Now 35 years old, we are getting cloves and white pepper spice — whereas black pepper is more prevalent in Léoville Poyferré wines in the first few decades. The persistency is still remarkable it lingers delightfully. A beautiful wine with whispers of the effortless St-Julien balance that stands true through the decades, all coming through with soft tobacco notes, buttery leather, dried fruits and fire crackle. Remember there is less clay in soils in this appellation compared to Pauillac and St-Estèphe, giving St-Julien finer tannins and finessed aromatics. No alcohol marked on the label from this point, but we can assume it is around 12% abv.

Château Leoville-Poyferré used to be one of my absolute favorite estates on the Left Bank, as its low fat, soil-driven style was so compelling, but the estate has been making pumped up, modern wines for quite a while now and the modern and simplistic wines turned out here today bear little resemblance to the understated and classic beauty of this wine in its heyday. However, back in 1983, the estate was at the top of its game (though few commentators recognized it at the time!) and at age thirty, the ’83 Leoville-Poyferré is really lovely, wafting from the glass in a deep and utterly suave nose of black cherries, sweet cranberries, Cuban cigars, a beautifully complex base of dark soil tones, a touch of dried eucalyptus, woodsmoke and a bit of cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and transparent, with an excellent core, moderate tannins and a long, complex and beautifully balanced finish. An excellent and very elegant example of the vintage, the ’83 Leoville-Poyferré has now reached its peak of maturity, but will continue to drink beautifully for many, many decades to come.

Next, one of my favourites, the 1983 Léoville-Poyferré. It had been some years since I tasted this Saint-Julien, and it has always been over-shadowed by former proprietor Didier Cuvelier’s splendid 1982. Ignore it at your peril. Showing light bricking on the rim, it delivers a wonderful nose of red plum, freshly-rolled tobacco, autumn leaves and a hint of cassis borrowed from Pauillac. It was actually richer than I recalled, and blind, I might guess the previous vintage. The palate does not disappoint. Now fully-mature, again, it is more opulent in style than you might expect, portending the richer style the estate has successfully pursued under consultant Michel Rolland. Beautifully balanced with a sensual, quite plush finish, this over-delivers. Drink it over the next decade. - -- Neal Martin

One of the superstar 1983s that is not beginning to crack up and decline, Leoville-Poyferre’s effort exhibits a dark garnet color, a sweet nose of plum liqueur intermixed with licorice, black currants, weedy tobacco, and herbes de Provence. The wine is round, seductive, with a certain degree of opulence, low acidity, gorgeous fruit, and a nice layered palate impression. It makes for quite a seductive style of wine. Drink it over the next 7-8 years. Last tasted, 3/02. - Robert M. Parker, Jr.