Leoville Poyferre 2018 has been released at €66 per bottle ex-negociant, up 22% on the 2017 release (€54). It is being offered by the trade for £816 per 12×75, up 22.5% on the 2017 release per case (£666).
James Suckling scored the wine a high 97-98 points and said it was “one of the best wines I have ever had from here”.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate), on the other hand, awarded a lower 94 points. In her tasting note she said, “the 2018 Leoville Poyferre begins sporting a veil of cedar, opening out to reveal profound notions of crème de cassis, warm kirsch, Black Forest cake and Indian spices plus hints of chargrilled meats and Sichuan pepper”.
Antonio Galloni (Vinous) occupied the middle ground and gave a barrel range of 94-97 points. In his tasting note he said that, “in its latest incarnation, Leoville-Poyferre is marked by a distinct emphasis on freshness and less extraction than in the past, with sweeter, riper tannins than is the norm. It will be interesting to see if that is an expression of the vintage, or a move toward a gentler approach to winemaking, but I suspect much of it is the latter”.
Other critics to score this year’s Leoville Poyferre favourably included James Molesworth (Wine Spectator, 95-98), Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider, 97-99) and Chris Kissack (The Wine Doctor, 97-99).
Prices for Leoville Poyferre are 83% correlated to our ‘Benchmark Critic’ series. Based on today’s release price of £816 per 12×75, the wine is coming to market above the ‘Fair Value’ line for followers of Perrotti-Brown and Galloni, but significantly below for followers of Suckling.
For those perusing back vintages, the 2016 and 2014 both look like attractive alternatives.
Looking for more?
Our Bordeaux 2018 pages contain everything you need to know about this year’s En Primeur campaign, including:
- Critic scores
- Release prices
- Bordeaux 2018 analysis tool [members only]
- The conversation on social media
- Liv-ex’s fair value methodology
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