Léoville Poyferré 2005

Ruby red, toasted oak nose, enticing. It has held its line, and is delicious, generous, enticing, lip smacking. Has confidence, energy, damson and blackberry fruits, deepened by gourmet grilled vanilla bean and cappuccino creaminess. The quality and depth of fruit is astonishing - you can begin to drink this now (indeed it has inched open a little further since I last tasted 12 months ago), but it is going nowhere. Excellent stuff, one of the wines of the vintage. 80% new oak.

Tasted blind. Dark crimson. Luscious colour! Very healthy look. Very dense, as though the density is locking the aroma in. Big and intense and luscious on the palate. Lots going on here.Drink 2017-2040

Sweet mocha and lightly perfumed with violets. Very firm grip but rounded and ripe tannins. Concentrated, long, a baby still. Lovely juicy finish with great freshness. Drink 2010 - 2030.

Saturated ruby-red. Deeply pitched aromas of black cherry, currant and coffee. Sweet, silky and full, but with lovely ripe acidity to frame the dense black fruit, mocha and mineral flavors. Showing a glossy aspect to its fruit that is exhilarating, even if this deep, fairly tannic wine is a bit sullen at present, despite showing excellent back-end breadth. This is a full 13.5% alcohol; the petit verdot component reached 14.5% potential alcohol in 2005, said Cuvelier, who describes 2005 as "a year of sun but not surmaturite

Cedar and tobacco fruit. Perfumed, bright, savoury, tobacco, chewy tannins. Very promising, elegant, rich. Drink from 2015. Awarded 4 stars.

Came 20th out of 184 wines

The Château Léoville-Poyferré 2005 has a rich and opulent bouquet with lavish ripe black cherries and wild strawberry, just a touch of licorice rendering it even more extravagant. The palate is full-bodied with ripe, rounded tannin, touches of licorices and glycerin on the mid-palate with savory notes flourishing towards the finish. This is almost a brash, hubristic Saint Julien, one for those who prefer a more opulent style of Bordeaux while maintaining complexity. Chapeau Didier Cuvelier. Drink 2020-2050.

Although I still prefer the 2003, the 2005 Leoville Poyferre is a gorgeously opulent, approachable wine that is far less massive and austere than its two siblings. The most seductive, approachable, and charming of the three Leovilles, it exhibits a dense purple color as well as a sweet bouquet of mocha, black chocolate, creme de cassis, licorice, and toasty oak. Full-bodied with gorgeous upfront fruit in addition to impressive levels of melted, well-integrated tannin, it should be at its finest between 2015-2035

While perhaps not up to the standards of the extraordinary 2003, the 2005 is still a strong effort from an estate that has been doing everything right over the last two decades. Sweet toasty oak intermixed with jammy black currant, plum, and licorice aromas jump from the glass of this dense purple-hued wine. In the mouth, there is great fruit, tannin, body, structure, and delineation. This impressively endowed, well made St.-Julien will require considerable patience (as will most 2005 northern Medocs). Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030+.

As superb as Leoville Poyferre’s 2005 is, it does not appear to be as profound as their 2003, but I may be proven wrong once the wine is bottled. Flowery creme de cassis aromas interwoven with hints of blackberries, licorice, and pain grille jump from the glass of this opaque purple-colored St.-Julien. Possessing medium to full body, sweet tannin, an expansive, multilayered mid-palate, good acidity and freshness, and a blockbuster finish, this powerful, impressively endowed effort will require patience. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2030+.

Tasted single blind at Southwold. Again, the nose has shut down like the previous wine. Blackberry, cedar, a touch of animal fur - this should be so incredibly complex in a few years time. The palate is full-bodied with firm tannins, very well balanced and supple. Nice elegant, smooth vivacious blackberry and cedar finish. Its sensuality belies the turbo-charged engine at the heart of this wine. Great length. Superb. Drink 2018-2040.

Loads of blackberry, licorice and toasted oak on the nose. Full-bodied, with lots of focused and clean ripe fruit character. Balanced and refined. Another 2003? Maybe even better?

Purplish crimson. Scented and beguiling. Far from a heavyweight and with lots of tannin but with some lift too. Super clean. Well judged! 13.5%Drink 2023-2045

Exciting with lots of energy and richness on the nose. Very well balanced and not massive but sinewy and well balanced. Dry and refreshing on the finish with medium intensity

Quite gassy and very sweet and juicy. A bit too much extraction for comfort, which is a shame since the fruit quality and purity is lovely. Very dry finish. Awkward. Drink 2016-24