France

Merlot

Cabernet Franc

Ch. Lafleur

Chateau Lafleur Pomerol

Bordeaux

Pomerol

The 2020 vintage was less of a shock perhaps for Lafleur than many other estates - they travel less than many estates, and already spend much of their time in the vines. Stunning texture, knitted down but rippling with silk and velvet, opening up to show violet, cherry, mandarin, cocoa bean, black truffle, mint, stretches out langoriously, with pulses of electricity and points of energy, tension and sinewy tannins. Showcases an oyster shell salinity that don't usually associate with a solar vintage. They do such a great job here of illuminating individual flavours, of bringing definition to the overall palate, and this is a superb Lafleur. Hard to fault. Winemaker Baptiste Guineaudeau.

Inside Bordeaux

The 2020 Lafleur is a blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs lots and lots of patient swirling to coax out a slowly emerging perfume of kirsch, wild blueberries, juicy black plums, and lilacs, followed by wafts of tar, crushed rocks, Sichuan pepper, and wood smoke. The full-bodied black, blue, and red berry flavors grow in the mouth, allowing earth and mineral nuances to emerge, textured by velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epically long-lasting stone and licorice-laced flavors. This will need at least 10-15 years in bottle to reveal its cards, and personally I think it's holding onto a full house.

by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

Takes its time in the glass to unroll, as true in 2024 as in any other vintage of Lafleur. Dark fruit character, leafy cassis bud alongside blackcurrant, gunsmoke, poppy seeds, black tea, crayon, even the beginnings of white truffle. Remarkable how different the structure, fruit quality and tannins here are to many others in the vintage - if you are planning to secure any of the big names, this should be on your shortlist. Builds in intensity in the glass, certainly you don't need to worry if you are a collector and don't want to miss a vintage. Harvest 20 to 30 September. They did no green harvesting here, and with the terroir plus careful work in the vineyard, the yields are in mid to high 30s. Lafleur team working under Julie and Baptiste Guinaudeau. 25% new oak.

Iris and violet flowers greet you on the opening beats, and it's a little more open at this early stage than is sometimes the case with this most profound of wines. Combines deep and creamy cassis and blueberry fruits with pumice-scraping tannins, vibrant and humming through the palate. There are, as ever, hidden depths here that show through the cocoa bean and espresso as it opens up, and this still needs a good 8 to 10 years before reaching its peak. 25% new oak for ageing.

A blend of 49% Merlot and 51% Bouchet (Cabernet Franc), with a pH of 3.8, Lafleur 2022 has a deep garnet-purple color. The nose is incredibly backward and closed, slowly unfurling to offer glimpses at plum pudding, baked black plums, and dark chocolate, followed by subtle nuances of licorice, violets, cast-iron pan, and Indian spices, with a touch of wood smoke. The medium to full-bodied palate is built like a skyscraper, with very firm, very fine-grained tannins and plenty of freshness supporting the tightly wound black fruits and earthy layers, finishing with incredible length. It will need a lot of time.

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.

Made from 53% Merlot and 47% Bouchet (Cabernet Franc), the 2019 Lafleur is deep garnet-purple in color. It slowly grows in the glass, emerging with scents of blueberry compote, prunes, and dark chocolate, followed by suggestions of garrigue, cedar, and wild sage. The full-bodied palate is firm, grainy, and hedonic, featuring loads of savory nuances and finishing on a lingering aniseed note.

Lafleur 2018 is deep garnet purple in color. It is a little broody to begin, giving way to notes of sauteed herbs, damp soil, and truffles, over a core of baked plums, blackberry preserves, and cedar, with a waft of olives. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is firm and grainy, quite muscular, locked up tight, with a long and earthy finish. It needs time! 

Stunning aromatic intensity curling out of the glass, violets and peonies, just a gorgeous wine that is hard to resist even at only eight years old, with plenty of time ahead before it fully softens. Luscious opening, then flooded with liqourice, black chocolate, cocoa beans, sage, linear, with contained power that grips on to the palate. 20% new oak, Guinaudeau family owners.

Concentrated ruby in colour at the 10 year mark, and wow this is good, just mouth-filling black truffle, bilberry, olive tapendade, Cabernet Franc dominant in its floral violet and raspberry leaf curls, standing head and shoulders above most of the Pomerols in the vintage, lord of all it surveys. Has a sense of drama and restraint, then releases a saline juicy finish.

Medium garnet in color, the 2013 Lafleur starts off quite herbal, with notions of rosemary and wild sage giving way to a core of raspberry coulis and kirsch, plus hints of crushed rocks, lavender, and tobacco leaf. The medium-bodied palate delivers a good core of fruit with an herbal undercurrent and firm, chewy tannins, finishing savory.

The 2012 Lafleur is medium to deep garnet colored. It features profound scents of dried cherries, prunes, and wild thyme plus underlying suggestions of camphor, iron ore, and cumin seed. The medium to full-bodied palate is rich and multi-layered, supported by rounded tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with an herbal lift.

Delivers Lafleur electricity, if still a little serious at almost 20 years old. This remains a Cabernet Franc dominant vintage in its feel and aromatics, if not in blend, and the austerity of the early years has not entirely disappeared. Give it a few moments to unwind and show those seductive brushed tannins that cushion grilled black fruits, slate, graphite, smoked earth, cumin, black pepper, steel, violets and roses. Jacques Guinaudeau owner and winemaker, and this was still just four vintages since he had become sole owner, following 15 years renting from his aunts (first both, then one) the Robin sisters. Harvest October 8 to 14, after a challenging vintage that needed the attention to detail that Lafleur always delivers.

I tried to restrain myself, sipping this rare and stunning wine slowly but surely, but it was almost impossible not to down it in one, it was just so good. Supple and finely-boned tannins, a ton of white truffle and tobacco notes, gentle smoked earth, tannins still holding on to the now fully softened red fruits. Shared by a generous friend at 67 Pall Mall - and even luckier, I was simply walking past their table with lucky timing! Jacques Guinaudeau had arrived at the estate just two years earlier, in 1984, leasing the vines from his aunt Marie Robin. It took decades to come around, but right now it is singing.

2024	No priceNot available	Extraordinary
2023	No priceNot available	Extraordinary
2022	No priceNot available	Extraordinary
2021	kr 8 381.70Available	Extraordinary
2020	kr 8 160.40Available	Extraordinary

Category	Red wine
Vinmonopolet no.
Producer	Ch. Lafleur
Vintages	2020
Country	France, Bordeaux, Pomerol
Bottle	75 cl

Alcohol	14 %
Acid	%
Sugar	< 3 g/l

Packaging	Glass
Cork type
Selection	Uten utvalg
Wholesaler	Lars Søreide AS
Carrier	Lars Søreide AS