A dark, fleshy wine, the Léoville Poyferré 2012 is round, succulent and deeply expressive. Dark red cherry, plum, mocha, graphite and lavender are fused together in an effortless, silky Saint-Julien built on texture. Striking and totally beautiful, the 2012 will be ready to deliver its charms early. All the elements are in the right place. This is a gorgeous showing from Léoville-Poyferré. The 2012 is perhaps not an epic wine, but is gorgeous today and should provide considerable pleasure over the next 15-20 years. The blend is 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot.

This is chewy with a balanced and polished tannin structure. Full body, with very good depth. Long finish. It keeps going on and on. Very well done. Better than 2011. 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, and 6% Petit Verdot. Merlot made it happen here.

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.

(62% Cabernet Sauvignon/32% Merlot/6% Petit Verdot) Nose very classy - great oak, sensitively handled, great terroir, this is a proper glass of wine! Big, beautiful structure, great freshness but no greeness. Proper cabernet fruit, broad, expansive tannins. 36hl/ha yield and interestingly no Cabernet Franc this year.

Tasted twice with consistent notes, the Grand Vin is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot (there is no Cabernet Franc unlike in 2011.) It was picked between 8th October and 19th October at 36hl/ha, when there was a torrential downpour and two plots were spoiled. The grapes were sorted on an Italian optical sorting machine. There is certainly impressive purity and intensity on the nose with ripe blackberry dark plum and touches of vanilla, a little more exotic than the 2011 this time last year. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe sweet tannins. It is typically relatively modern in style, quite opulent for a 2012 with a rounded, velvety finish with plush new oak (85%). Very fine. Tasted April 2013.

[62CS/32M/6PV] A fine, rich blackcurrant cabernet nose, subtle oak and mineral; elegantly balanced in a firmer expression of the year, firmly tannic, fresh in acidity, plenty of matter; lovely sweet fruit, long and complex and minerally, a rich, fleshy and vital within the firm tannins which suggest a long gestation, and a fine, delicate, fruit cored persistence. 2025-35+ [M.Schuster, Bordeaux Mar/Apr 2013]

Quality 923 | Brand 971 | Economics 812 | buzz brand
Quality: Predicted life of 16 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group for the 2012 vintage, which averages 9 years Brand: We found this wine on 22 of the world's top restaurant wine lists, including Napa Wine Bar & Kitchen Economics: Above its peer group average price of £33 for the 2012 vintage Production: Higher production than its peer group average of 186,000 bottles

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017

Solid, with good flesh around the core of plum and blackberry fruit. Shows ample dark toast and ganache notes, displaying chewy yet integrated grip. —J.M.

This wine seemed primary and not totally filled out or complete. No doubt it will put on some weight given the significant Merlot content in the final blend. There is a certain firmness, stiffness and lack of intensity on the mid-palate, and some tannins kick in in the finish. Nevertheless, there is more to this wine than first meets the palate. It is medium to full-bodied with an opaque color, good ripeness and some attractive weight, but is closed and hard. It needs time to pull itself together, and it should turn out to be an excellent, possibly outstanding effort.

Deep ruby. Subdued aromas of smoky blackberry and violet, along with a slightly raw herbal/peppery component. Then supple and round in the mouth, but with a diffuse quality to the dark berry and chocolate flavors. A wine of modest complexity, finishing with only average length and with slightly bitter tannins.

Drink 2022-2038 Dark purple. Some real energy hidden in this, not desperately expressive wine. Voluptuous on the palate. Gosh what a lot of effort has gone into this. Full marks for effort… Lots of lusciousness and then it's drawn to a dry close like someone tightening a purse string. Though I'd guess not too much purse-string tightening while making this… Appealing freshness.

62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot. 18–20 months in French oak, 80% new. Malo in barrel. pH 3.76. Deep crimson and similar in colour to the 2014, with just a hint of deep brick-red at the rim. I find the aroma quite similar to the 2014 too, that same warm spice, a sort of biscuity note, but here the fruit is a little more evolved though still clearly black- and dark-red fruited on the nose. On the palate the fruit is more evolved, with the tertiary flavours showing more clearly and overall a leaner specimen. Certainly fresh enough but doesn’t have the persistence of 2014. Fine and very dry texture but not out of balance. (JH)