Excellent depth and complexity with a nice modern touch of cocoa powder to the black olives, pencil shavings, cassis, violets, black mushrooms and dark earth. Full-bodied palate with fresh, vertical tannins and lots of juicy fruit that seamlessly dissolve into the flavorful, persistent finish. Refined power with real length. Drink or hold.

This is very typical for St.-Julien with violets, berries, blackcurrants and crushed stone. Medium to full body with very fine tannins that run the length of the wine. Powdery tannins and a rich finish. Velvety texture. 60% cabernet sauvignon, 26% merlot, 9% cabernet franc and 5% petit verdot.
May 2022

Enjoyably supple texture, silky and juicy with blueberry, raspberry, blackberry and redcurrant fruit, along with liqourice, fennel and a touch of cocoa bean. This is a serious Poyferré with a firm tannic structure and clear ageing potential, more austere at this stage than you often find. Michel Rolland consultant, 45% new oak, 45% 1st wine, 24hl/h yield. Harvest September 28 to October 12.
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux, May 2022

Vivid plum colour, not quite inky but certainly one of the deeper of the vintage, and this is well extracted, carefully done, balanced with cloves, sage and white pepper spice, blueberry fruit, with coffee and cocoa bean, with silky tannins. Good ageing potential. Michel Rolland consultant, 45% new oak, 45% 1st wine, 24hl/h yield. Harvest September 28 to October 12. Tasted twice, absolutely one to look out for, one of the wines of the vintage, to lay down but not for as long as in a normal year. A great example of where 2021 can really offer something worth taking up.

A rich, ripe toasted nose, clearly concentrated. Good fruit density, underlying power and sense of structure. This has personality, it does feel a tiny bit pushed on the palate with acidity opening the expression but the fruitiness fades quite quickly and is replaced by the tannic structure and menthol, herbal Cabernet aspects. It's smooth with a long length. Nice bones for ageing, so give this a few years.

The Grand Vin 2021 Château Léoville Poyferré from this brilliant estate checks in as 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot. It has a serious, concentrated, inward style as well as impressive red and black currant-like fruit supported by notes of graphite, smoked tobacco, spicy oak, and chocolate. With terrific richness, a layered, concentrated mid-palate, and fine tannins, this is clearly one of the gems in the vintage. It needs to be forgotten for just 4-5 years, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it evolve for over two decades.

The 2021 Léoville-Poyferré is classy and polished right out of the gate. All the classic Poyferré signatures come through, but in miniature. The 2021 impresses with its pliant fruit, silky tannins and fine balance. To be sure, the 2021 is a smaller-scaled wine than the norm here over the last few years, but that is the charm of this vintage. Inky dark fruit, pencil shavings, licorice and menthol build into the super-expressive finish. Tasted three times.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous, May 2022

The 2021 Léoville Poyferré shows considerable promise, wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet berries and plums mingled with spices, licorice and petals, framed by a deft touch of creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, supple and fleshy, it's a polished, charming wine with a pretty core of fruit, lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins, concluding with a penetrating finish. It's a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot.
William Kelley, April 2022

More black fruit than some, with plum and blackcurrant, nori. Quite rich in the palate, texturally quite different to the other wines in the vintage so far, some sweetness carried in the tannins. Vineyard stony character comes through. Decent finish. This is a very strong effort given the circumstances.
April 2022

The 2021 Léoville-Poyferré was picked from 28 September until 12 October at just 24hL/ha and matured in 80% new oak, the remainder second-fill. It has a high-toned, concentrated bouquet with iodine-infused black fruit, becoming floral in the glass with scents of crushed violet. The palate is medium-bodied with Poyferré's trademark velvety smooth tannins. Fine depth, though clearly not as ostentatious as the previous three vintages, it is a more streamlined Poyferré, though that renders the wine well-balanced. There is just a dash of black pepper on the finish, though it just misses a little persistency on the aftertaste. But overall, a fine Saint-Julien that should give many years of drinking pleasure. 13.0% alcohol.
Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2022

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 Leoville Poyferre slowly expands from the glass, revealing notes of warm cassis, blackberry pie, and black cherry preserves, followed by hints of menthol, pencil lead, red roses, and charcoal. Medium-bodied, the palate offers great intensity of youthful black fruits with firm, fine-grained tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and peppery. The blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot, harvested between 28 September and 12 October, is to be aged 18-20 months in French oak, 80% new. The wine has a pH of 3.84 and an IPT of 78.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, May 2022

The 2021 Léoville Poyferré opens in the glass with notes of minty berries, dark berry compote, pencil shavings and toasty oak, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and dense palate that's quite muscular and extracted, built around a chassis of sweet, abundant tannins that assert themselves on the youthfully firm finish. This will require a bit of patience.

I asked Sara Lecompte Cuvelier to remind me of the mottos she and her team used to describe the past few vintages. 2018 was ‘Disgrace to Grace’, 2019 was ‘Solaire & Estival’, 2020 was ‘A Promise Kept’, and now 2021 is ‘Victorious Vintage’. Her ‘Victorious’ is not dissimilar to my ‘Triumphant’, as both suggest winning. But I think Sara’s word implies that she and her team at Poyferré had more personal confidence about the outcome than many. In contrast, my word is a region-wide summation of the battle against nature that some won and others failed to overcome. So, I am even more excited to report that ‘Victorious’ is indeed the correct expression for Léoville-Poyferré because this is a massive success in this vintage. It is a wine that I imagine will appeal to lovers of expressive, highly perfumed wines with sleek chassis and long finishes. The interplay between the wine, the oak, and the tannin elements excites me most. The tannins are not shy here, sitting proudly at the core of the flavours and playing a superb supporting role for the indulgent, fondanty fruit. This is one of the most exotic and layered wines I can remember from L-P, and this is perhaps because there is a forward air here that is so ravishing. You could put any number of vintages of L-P on the table in years to come, and I think 2021 will always be a jewel in this particular crown.
May 2022

Deep, bright colour. Attractive nose with dark-fruit and floral notes and a creamy edge. Rich and round on attack with ample substance and a juiciness to the fruit. Tannins plentiful but fine and integrated. Grip and persistence on the finish. Clear potential. (JL) 13%
Drink 2030 – 2046
Jancisrobinson.com, May 2022