2010 Château Léoville Poyferré, St Julien, Bordeaux

This was, in my view, the best wine made in St Julien this year, at least until I tasted Léoville-Las Cases later on the same day, and even then it was a close-run thing. Poyferré always seems to have succulence on the palate which is almost sensual and, despite the record level of tannin, it is there again this year. The bouquet is complex, redolent of hedgerow fruits with hints of red berries alongside, and a key feature here is the wonderful persistence of flavour along with the very fine-grained tannins. It is wonderfully fresh and yet another in a long string of successful wines from this estate.
(61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc)