This has always been a lovely reliable wine, and it shows no sign of tiredness, in fact this may have been the best bottle to date. Plenty of the opulence of the vintage, but enough acidity and freshness to ensure balance. Still showing some lovely red fruit, licorice and floral elements, and the beginnings of mushroom and earth. Stylish and with layers of flavor. Nothing forced. Medium to long finish. For me, the best of the Leovilles in 1982. 97
Great wine. Agree on the best Leoville in 1982. Love the purity and textural qualities of Poyf from the 80s generally.
Mark - What was Uncle Rollo’s role on this wine. Leve’s site says Michel Rolland got his career start here during this vintage. It’s an excellent wine. Cannot say I adore the more modern LPs at all.
Robert,
I didn’t know he was consulting that early, but I will certainly take Jeff’s word for it. His Cabernet based wines tend to be less “Rollandish” than his Merlots, and I liked quite a few of the Poyferre wines made after he arrived, especially the 1990.
This wine was one of the most expensive 82 bordeaux i bought - $12.45
My local store had it on closeout for $8.99. I still kick myself for only buying 2 of the 5 cases they had.
Love the '82 Poyferré- always one of the most elegant, soil-driven examples on the Left Bank in this vintage. That is a pretty big score Mark! BTW, Michel Rolland was not consulting here in the decade of the 1980s.
Yea John, I didn’t think so either, but Jeff is pretty definitive about it:
Chateau Leoville Poyferre the Modern Era
This changed in 1979 with the accession of Didier Cuvelier, who became the first member of his family to take charge of Leoville Poyferre. Didier Cuvelier first trained and went to school to study accounting before he started to learn about wine. His teacher was Professor Emile Peynaud. This was a fortuitous move for the property as the wines made by Didier Cuvelier once again put Leoville Poyferre on the map to wine lovers all over the world.
Some of the first changes made by the young 26 year old Didier Cuvelier include bringing Michel Rolland as well as Emile Peynaud into the fold> . This was quickly followed by a modernization of the winemaking facilities at their Left Bank estate. A bigger move was to rip out and replant 20 hectares of vines, drastically reducing their output for years.
The positive changes in the wine from Leoville Poyferre can easily be seen by tasting the wine. The rapid jump in quality first appeared in 1982. However, Didier Cuvelier was not the first person to introduce innovation at Leoville Poyferre. In fact, Chateau Leoville Poyferre was one of the first Bordeaux chateau to trellis their vines using pine stakes. This is common today, but not two centuries ago. Leoville Poyferre was also one of the first Bordeaux produces to rinse their barrels with sulfur to help protect their wines from spoiling during the shipping and aging process.
Read more at:> Learn about Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Complete Guide
And here, read Post No. 32 and beyond for more commentary:
Which of course does not mean Rolland '82 is anything like the Rolland of today.
Yep. What you and everyone has said. Gorgeous wine and easily the best of the '82 Leovilles.
I do make mistakes, and always try correcting them when I am wrong. There are 1,200 pages, 800 posts and more than 15,000 tasting notes on the site, so things happen. I make changes all the time to add new info and fix things, as we want to be right. I just now sent an Email asking for the first vintage when Michel Rolland became part of the team. They are close to harvest, so not sure when they will respond, but I will add to this thread with the reply.
Count me in as a big fan of the 82, and numerous subsequent vintages from Leoville Poyferre.
I thought it was mid-late 1990s when Rolland became actively involved. If you taste the 1994 and 1995 Poyferres it is hard to imagine Rolland had a hand in fashioning them.
Rolland started in 1994. Personally, I find it easy to see his touch in the '94 and '95 vintages and especially in the '96.
That was fast! I have corrected myself. As some of you correctly pointed out, 1994 was the first vintage for Michel Rolland at Le Crock and Leoville Poyferre. Learn about Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Complete Guide
I love the 82 Leoville Poyferre and am happy to still own half a case, but I am surprised to see people say it is better than the 82 Leoville Las Cases, which IMO is a monumental wine.