Wines of Chateau
Château Leoville Poyferre
2ème Grand Cru Classé en 1855
Appellation Saint-Julien
En chiffres
Surface : 80 Ha
Production : 230 000 bouteilles
Geologie : Graves Garonnaises
Encépagement : 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot
Elevage : 18 mois (75% de barriques neuves)
After ownership by the de Moytié for a century, this estate came into the Gascq family by marriage. During the reign of Louis XV, this powerful family included eminent members of the Bordeaux parliament as well as Antoine de Gascq, who owned a vineyard in Margaux that later became Château Palmer. His brother, Alexandre, married the great-granddaughter of Jean de Moytié and became the owner of what is now Léoville-Poyferré in 1740. Influenced by the prevailing naturalist philosophy of his time, and close to the soil, Alexandre prefered making wine to a political career. Full of ambition for his wife’s family’s vineyard, Alexandre de Gascq changed the name from Mont Moytié to Léoville (also called Lionville), in honour of his “model estate” on the Right Bank.
Didier Cuvelier took over Léoville Poyferré in 1979. He thoroughly renovated the estate and hoisted Léoville Poyferré back up to its historic position in the 1855 classification.