From a Single Vineyard, Three Names Emerged — Las Cases Kept the Family Name, Barton Took the Buyer's. So Whose Name Was Poyferré's?

In Saint-Julien, there once stood a single vineyard called Léoville. Today, three châteaux stand there side by side: Château Léoville-Las Cases, Château Léoville-Barton, and Château Léoville-Poyferré. They share the same name, yet each name has followed a different path to get there.

One kept its family name intact; another bears the name of the buyer. So whose name was the third, Poyferré? The answer lies in a marriage in the 19th century.

Origins — The Day One Vineyard Split into Three Names

The story is said to begin in the 17th century. In 1638, Jean de Moytié, a member of the Bordeaux parliament, purchased a vineyard on a gravel rise known as Mont Moytié. Around 1740, under Alexandre de Gasq, the estate is said to have taken the name Léoville.

Léoville remained a single estate for a long time, but the 19th century brought division. In 1826, a quarter of the property was sold to Hugh Barton, giving rise to Château Léoville-Barton. The buyer's name was placed on it directly.

The remaining estate was divided in 1840 between Pierre-Jean de Las Cases and his sister Jeanne de Las Cases. The brother's share became today's Château Léoville-Las Cases, carrying the family name forward directly. His sister Jeanne's share, meanwhile, passed to her daughter, whose husband, Baron Jean-Marie Poyferré de Cérès, added part of his own name, "Poyferré," to the estate. This is how Château Léoville-Poyferré came into being. Las Cases carried on a blood name, Barton bore the name of a buyer, and Poyferré gained its name through marriage — three names with three different origins, all born from the same vineyard.

The division had already been complete for fifteen years by the time the 1855 Classification took place, but the register still recorded it under the single old name "Léoville," with Baron Poyferré listed merely as one of three co-owners. It was only afterward that "Léoville-Poyferré" took hold as an independent name in its own right.

The Négociant Family That Inherited the Vineyard

In the latter half of the 19th century, the château passed from the Poyferré baronial family to new owners. In 1865, it came into the hands of the Lalande family and the banking family Erlanger, and the Lalande family continued to run the estate until 1920.

The turning point came in 1920. Three cousins from the Cuvelier family — négociants from northern France who ran the firm H. Cuvelier et Fils, founded in 1804 — Paul, Albert, and Gonzague, acquired Château Léoville-Poyferré and its sister estate, Château Moulin Riche, from the Lalande family. The Cuvelier family has looked after the vineyard for more than a century since. Counting from the 1920 acquisition, 2020 would represent a hundred years of family ownership.

A Neighboring Château, and a Handover to the Next Generation

These efforts were led by Didier Cuvelier, who took over management around 1979. Arriving young, he began soil studies, expanded the vineyard area, and renovated the cellars — work that unfolded over decades. His stewardship lasted nearly 40 years, until his retirement after the 2017 vintage.

In 2018, Sara Lecompte Cuvelier succeeded him. She is said to be Didier's niece and the daughter of Bertrand Cuvelier. She now leads the estate as General Director, with Isabelle Davin overseeing winemaking and Didier Thomann responsible for the cellar.

Today the estate holds about 80 hectares in Saint-Julien, plus 20 hectares at the sister estate Moulin Riche, growing four varieties led by Cabernet Sauvignon. Moulin Riche, once informally treated as a kind of second wine, became an independent estate wine from 2009, and the role of second wine is now filled by Pavillon de Léoville-Poyferré.

The winemaking facilities stand adjacent to its neighbor, Château Léoville-Las Cases. More than 180 years after the division, the two châteaux remain neighbors to this day.

Three Facts Worth Knowing

• The name Poyferré came from a marriage. Of the estates that split from the same Léoville vineyard, Las Cases carries a family name and Barton the name of a buyer, but Poyferré alone bears the name of a baron who joined the family through marriage.
• The Cuvelier family has run the estate for more than a century since 1920, with 2020 representing a hundred years of ownership.
• The current second wine is Pavillon de Léoville-Poyferré. The sister château Moulin Riche has been a separate, independent estate since 2009.