Olivier Cuvelier & The Fascinating Story Behind Château Leoville Poyferré

Olivier will be your host at the Tasting Bar in our Wine Store in Dublin from 3pm to 5pm!  

At Whelehans Wines, we are delighted to announce that this Friday - 24th of March, we will have the pleasure of welcoming Olivier Cuvelier, co-owner of Château Leoville Poyferré and Chateau Le Crock to the W Experiential Tasting Bar for a wonderful tasting at our wine store in Dublin.
Olivier will be your host at the Tasting Bar from 3pm to 5pm, and we would be delighted if you can drop by to enjoy his wonderful wines with us. 

If you're a fan of exceptional red fine wines or Bordeaux wines, you may already be familiar with the impressive reputation of “Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel”, Château Le Crock, in the Saint-Estephe appellation.

But have you heard about the fascinating story behind the label of Château Leoville Poyferré?
Let us take you on a journey through time to discover the wonderful history of this legendary 1855 Second Grand Cru Classé. 

Classified Second Grand Cru in 1855, Château Leoville Poyferré is located in the prestigious appellation of Saint-Julien which is one of the four most prestigious appellations that make up the Left Bank of Bordeaux, alongside Saint-Estephe, Margaux, and Pauillac.

Léoville has a rich and storied past that dates back to 1638. Château Léoville Poyferré was established in 1840, when Baron Jean-Marie de Poyferré added his name to the place. In 1920, the Cuvelier family took over Chateau Leoville Poyferre and Chateau Moulin Riche from the Lawton family. Didier Cuvelier, who is Olivier's brother, was the first family member to manage the properties in 1979.
In 2006, Anne Cuvelier, who is Olivier's cousin's daughter, brought her international experience to Bordeaux and transformed the property into a pioneer in wine tours.
Finally, in 2018, Sara Lecompte Cuvelier took over as General Director from her cousin Didier. 

Léoville Poyferré is anchored in one of the most intimate appellations of the Médoc: Saint-Julien, which offers a superb terroir carried along by the alluvial deposit, and polished by the Gironde: the Graves with its subsoil of sandy clay.

Dispersed over 80 hectares of Saint-Julien and split into several groups, the vineyard made up of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc, reflects all the richness and diversity of the Saint Julien appellation.

Château Léoville Poyferré integrated the Système de Management Environnemental (SME) – Environmental Management System – for Bordeaux wines in 2016.  The SME rapidly became a powerful ally that has allowed them to maintain and enhance their sustainable practices already in place for many years.

As a testament to these efforts, Château Léoville Poyferré is proud to have obtained the Haute Valeur Environnementale certification- High Environmental Value – level 3 (the highest level) since the 2017 vintage for the ensemble of its vineyard.

Vines are pruned using the traditional « double guyot » method, which allows the number of bunches per vine to be limited. This meticulous technique respects the flow of the vine’s sap and increases longevity, while reducing the risk of vine disease.

Once the grapes arrive at the vat house, they are sorted twice, then vinifications are carried out plot-by-plot and by grape variety in the 57 thermo-regulated stainless steel tanks, of which 27 are double-walled, enhancing the purity of the fruit aromas and the intensity of the color.

Since 2018, a non-saccharomyces yeast is added during the fermentation process, thus bio-protecting the must and also eliminating the traditional use of SO2 at this stage. Pump-overs are then carried out daily for each of the tanks until the end of alcoholic fermentation.

Once the vinifications have finished and the wines run off from their skins, the ultimate metamorphosis occurs : grape skins are pressed to obtain the “press wine” which will be aged exclusively in French oak barrels for 18 months. Wines undergo their malolactic fermentation in barrel, resulting in the stability and suppleness of the wines.

The final step in the process, is choosing which resultant wines from the estate's various plots ( and in what proportion), will make up the vintage's final blend. 

If you're a wine enthusiast in Dublin and around, Bordeaux wines, and fine wines are what Whelehans Wines is all about. Don't miss this chance to meet Olivier Cuvelier and discover the secrets of his Bordeaux gems.

Join us this Friday at the W Tasting Bar, to taste these unforgettable wines from 3 to 5pm. 

We look forward to welcoming you!