Léoville-Poyferré 2003

Julian_Marshall · October 7, 2018, 8:09am

Yes, yet another thread about LP 2003! And yes, another thumbs up. This was one of the wines I was advised to buy for my daughter’s birth year case and good advice it proved to be.

I opened it late, at around 5pm and at first, like the Pontet-Canet 03 a few weeks ago, it wasn’t promising. Instantly recognizable as Léoville-Poyferré, with very spicy fruit, but more so than normal, slightly stodgy, with a very short finish. So I decanted it and two hours later, a different wine emerged.

The nose still needed a little coaxing at first to get the dark cherry, tobacco and spices, with Pauillac-like cigar box and cedar notes coming later. In the mouth, the spicy fruit hits first, loads of sweet blackberry and red cherry, then a much more sober middle section, quite thick and broad, full of blackcurrant, much more like a Pauillac than a St.Julien, before the spicy fruit returns for the long, persistent finish. One of the best wines of the year. 96 points.

My palate is fairly traditional, I had got a little tired of the LP style in recent years, so I was a bit wary, especially since it was a 2003, but no need: this is a great wine and a very fine example of LP, one of the best ever.

It’s not quite ready yet, in that the back end of the middle section, just before the finish, is slightly clumsy and the gears grind a little. But the power and concentration, along with the impressive grip and structure, are such that the wine will continue to improve. This will last for ten, maybe twenty years, so it was a perfect choice for my daughter.

When a wine costs as much as this, it’s odd to consider it as good value, but it is in fact a good buy. The original case I bought EP (and then sold) cost 47€; this batch cost 85€. The 09, for example, is more than double that and the 2010 is heading the same way, so it’s well worth getting hold of.

dsimmons · October 7, 2018, 3:43pm

I have enjoyed this wine though I have experienced some bottle variation. When it is on it is fabulous. I have a few 750’s and a Mag left.

Neal.Mollen · October 7, 2018, 3:46pm

Thanks for the note Julian. I have a few of these and have been eyeing them with suspicion. Good to know you liked it

Julian_Marshall · October 7, 2018, 6:24pm

Cheers - from your other posts, Neal, I would expect you to like this. One other difference compared to other LPs is perhaps the lack of silkiness, but this didn’t bother me.

Laurent_Gibet · November 18, 2019, 2:26pm

Yes, yet another thread about LP 2003! And yes, another thumbs up. This was one of the wines I was advised to buy for my daughter’s birth year case and good advice it proved to be.

I opened it late, at around 5pm and at first, like the Pontet-Canet 03 a few weeks ago, it wasn’t promising. Instantly recognizable as Léoville-Poyferré, with very spicy fruit, but more so than normal, slightly stodgy, with a very short finish. So I decanted it and two hours later, a different wine emerged.

The nose still needed a little coaxing at first to get the dark cherry, tobacco and spices, with Pauillac-like cigar box and cedar notes coming later. In the mouth, the spicy fruit hits first, loads of sweet blackberry and red cherry, then a much more sober middle section, quite thick and broad, full of blackcurrant, much more like a Pauillac than a St.Julien, before the spicy fruit returns for the long, persistent finish. One of the best wines of the year. 96 points.

My palate is fairly traditional, I had got a little tired of the LP style in recent years, so I was a bit wary, especially since it was a 2003, but no need: this is a great wine and a very fine example of LP, one of the best ever.

It’s not quite ready yet, in that the back end of the middle section, just before the finish, is slightly clumsy and the gears grind a little. But the power and concentration, along with the impressive grip and structure, are such that the wine will continue to improve. This will last for ten, maybe twenty years, so it was a perfect choice for my daughter.

When a wine costs as much as this, it’s odd to consider it as good value, but it is in fact a good buy. The original case I bought EP (and then sold) cost 47€; this batch cost 85€. The 09, for example, is more than double that and the 2010 is heading the same way, so it’s well worth getting hold of.

Samedi 16 novembre 2019
St-Julien Léoville-Poyferré 2003 : 17,5/20
Mûr, racé (cassis, cèdre, santal, graphite, …). Grain très fin, aucune lourdeur (alcool parfaitement intégré). Sève persistante, encore jeune.
Btw, much better than Pavie 2003.

Kelly_Flynn · November 18, 2019, 2:32pm

Very well played, Julian!

Notwithstanding all the fear and loathing surrounding 2003 bdx, I have yet to be disappointed. And I agree we are still very early years.

My first guy was born 2008, I loaded up on the bdx, and I am cautiously optimistic there as well.

Victor_Hong · November 18, 2019, 2:57pm

My father liked it, despite being used to Haut-Brion 1990 and La Mission Haut-Brion 1989.

Jurgen_Steinke · November 18, 2019, 3:45pm

Hi Julian,

I agree – this is one of the fine Bordeaux 2003. Unfortunately the vintage is very variable and some wines are terrible. Therefore the vintage has a certain image. But the good ones are really good.

Julian_Marshall · November 18, 2019, 4:18pm

Laurent, thanks for adding your note and reactivating this old thread I’d forgotten about!

Cheers, Kelly, this is one of the good ones indeed! You should do fine with 08, which I suspect is much less of a minefield.

Nice photo, Victor - glad your parents enjoyed it.

Hi Jürgen, cheers - it always make me smile when we discuss Bordeaux 03, remembering chats on Ebob about it, when I moaned about all the rubbish I had bought “thanks” to His Bobness and you told me to be patient - well, you were right for many wines, one of which is this one. It is indeed a weird vintage - one of the few I liked early on was Lafon-Rochet, which on the basis of the last bottle I tried hasn’t actually matured as well as I expected. Which are your top ten?

Laurent_Gibet · November 18, 2019, 4:44pm

Julian,

I remember a spectacular Lafleur 2003 in 2017 (19/20).
The mere Bel Air Marquis d’Aligre 2003 is a success (as we say in french : un vilain petit canard).

Haut-Brion 2003 will wait another few years in my cellar.

ToddFrench · November 18, 2019, 5:09pm

I popped one of my two bottles last year and found it to be far too young for my preferences:

“Really just too young - it hasn’t gained its weight yet, with the ‘baby weight’ long gone. I’d give any future bottles more time, let the wine integrate fully. All the components are there…”

Jurgen_Steinke · November 19, 2019, 2:16pm

Julian,

I did not have enough 2003 Bordeaux recently to make a proper list but enjoyed LP, Leoville Barton, Sociando Mallet, Giscours, Duhart Milon, Moulin St. Georges and even Chateau d´Aiguilhe from memory over the last 12 month.

What I still remember is the large blind tasting of 2003 Bordeaux from bottle with virtually every major Chateau included. Thanks to Francois Mauss and the GJE. This was probably the most difficult tasting I ever attended. But not because so many wines were overripe or over the top as people imagined knowing the heat wave. A few of those wines certainly existed. But the number of unripe wines with horrible tannins due to water stress and blocked maturity was the way bigger problem. Every 30 minutes I had to visit the toilet because I drank so much water between tasting and spitting to clean the palate from that strong metallic aftertaste. I guess I ate half of an entire Baguette too trying to clean my palate.

The keys for making good wines in 2003 were soil and selection. Lighter soils and young vines had been a disaster for winemakers. Those who selected really ripe fruit from vines who had enough ground water produced fine wines with balance. All the other wines suffered more or less. As we all know the hit rate was bigger on the Left than on the Right Bank.

And yes – I still remember the controversy about the 2003 wines on the old Parker Board. My oh my – those were the days. Time is running way too fast. Stay healthy and all the best
Jürgen

BTW: Surprisingly I loved a Right Bank wine in that Blind Tasting most. Chateau Ausone. For obvious reasons I had the wine never since. Unfortunately, because I thought: What a beauty!

Laurent_Gibet · November 19, 2019, 2:24pm

Julian,

I did not have enough 2003 Bordeaux recently to make a proper list but enjoyed LP, Leoville Barton, Sociando Mallet, Giscours, Duhart Milon, Moulin St. Georges and even Chateau d´Aiguilhe from memory over the last 12 month.

What I still remember is the large blind tasting of 2003 Bordeaux from bottle with virtually every major Chateau included. Thanks to Francois Mauss and the GJE. This was probably the most difficult tasting I ever attended. But not because so many wines were overripe or over the top as people imagined knowing the heat wave. A few of those wines certainly existed. But the number of unripe wines with horrible tannins due to water stress and blocked maturity was the way bigger problem. Every 30 minutes I had to visit the toilet because I drank so much water between tasting and spitting to clean the palate from that strong metallic aftertaste. I guess I ate half of an entire Baguette too trying to clean my palate.

The keys for making good wines in 2003 were soil and selection. Lighter soils and young vines had been a disaster for winemakers. Those who selected really ripe fruit from vines who had enough ground water produced fine wines with balance. All the other wines suffered more or less. As we all know the hit rate was bigger on the Left than on the Right Bank.

And yes – I still remember the controversy about the 2003 wines on the old Parker Board. My oh my – those were the days. Time is running way too fast. Stay healthy and all the best
Jürgen

BTW: Surprisingly I loved a Right Bank wine in that Blind Tasting most. Chateau Ausone. For obvious reasons I had the wine never since. Unfortunately, because I thought: What a beauty!

I can imagine a great Ausone 2003.
Ausone 2009 “en primeur” (14,5°) : the greatest wine I tasted, LB and RB … (Same rating, 19/20, for Latour 2009)

Once again, I think that Cabernet-sauvignon and Cabernet-Franc were more able than merlot to be weather-resistant in 2003 and 2009.
The expansive style of Pavie is another clue to particularly dislike Pavie 2003.

Julian_Marshall · November 19, 2019, 3:25pm

Laurent - BAMA comes as a semi-surprise, since so many Margaux were abject failures that year - I shall look out for some.

Jürgen - most of those I have liked too, apart from Giscours, so that’s a pleasant surprise, although the last I tried was a long time ago. Yes, my abiding memories of most 2003s was the rather unpleasant combination of astringency, dried raisin flavours and syrup, not something I have ever missed! Keep the faith and as you say, keep healthy!

Marcu_Stanley · November 19, 2019, 4:28pm

Julian,

I did not have enough 2003 Bordeaux recently to make a proper list but enjoyed LP, Leoville Barton, Sociando Mallet, Giscours, Duhart Milon, Moulin St. Georges and even Chateau d´Aiguilhe from memory over the last 12 month.

What I still remember is the large blind tasting of 2003 Bordeaux from bottle with virtually every major Chateau included. Thanks to Francois Mauss and the GJE. This was probably the most difficult tasting I ever attended. But not because so many wines were overripe or over the top as people imagined knowing the heat wave. A few of those wines certainly existed. But the number of unripe wines with horrible tannins due to water stress and blocked maturity was the way bigger problem. Every 30 minutes I had to visit the toilet because I drank so much water between tasting and spitting to clean the palate from that strong metallic aftertaste. I guess I ate half of an entire Baguette too trying to clean my palate.

This is right. The problem in 2003 is crude tannins and harshness due to vines shutting down. It isn’t wines being “overripe” in the fashion of Napa or some 2009 wines. When Julian refers above to the finish being short and the middle-finish being “clumsy” in the 03 Poyferre, that is the kind of problem I see with 2003, more than an overtly roasted character.

Laurent_Gibet · November 19, 2019, 4:42pm

Julian,

I did not have enough 2003 Bordeaux recently to make a proper list but enjoyed LP, Leoville Barton, Sociando Mallet, Giscours, Duhart Milon, Moulin St. Georges and even Chateau d´Aiguilhe from memory over the last 12 month.

What I still remember is the large blind tasting of 2003 Bordeaux from bottle with virtually every major Chateau included. Thanks to Francois Mauss and the GJE. This was probably the most difficult tasting I ever attended. But not because so many wines were overripe or over the top as people imagined knowing the heat wave. A few of those wines certainly existed. But the number of unripe wines with horrible tannins due to water stress and blocked maturity was the way bigger problem. Every 30 minutes I had to visit the toilet because I drank so much water between tasting and spitting to clean the palate from that strong metallic aftertaste. I guess I ate half of an entire Baguette too trying to clean my palate.

This is right. The problem in 2003 is crude tannins and harshness due to vines shutting down. It isn’t wines being “overripe” in the fashion of Napa or some 2009 wines. When Julian refers above to the finish being short and the middle-finish being “clumsy” in the 03 Poyferre, that is the kind of problem I see with 2003, more than an overtly roasted character.

Perfectly said …
As I recently wrote in the “Polemic Pavie 2003” thread : “others found dryness in the finish (this is sometimes the case for 2003)”.
We were 12 tasters around Léoville-Poyferré 2003 last saturday. All liked the wine, complex, classy, still young, ripe (without beeing thunderous) and without any hint of dryness.