cuvelier family bought Château Léoville-Poyferré in 1920.

While the vineyards were separated, the buildings remained connected, just as they are today.

For more information, Jeff Leve from The Wine Cellar Insider has an excellent write-up about Château Léoville-Poyferré on his website.

Tasting

Following the tour, we tasted a series of wines. I have included in parenthesis the current wine searcher average prices in US$ per bottle.

Pictures: Tasting with Anne Cuvelier and Didier Cuvelier

The Wines

Pictures: The Wines

2013 Pavillon de Léoville Poyferré (US$36)

A fantastic wine from parcels of younger vines at Château Léoville Poyferré. It opens with expressive aromas of blackberry and dark cherry followed by spices, violets, graphite and hints of earthiness. The palate is plush with even more dark fruits, spices and woody notes. The finish is long and polished.

2011 Château Moulin Riche (US$68)

This blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 11% Petit Verdot, with Michel Rolland as the consultant, displays a deep ruby/purple color and possesses straightforward notes of black and red currants intermixed with cedar wood, roasted herbs and underbrush. It is a medium-bodied, silky-textured wine to drink over the next 10-15 years. Score: 87 Robert Parker, robertparker.com Maturity: 2013-2028 Date: 01 February 2013

2012 Château Léoville Poyferré (US$81)

Owned by the Cuvelier family since 1920, this property over the last 20 years has made some great wines in the Médoc. The 2012, a blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc, is opaque purple, thick-looking, and from bottle much more impressive than it was from barrel. This very extracted, rich, full-bodied, masculine Léoville Poyferré needs a good 5-8 years of bottle age and should evolve well for at least 20-25 years. Loads of blackberry and cassis, crushed rock and graphite notes are present in this medium to full-bodied, impressively concentrated and pure wine. Forget it for a while, as this is one of the bigger, richer Médocs. Drink: 2020 - 2045. Score: 92+ Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (218), April 2015

2005 Château Léoville Poyferré (US$138)

Léoville Poyferré’s dense ruby/purple 2005 is soft, round and juicy, with lots of blackcurrant fruit, plum and Asian spice. It is medium to full-bodied and, along with Léoville Las Cases and Saint-Pierre, probably one of the best St.-Juliens I tasted in this retrospective. It is surprisingly supple and accessible. Drink it over the next 15 or so years. Drink 2015-2030. Score: 93 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (219), June 2015

Previous Tour - Michel Rolland

This time, we did not bump into Michel Rolland, as we did during the previous tour. Michel Rolland consults with Château Léoville-Poyferré.

Pictures: Michel Rolland Greets us

Being Introduced to the New Managing Director

Before leaving, Anne Cuvelier introduced us to her sister Sarah Cuvelier, who has taken over from Didier Cuvelier earlier this year as Managing Director of Château Léoville-Poyferré.
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