2009 Chateau Léoville Poyferré St.-Julien Grand Cru Classé 750 ml

“Drink it anytime over the coming three decades.” That was Jeb Dunnuck’s recommendation for this superlative Léoville Poyferré, which is just beginning to show its true, beautiful colors (literally and figuratively) after 11 years of élévage. 

Today, we are thrilled to share this wine from the dim cellars of Léoville Poyferré, which has been crafting wines of incredible finesse since 1840. This release from the lauded 2009 season is still dense and powerful after over a decade. It boasts “thrilling levels of opulence, richness and aromatic pleasures,” in the words of Robert Parker, and a palate loaded with opulent tannins and seamlessly integrated flavors of dried cherry, blackberry preserves, leather, freshly rolled cigars, and allspice. 

Dunnuck continued, calling the 2009 “The greatest wine I’ve ever tasted from this address.” For those who can withstand its siren's call, there is plenty of stuffing and structure to continue to develop even more complexity—we heartily agree with Dunnuck on this wine’s fantastic longevity. It just may be a perfect Bordeaux.

Year after year, Château Léoville Poyferré is deemed one of the best in Saint-Julien with its consistently elegant and age-worthy wines that top the critics’ scoreboards AND do it for far less than similarly scoring cellar showpieces. The spectacular 2009 vintage stands head and shoulders above the rest, especially considering the hard work of cellaring has been done for you. 

We remember our first taste of this wine like it was yesterday. Hundreds of us congregated in a conference hall in Bordeaux to listen to Professor Denis Dubourdieu, the chairman of the Enology Department at l’Université de Bordeaux, describe the 2009 growing season. Dubourdieu took his time, citing the five events that must take place in order to have a “perfect” vintage, concluding that 2009 was five for five. 

Robert Parker’s subsequent vintage reports and tasting notes—first out of barrel and then from bottle—sent prices through the roof. And ever since Parker alerted the wine world that he will no longer be attending the en primeur tastings, the last 100-pointers of 2009 have become virtually priceless, with many now fetching more than twice their price upon release.

Robert Parker himself rated the 2009 Léoville Poyferré—the most extraordinary wine ever made off this Saint-Julien blue-chip property—twice. The first time, he hedged his bets at 97-100 points. But tasted again out of bottle, he wouldn’t hold back any longer. Parker’s 100-point “upgrade” sent the market value of this 2009 Poyferré through the roof, and demand isn’t slowing down.

The 2009 Château Léoville Poyferré impressed every professional who tasted it from barrel as a wine of epic size and proportion. In April 2010, Parker called it one of the “stars of the vintage.” Then, Jeb Dunnuck added his perfect review. From the moment we tasted this wine in Bordeaux, we knew it was a star. Today, we’re honored to share a few final cases of this wine, direct from the estate cellars.