Wine Advisor
Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre 2020
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Sporting a deep garnet-purple color, the 2020 Pavillon de Léoville Poyferré is equally as bold and expressive at this youthful stage as its grand vin, leaping from the glass with pronounced Black Forest cake, boysenberries and blackcurrant pastilles scents, plus wafts of Indian spices and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is coated with vibrant black fruits with a soft texture and just enough freshness, finishing on a fragrant earth note.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 Pavillon de Léoville Poyferré has a clean and precise bouquet with blackberry and briary, pencil lead and light undergrowth scents. The palate is fresh and vibrant on the entry, quite an elegant Pavillon, focused with an almost Pauillac-like graphite element that lends tension towards the finish. Good persistence here, this is a very capable Deuxième Vin.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Currant and dark chocolate with walnut and cedar undertones. It’s medium-bodied with creamy tannins. Juicy finish. 68% cabernet sauvignon, 24% merlot, 6% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. Excellent second wine. Needs five or six years to come around.
About the Producer
Léoville Poyferré shares much of its early history with the Léoville estate- the mother of the châteaux Poyferré, Barton and Las-Cases. Léoville was split after to the death of its owner Alexandre de Gascq and the impending French Revolution. A quarter of the original estate remained, belonging to Jeanne Poyferré whose name it took on henceforth. All three of the estates which had originally together been Léoville won the ranking of deuxième crus in the 1855 classification, but through the middle of the 20th century, Léoville Poyferré’s reputation began to dwindle as a result of poor wines. In 1979, the estate passed to Didier Cuvelier, an accountant with shrewd business sense who was able to recognise the investment required to put Poyferré back on the map of wine-lovers world over. Didier hired experts Emile Peynaud and Michel Rolland, modernised facilities and shifted the focus of his vines to Cabernet Sauvignon and has since been rewarded by seeing the quality of his wines go from strength to strength.
