2009 Château Léoville Poyferré, St Julien, Bordeaux

One of the more flamboyant and sumptuous wines of the vintage, this inky/purple-colored St.-Julien reveals thrilling levels of opulence, richness and aromatic pleasures. A soaring bouquet of creme de cassis, charcoal, graphite and spring flowers is followed by a super-concentrated wine with silky tannins, stunning amounts of glycerin, a voluptuous, multilayered mouthfeel and nearly 14% natural alcohol. Displaying fabulous definition for such a big, plump, massive, concentrated effort, I suspect the tannin levels are high even though they are largely concealed by lavish amounts of fruit, glycerin and extract.

Very dark crimson. Very grown-up and intense. Luscious fruit and top quality savoury oak. Very sweet start – really quite unusually sweet for a St-Julien. Very complete, lip-smacking and satisfying. Glamorous, polished. Long. Quite complex.

Wonderful aromas of currant and blackberry, with black olives. Full-bodied, with a mouth-coating palate of supersoft tannins that go on and on. Solid and polished. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.

Having retreated into its shell, the deep garnet colored 2009 Loville Poyferr gives up slowly revealing notions of cigar boxes, pencil lead, charcoal, rose hip tea and fragrant earth with a core of preserved plums, crème de cassis, espresso and Indian spices. Full, rich, seductive and voluptuously fruited in the mouth, the palate features firm yet beautifully velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and spicy.