2021 - Lafleur, Pomerol

Takes its time, holds itself back, then hugs the palate, keeps its grip on your taste buds. Liqourice, iris, tobacco, violet, cassis and spiced plum, with traces of white pepper, tomato leaf and a curl of gunsmoke, full of sculpted tannins. This will take a few years reach its peak, as it runs against the usual feel of the vintage. Harvest September 17 to October 2. No chaptilisation. 12 nights of frost risk in 2021 but they successfully battled it and it is fairly similar to a normal year in terms of yield.

The 2021 Lafleur has turned out brilliantly in bottle, unfurling in the glass with aromas of mulberries and raspberries mingled with complex top notes of mint, rose petals, exotic spices, licorice, blood orange and iris. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's polished and suave, with an enveloping core of sweet, pure fruit framed by ripe tannins, concluding with a long, perfumed finish. It's a blend of 52% Cabernet Franc and 48% Merlot.

The 2021 Lafleur reflects a cooler growing season and is a patently more classical Pomerol. But it is fresh and vibrant on the nose, open with enticing oyster shell scents entwined with black fruit. The palate is comparatively lighter in style with tensile, saline tannins that are gritty in texture. It does not possess the substance and grandeur of a great Lafleur, but it will drink earlier than others and deliver all the freshness and vitality you could wish for. Tasted from ex-château magnum at Kate & Kon's 40-Year vertical in Austria.

A blend of 48% Merlot and 52% Cabernet Franc (Bouchet), the 2021 Lafleur has a deep garnet-purple color. After a swirl or two, the nose erupts with classic notes of fresh plums, boysenberries, and pencil shavings, leading to suggestions of tar, tilled soil, black truffles, and underbrush. Medium-bodied, the palate is built like a brick house, featuring a solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and great tension to support the muscular black fruits, finishing long and earthy.

Tasted blind. Light crimson. There’s something a bit plasticky about the nose of this although otherwise it’s rather agreeable. Good balance but in a very minor key. (JR)