Château Léoville Poyferré, Saint Julien (Médoc, Bordeaux, France) 2015

 In a word, show-stopping.  Léoville Poyferré has really upped their game beginning with the 2010 vintage.  They made significant changes in the winery that year, installing smaller fermenting vats to allow them to have even more precision in fermenting grapes from the different vineyard parcels.  Their 2015 has all the power and opulence Léoville Poyferré has been known for, but with an extra level of elegance that, in my mind, had been lacking in the past.  This is a great young wine combining dark fruitiness and wonderful earthy, mineral flavors. It has exceptional length and grace.  Having just come from a 15-vintage vertical tasting of their wines, I would cellar this one for another decade.  Although $117 is a lot to pay for a bottle of wine, compared to other Cru Classé Bordeaux, it is well-priced for what it delivers.  And it’s only $80 at Zachy’s in Scarsdale, New York, according to wine-searcher.com, which makes it a bargain.