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Lafleur
Bordeaux
Burgundy
An 11 acre Pomerol property growing 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot with yields of 30 hectolitres per hectare. Lafleur only produces 1000 cases per year, with the second wine, Penseees de Lafleur producing 250 cases. The wine stays in oak barrels (up to half in new oak) for 18-20 months before being fined with fresh egg whites. Lafleur is considered one of the few wines of Pomerol capable of challenging (and sometimes surpassing) the great Petrus. Old-vine Cabernet Franc certainly gives Lafleur its complexity and the tiny yields echo the motto ‘Quality surpasses quantity’, making this great chateau a rare and highly sought-after wine.
| Vint | Description | Cl | ? | Cs | Bt | Cs | Bt | + |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tasting Notes: The 2008 Lafleur, a blend of 54% Cabernet Franc and 46% Merlot, offers extraordinarily pure notes of raspberries, kirsch, flowers, and subtle forest floor nuances. A wine of exceptional purity and full-bodied intensity that remains light on its feet because of its fresh acids and lower pH, it represents a denser, more complete version of the 1988 and 1996. Built for the long haul, purchasers will need at least a decade of patience before pulling a cork. It should keep for 40-50 years thereafter. The tiny Lafleur vineyard, which was harvested between October 8-14, produced a wine with an atypically high percentage of Cabernet Franc. Proprietor Guinadeau stated that the Cabernet Franc was among the finest he had ever harvested. Robert Parker Wine Advocate April 2009 Parker Points: 94-96 Drinking Period: 2019-2069 |
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Tasting Notes: The 2005 Lafleur is tight and austere at present, but unquestionably enormously endowed. It displays a dense ruby/purple hue as well as a beautiful bouquet that only emerges with coaxing. Aeration is essential in order to release the subtle, restrained scents of licorice, kirsch liqueur, black truffles, and flowers. In the mouth, there is compelling richness, depth, and intensity, but the wineÕs power, full body, forbiddingly backward style, and high tannins suggest significant cellaring will be required. Parker Points: 95+ Drinking Period: 2020-2050 |
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Tasting Notes: Unfortunately, I have not seen as much of the 1989 Lafleur as I would have liked. In this particular tasting, the wine had closed down, and seemed somewhat muted and subdued when compared to my earlier notes. It is an enormous, full-bodied, tannic, powerful style of wine, with a dark purple color, an earthy, truffle, plum, licorice, and mineral-scented nose, full body, huge fruit and extract, and mouth-searing tannin in the finish. I would not open a bottle for 5-10 years. Wine Advocate # 109 Feb 1997 Parker Points: 95 Drinking Period: 2005-2035 |
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