Château Léoville-Poyferré, Saint-Julien, 2nd Grand Cru Classé

When offering a Grand Cru Classé as prominent and affordable as Second Growth Léoville-Poyferré, in a blockbuster vintage that’s now equipped with eight years of maturity, I feel its value proposition is self-explanatory. In case it isn’t, I’ll happily go into detail. Those who follow the Bordeaux Classification of 1855 know that only five châteaux “outrank” Léoville-Poyferré: Lafite, Latour, Margaux, Haut-Brion, and Mouton. Over the past several decades, however, several Second Growths have been increasingly recognized for crafting Grand Vins near and even beyond the First Growths, all while charging substantially less. These overperforming legends have been colloquially coined “Super Seconds,” and you’ll surely recognize their names: Cos d’Estournel, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Pichon Longueville, to name a few. And yes, Léoville-Poyferré also belongs to this prized shortlist. If you need further convincing why this bottle is a must-have investment for a Bordeaux collector, consider that it i