2001 Léoville Poyferré

This chateau is frequently overshadowed by the other Leovilles: Las Cases due to its sheer concentration and brilliance and Barton due to its early sex appeal and the fluent English of its proprietor. But Leoville-Poyferre has been producing consistently excellent wines in recent years, under the directorship of Didier Cuvelier and with the advice of superconsultant Michel Rolland. Like Anthony Barton, Cuvelier considers 2003 to be a less roasted wine than either 1990 or 1989, more evidence that in the northern portion of the Medoc in 2003, aromas and flavors are often purer and more vibrant that one would believe possible from a summer of extreme heat. Poyferre produced only 31 hectoliters per hectare, with the merlot yield especially low due to a bad flowering and particularly small grapes. "Only in the best terroirs does merlot have energy in 2003," noted Cuvelier. "The rest of the merlot tends to be flat." Cuvelier noted that his very strong 2002 fruit came in with virtually the same levels of sugar and polyphenols as the 2003. Neither year needed help from any techniques to concentrate the must. Barton, incidentally, began using reverse osmosis (a technique he described as "a technological saignee in the 1987 vintage. "There have been only 5 vintages out of my 25 where we didn't need to do anything to concentrate the musts," he told me: "1982, 1989, 1990, 2002 and 2003."

This was not the only Medoc chateau where I preferred both the 2002 and 2001 vintages to the 2000. Didier Cuvelier reported that the steady northeast wind of September reduced the volume of the grapes, further dropping yields following the loss of half of the merlot due to coulure The result was potential alcohol of 13.15%, very high for this estate and in the same neighborhood as the '82, '89 and '90. "Like a powerful version of the '96 or '86," is how Cuvelier described his young 2002. "The wine has much riper cabernet tannins than the 2000," he added, making it clear that the 2000 is not really his favorite style. "The 2001 is less massive and more elegant than the 2002."

Virtually before pouring the samples, maitre de chai Francis Dourthe compared the chateau's '01 and '00 to the '83 and '82; as a long-time fan of the '83 I could sense what was coming. The new vintage, according to Dourthe, has slightly higher acidity than 2000. But analytically, it also has more stuffing, more glycerol, more tannins. And the grapes, despite being harvested very late and almost surmuri, were very clean, he added. This was indeed one of a few Northern Medoc addresses where the 2001 appeared to be superior to the millennial vintage.