Wine Advisor
Lafleur 1988
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Description
Château Lafleur is a tiny 4.5-hectare Pomerol property located opposite Pétrus and producing wines of comparable quality. Lafleur is owned and run by Sylvie and Jacques Guinadeau. Its vineyards are situated on the gravel-rich Pomerol plateau and adjoin those of La Fleur-Pétrus. The soils here are particularly deep and are enriched by deposits of potassium and iron. Only natural fertilisers are used and yields are painfully low, even by Pomerol standards. By the 1980s, Chateau Lafleur was on its way to becoming one of the world’s most in-demand wines selling for more than the First Growths. In 1975, Robert Parker made his first visit to the estate and since then never stopped writing about the wine. His comments on Chateau Lafleur excited consumers all over the world, and thus became one of those Pomerol wines that tied to the success and continuous praise heaped on the wine by Robert Parker.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1988 is a legitimate star of the vintage. Deeply colored, with a powerful, formidable mouthfeel, this wine represents the essence of old vines and low yields (under 20 hectoliters per hectare). Along with Lafite-Rothschild, Lafleur should prove to be among the longest-lived and most fulfilling wines of the 1988 vintage. It is that backward! Anticipated maturity: 2000-2030. Last tasted, 6/93.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1988 Lafleur is a legitimate superstar of the vintage. The slow to emerge bouquet offers up aromas of cherries, cassis, minerals, spring flowers and oak. Deeply colored, with a powerful, even massive mouth-feel, this wine represents the essence of old vines and low yields. The finish is dazzling, but 10-15 years of patience are essential. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2030.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A bottle served over dinner at Grand Village with Jacques and Sylvie. In many way, a classic ’88 in the sense it is a rather foursquare, conservative Lafleur. The nose is well defined and showing ample freshness at 20-years of age, more driven by the Cabernet Franc with a touch of green pepper, touches of freshly rolled tobacco and gravel. The palate is medium-bodied with good acidity, a sense of rigidity to its structure, somewhat unyielding after all this time. Blackberry leaf, a touch of earth and moorland. Perhaps just a little short on the finish, yet it perfectly sets off a meal. Perhaps this will not improve any further, although you could envisage it lasting another 20-years! Drink now-2020+ Tasted September 2008.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A Possible Legend Candidate
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A strong candidate for the wine of the vintage, Lafleur's 1988 is still extremely youthful, requiring another decade of cellaring. The color remains a dense opaque plum with no signs of lightening at the edge. The reticent but promising nose of kirsch, minerals, violets, and Asian spices still needs to be coaxed out of the glass. Full-bodied, dense, and concentrated, with exceptional power, layers of highly extracted fruit, and superb purity, as well as mouthsearing tannin, this is a wine for the true connoisseur. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2035. Last tasted 7/97
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted from an ex-chateau magnum at the Lafleur vertical dinner at Attersee in Austria, this is actually better than the bottle served by Jacques Guinaudeau at Grand Village back in September 2008. It has a classic tobacco and sous-bois scented nose with hints of undergrowth and Japanese green tea. It is well defined, perhaps a little aloof, but very attractive and cerebral. The palate is beautifully balanced with firm tannins that lend this a masculine personality. But it is fresh and vibrant, conservative with a lovely finish of dried herbs and dried blood. There is a captivating nonchalance imbued in this ‘88 Lafleur…it is what it is. Tasted June 2012.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Consistently one of the strongest candidates for the wine of the vintage, Lafleur’s 1988 has a dark plum/ruby color and a gorgeous nose of white flowers intermixed with kirsch liqueur and raspberries. The wine is full-bodied, sweet, round, and beautifully pure, with moderate tannin, medium to full body, and great elegance and complexity. This wine has come around faster than I would have thought. Anticipated maturity: Now-2025. Last tasted, 8/02.
About the Producer
In 2002, the Gwinoders completely acquired Lafleur, becoming the sole owner of Lafleur, and have been operating it ever since. Huabao now has 4.5 hectares of vineyards. The soil types in the garden are diverse, including gravel, clay and gravel. Generally speaking, these soils are relatively poor and very suitable for grape planting. Among the grape varieties planted in the vineyard, Merlot (Merlot) and Cabernet Franc (Cabernet Franc) are equally divided, each accounting for 50%, the planting density is 6,000-7,500 plants/ha, and the average tree age is 30 years.
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