Château

Château Léoville Poyferré

shah-TOH lay-oh-VEEL pwah-feh-RAY
How to read this

Capitals mark the stressed syllable. The French r comes from the back of the throat. The recording is the reference.

The share of the old Léoville that took a baron’s name in 1840, in the Cuvelier family since 1920 and run today by its 5th generation.

Appellation
Saint-Julien

The château

The history of Léoville goes back to 1638, and for most of it there was no Poyferré, only one Léoville. William Franck, whose Traité sur les vins du Médoc first appeared in 1824, ranked that single Léoville a second growth, at 2,000 to 2,100 francs the tonneau (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels), and André Jullien’s Topographie de tous les vignobles connus still did so in 1832. The divisions and successions that broke the estate into 3 left Baron Jean-Marie de Poyferré with a share, and in 1840 he added his name to it. The brokers ranked it a second growth in 1855.

The Cuvelier family bought Léoville Poyferré and Moulin Riche from the Lawtons in 1920 and have held them since. Sara Lecompte Cuvelier took over as general director from her cousin Didier Cuvelier in 2018; Isabelle Davin is the château’s enologist and Didier Thomann the cellar master. The vineyard runs to 80 hectares of deep gravel along the Gironde, with Château Moulin Riche a single block of 20, the vines 38 years old on average, planted 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. It has held Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms), level 3, since the 2017 vintage. Pavillon de Léoville Poyferré is the second wine; Moulin Riche, established in 1885 on an older gravel terrace, is a wine of its own.

The style is polished and led by Cabernet, and a cool year shows it well. The 2021, which I tasted in October 2025, came out of a hard season of frost and mildew and made something classic of it: freshness, fine tannins, precise fruit and real elegance.

At a glance

Appellation
Saint-Julien
Classification
Deuxième Cru Classé 1855
Owners
The Cuvelier family, since 1920
Direction
Sara Lecompte Cuvelier, general director, since 2018; Didier Thomann, cellar master
Enologist
Isabelle Davin
Vineyard
80 hectares, with Château Moulin Riche a single block of 20; vines 38 years old on average
Soil
Deep gravel along the Gironde Terroir of Saint-Julien →
Farming
Haute Valeur Environnementale, level 3, since the 2017 vintage
Wines
Château Léoville Poyferré; Pavillon de Léoville Poyferré; Château Moulin Riche, a separate wine

Sources

Institutions
Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, Léoville Poyferré; CIVB, the classifications of 1855
Press
Decanter, the 3 Léovilles
Its own publications
Château Léoville Poyferré: the property, the wines

Revised October 13, 2026. How I choose sources

The record

Château Léoville Poyferré is a Deuxième Cru Classé of the 1855 Classification, in the Saint-Julien appellation.

The 1855 Classification was published on April 18, 1855, drawn up by the brokers of the Bordeaux exchange for the Exposition Universelle in Paris.

Source: Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855

Private

By invitation only.

Also appears in

Tastings

2

Château Léoville Poyferré 2021, Saint-Julien

October 19, 2025

Château Léoville Poyferré 2021, Saint-Julien

 Château Léoville Poyferré 2003 & 2005

March 18, 2025

Château Léoville Poyferré 2003 & 2005

In the news

1

  1. Jul 20, 2026

    Wine Talk: Kosher in Bordeaux

    Bordeaux estates including Château Léoville Poyferré, Cos d’Estournel and Château Valandraud are making kosher wines that retain the character of their terroir, according to The Jerusalem Post. Château Léoville Poyferré’s kosher cuvée included the 2005 vintage.

    Source: The Jerusalem Post The VintageVineyard and Cellar

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