Château Léoville Poyferré: producer profile

The art of mastering a job you never expected to have has been played out twice over at Château Léoville Poyferré, the family-owned and -run property situated in the north of the Médoc’s St-Julien appellation.

It is one of five second-growth classified estates in the commune, three of those sharing, perhaps confusingly, the Léoville name: Châteaux Léoville Las Cases, Léoville Barton and Léoville Poyferré. What unites the estates, apart from a shared property in the case of Las Cases and Poyferré, is also what sets them apart – each the result of family inheritances and property divisions of the original Léoville vineyard (see ‘history’, below).

Scroll down for a selection of top Léoville Poyferré wines to try

One of the most fascinating parts of the Léoville Poyferré story – and there are many – is that the current, and previous, general managers were both somewhat unexpectedly handed the reins to their family’s estates: Châteaux Léoville Poyferré, Moulin Riche, Le Crock and Cuvelier Los Andes in Argentina (see ‘family’, below).

But after an abrupt career change for one, and a life overhaul for another, Léoville Poyferré is now at the top of its game, thanks to these two unlikely candidates and their team.