Wine Advisor
Lafleur 2011
View analysis
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: Neal Martin
Tasted at the property with the entire Guinaudeau family (baby commenting through the intercom.) The Grand Vin is a blend of 47% Merlot cropped on 31st August and 12th September and 53% Cabernet Franc cropped on 22nd and 23rd September. It has a generous bouquet with scents of raspberry, wild strawberry, oyster shell and a touch of kirsch, more open and approachable than the 2009 and 2010. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, crisp tannins. It has wonderful fruit concentration and minerality, very good depth on the back palate that is lacquered in truffle tinged black fruit. It has wonderful focus: a linear Lafleur with a persistent finish. Excellent. Tasted April 2012.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This tiny jewel of a property has produced a beautifully rich 2011 Lafleur from a blend of 53% Cabernet Franc and 47% Merlot. The Merlot was picked between August 31 and September 12, and the Cabernet Franc between September 22-23. The 2011 reveals a floral-scented bouquet with notions of kirsch, licorice and black raspberries. It is medium to full-bodied with terrific fruit purity, good minerality and slightly more acidity and freshness than are found in such ripe vintages as 2009 and 2010. At present, the Guinandeau family, the owners, are using between 50-60% new oak in an attempt to emphasize their great terroir and the extraordinary fruit quality they achieve from both the old vine Cabernet Franc and Merlot. This cuvee possesses some serious tannin and will undoubtedly need 5-6 years of cellaring after its release, but it should be one of the longer-lived wines of the vintage, lasting 25+ years.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
Bright, deep ruby-red. Bright, cool aromas of black cherry and cassis, with a distinct white pepper cabernet franc lift and lots of floral perfume (a whopping 63% cabernet franc here!). Sweetly oaky and lush, with lovely inner-mouth perfume to its shockingly forward flavors of strawberry, cocoa and minerals. Precise, seamless and light on its feet, this builds subtly and lingers on the finish, leaving behind a note of flinty blackcurrant. This wine has really softened since the Primeurs. Actually, I was aiming for that, Baptiste Guinaudeau told me. I knew we'd have no difficulty getting tannins in 2011 so all of my winemaking was aimed at extracting as gently as possible.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
Bright ruby-red. Classic Lafleur aromas and flavors of black cherry, cassis, licorice, minerals, cocoa and white pepper are just this side of austere. Perfumed and elegant in the mouth too, with a very fine-grained texture and light touch to the flavors of strawberry, dark cherry, spices and herbs. Really vibrates on the long finish, which features fine tannins and captivating floral lift. Another potentially great Lafleur, though in a more austere style than usual.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2011 Lafleur has an almost Left Bank-like bouquet, well-defined and poised, quite fresh with tobacco and cigar box scents emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins with a fine bead of acidity. Quite fresh and lightly spiced with white pepper and tobacco emerging towards the finish. This is a deeply impressive Pomerol in context of the growing season. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2011 Lafleur, which comes from a very dry vintage according to Jacques Guinaudeau, has a very fine, quite precise bouquet with blackberry, wild strawberry, sous-bois, sage and oregano scents developing in the glass. This feels focused and very refined. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grip in the mouth, impressive concentration for a 2011 with that arching structure that defines this Pomerol cru. This punches above expectations and is rapidly becoming one of the wines of the vintage. Tasted at the Christies’ Lafleur masterclass in London.
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.
1975(1)1976(1)1982(1)1985(1)1988(1)1989(1)1990(2)1993(1)1994(2)1995(3)1996(4)1997(3)1998(6)1999(7)2000(6)2001(6)2002(3)2003(6)2004(9)2005(7)2006(5)2007(6)2008(9)2009(5)2010(2)
Package Size
1 x 75cl
