Lafleur
Since 2000 Chateau Lafleur has rivaled Petrus for top Pomerol. Their rising reputation is closely linked to significant praise from Robert Parker. They’ve developed special practices to get the best out of their unique soil, which gives their wine great character.
Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
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Bordeaux | 1 | - |
Inc. TAX
€1,203.29 |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 93 (VN (NM)) |
Inc. TAX
€1,078.93 |
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Vinous - Neal Martin (93)The 1999 Lafleur flies under the radar between the feted 1998 and 2000 vintages. However, it should not be under-estimated. It has a lucid deep color. The bouquet is not dissimilar to the previous bottle tasted in 2012, blessed with pure blackberry and briary scents, hints of gravel that render it not a million miles away from a Left Bank. The palate is very well balanced and seems silkier than ever. Whilst it does not possess the mineral core of the 1998, it has a disarmingly pure and graceful finish. Whilst not a Lafleur of immense length or grandeur it is approachable and beautifully crafted. Tasted at the “International Wine & Business” Lafleur dinner at Ten Trinity, London. |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 95-100 (WS) |
Inc. TAX
€937.33 |
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Wine Spectator (95-100)Starts off slow, then cascades like a waterfall. Full and superlong, this is structured and racy. Tight and in reserve. A classic beauty for the vintage. Score range: 95-100 |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 96 (VN (NM)) |
Inc. TAX
€1,172.53 |
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Vinous - Neal Martin (96)The 2008 Lafleur is a wine that I have tasted several times. It mirrored my previous encounters. There is still impressive fruit concentration on the nose, equally distributed between red and black, a hint of clove and just a touch of Italian delicatessen emanating from the Cabernet Franc. The palate has just melted a little since its obdurate infancy, although it is still quite linear and strict. You might argue that the 2008 Lafleur is a little charmless at the moment, but bottle age will sculpt and abrade this Pomerol into a very fine, if slightly aloof wine. (This was not shown at BI Wine & Spirit’s horizontal but a bottle was opened at a private dinner when I was in Bordeaux a few days earlier.) |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (WI) |
Inc. TAX
€1,557.73 |
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The Wine Independent (100)Lafleur 2016 is 45% Merlot and 55% Cabernet Franc giving a deep garnet color, with a touch of purple. It storms out of the glass with profound scents of plum preserves, dark chocolate, black cherry compote, and cast iron pan, leading to fragrant hints of mossy tree bark and lilacs. Full-bodied, the palate is so multi-layered and intense it is mind-blowing, delivering densely packed layers of black fruits, exotic spices and earthy elements, framed by super-firm, grained tannins and perfectly knit freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. WOW what a wine! |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (VN (AG)) |
Inc. TAX
€1,258.49 |
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Vinous - Antonio Galloni (100)I tasted many superb 2017s, but only a few that are viscerally thrilling and emotional. The 2017 Lafleur is one of a handful of wines that ascends into the stratosphere. Rich and exotically beautiful, the 2017 possesses off-the-charts intensity, tremendous aromatic depth and an impossibly long finish. A rush of dark plum, licorice, leather and mocha leaves the last impression in a wine I can only describe as: eternal. The 2017 spent about nine months in oak, 30% new. It is a towering achievement from the Guinaudeau family and their trusted associate, Omri Ram. If you can find it, buy it. And please invite me over sometime to share it with you! |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (JD) |
Inc. TAX
€1,486.49 |
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Jeb Dunnuck (100)The Grand Vin 2018 Château Lafleur from this magical terroir checks in as 54% Cabernet Franc and 46% Merlot that comes only from the more gravelly soils of the vineyard and spent 15 months in 25% new French oak. It's as good as any wine can get and has a layered, multi-dimensional style that marries power with elegance as only this estate can do. Offering notes of black raspberries, tobacco, truffly earth, spring flowers, and chocolate, it's full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, but nevertheless is as weightless as they come, offering this "je ne sais quoi" character that's hard to describe. It's more backward and reserved than the Pensées and is going to take a decade of bottle age to hit maturity, but it's a desert Island wine if there ever was one. |
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Bordeaux | 2 | 100 (JD) |
Inc. TAX
€2,614.49 |
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Jeb Dunnuck (100)If tasting the 2019 Château Lafleur doesn't just blow you away, I'm not sure what will. A perfect wine, if such a thing exists, it offers such a complex, singular profile in its black raspberries, kirsch liqueur, licorice, exotic flowers, white truffles, and sandalwood. On the palate, it has serious structure, yet the tannins build with time in the glass, and the mid-palate density and balance are so flawlessly integrated, you have to actually hunt for the structure. Pure, sensationally rich, and at the same time elegant, with awesome depth of fruit, this is what wine dreams are made of. It might be the finest young wine to ever pass my lips. It needs a solid decade of bottle age, 15 years would be even better (it will still blow your mind any time over the coming decade), and it will evolve gracefully over the following 30-40 years. |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 99 (WA) |
Inc. TAX
€1,516.49 |
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Wine Advocate (99)One of the wines of the vintage, but likely to prove slower evolving and more introverted than its 2019 counterpart, the 2020 Lafleur unwinds in the glass with aromas of cherries, raspberries, kirsch, black truffle, orange zest and vine smoke. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's deep and concentrated, with a tightly wound core of fruit framed by rich, powdery tannins, concluding with a long, saline finish. This is another magical bottle from an estate that just seems to do everything right. |
Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
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|
Bordeaux | 1 | - |
In Bond
€999.00 |
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|
Bordeaux | 1 | 93 (VN (NM)) |
In Bond
€896.00 |
|||||
Vinous - Neal Martin (93)The 1999 Lafleur flies under the radar between the feted 1998 and 2000 vintages. However, it should not be under-estimated. It has a lucid deep color. The bouquet is not dissimilar to the previous bottle tasted in 2012, blessed with pure blackberry and briary scents, hints of gravel that render it not a million miles away from a Left Bank. The palate is very well balanced and seems silkier than ever. Whilst it does not possess the mineral core of the 1998, it has a disarmingly pure and graceful finish. Whilst not a Lafleur of immense length or grandeur it is approachable and beautifully crafted. Tasted at the “International Wine & Business” Lafleur dinner at Ten Trinity, London. |
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|
Bordeaux | 1 | 95-100 (WS) |
In Bond
€778.00 |
|||||
Wine Spectator (95-100)Starts off slow, then cascades like a waterfall. Full and superlong, this is structured and racy. Tight and in reserve. A classic beauty for the vintage. Score range: 95-100 |
|||||||||
|
Bordeaux | 1 | 96 (VN (NM)) |
In Bond
€974.00 |
|||||
Vinous - Neal Martin (96)The 2008 Lafleur is a wine that I have tasted several times. It mirrored my previous encounters. There is still impressive fruit concentration on the nose, equally distributed between red and black, a hint of clove and just a touch of Italian delicatessen emanating from the Cabernet Franc. The palate has just melted a little since its obdurate infancy, although it is still quite linear and strict. You might argue that the 2008 Lafleur is a little charmless at the moment, but bottle age will sculpt and abrade this Pomerol into a very fine, if slightly aloof wine. (This was not shown at BI Wine & Spirit’s horizontal but a bottle was opened at a private dinner when I was in Bordeaux a few days earlier.) |
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|
Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (WI) |
In Bond
€1,295.00 |
|||||
The Wine Independent (100)Lafleur 2016 is 45% Merlot and 55% Cabernet Franc giving a deep garnet color, with a touch of purple. It storms out of the glass with profound scents of plum preserves, dark chocolate, black cherry compote, and cast iron pan, leading to fragrant hints of mossy tree bark and lilacs. Full-bodied, the palate is so multi-layered and intense it is mind-blowing, delivering densely packed layers of black fruits, exotic spices and earthy elements, framed by super-firm, grained tannins and perfectly knit freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. WOW what a wine! |
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|
Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (VN (AG)) |
In Bond
€1,045.00 |
|||||
Vinous - Antonio Galloni (100)I tasted many superb 2017s, but only a few that are viscerally thrilling and emotional. The 2017 Lafleur is one of a handful of wines that ascends into the stratosphere. Rich and exotically beautiful, the 2017 possesses off-the-charts intensity, tremendous aromatic depth and an impossibly long finish. A rush of dark plum, licorice, leather and mocha leaves the last impression in a wine I can only describe as: eternal. The 2017 spent about nine months in oak, 30% new. It is a towering achievement from the Guinaudeau family and their trusted associate, Omri Ram. If you can find it, buy it. And please invite me over sometime to share it with you! |
|||||||||
|
Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (JD) |
In Bond
€1,235.00 |
|||||
Jeb Dunnuck (100)The Grand Vin 2018 Château Lafleur from this magical terroir checks in as 54% Cabernet Franc and 46% Merlot that comes only from the more gravelly soils of the vineyard and spent 15 months in 25% new French oak. It's as good as any wine can get and has a layered, multi-dimensional style that marries power with elegance as only this estate can do. Offering notes of black raspberries, tobacco, truffly earth, spring flowers, and chocolate, it's full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, but nevertheless is as weightless as they come, offering this "je ne sais quoi" character that's hard to describe. It's more backward and reserved than the Pensées and is going to take a decade of bottle age to hit maturity, but it's a desert Island wine if there ever was one. |
|||||||||
|
Bordeaux | 2 | 100 (JD) |
In Bond
€2,175.00 |
|||||
Jeb Dunnuck (100)If tasting the 2019 Château Lafleur doesn't just blow you away, I'm not sure what will. A perfect wine, if such a thing exists, it offers such a complex, singular profile in its black raspberries, kirsch liqueur, licorice, exotic flowers, white truffles, and sandalwood. On the palate, it has serious structure, yet the tannins build with time in the glass, and the mid-palate density and balance are so flawlessly integrated, you have to actually hunt for the structure. Pure, sensationally rich, and at the same time elegant, with awesome depth of fruit, this is what wine dreams are made of. It might be the finest young wine to ever pass my lips. It needs a solid decade of bottle age, 15 years would be even better (it will still blow your mind any time over the coming decade), and it will evolve gracefully over the following 30-40 years. |
|||||||||
|
Bordeaux | 1 | 99 (WA) |
In Bond
€1,260.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (99)One of the wines of the vintage, but likely to prove slower evolving and more introverted than its 2019 counterpart, the 2020 Lafleur unwinds in the glass with aromas of cherries, raspberries, kirsch, black truffle, orange zest and vine smoke. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's deep and concentrated, with a tightly wound core of fruit framed by rich, powdery tannins, concluding with a long, saline finish. This is another magical bottle from an estate that just seems to do everything right. |