Wine Advisor
Lafleur 2017
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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: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Composed of 52% Cabernet Franc and 48% Merlot, the 2017 Lafleur displays a deep garnet-purple color. It slowly unfurls in the glass to reveal a profound nose of plum preserves, mulberries, boysenberries and licorice with nuances of grilled meats, black truffles, cast-iron pan and crushed rocks plus fragrant wafts of cinnamon stick and violets. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is charged with fantastically energetic black and blue fruits, framed by super-ripe, finely grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length. At this stage of the game, qualitatively the 2017 Lafleur is one to two ticks short of where the 2015 and 2016 vintages are. This said, I'm anticipating there are a lot of latent nuances here waiting to emerge, snuggly filling this substantial structure over the next decade. It should be quite delicious in 6-8 years, but I'd give it 10-15 at least for maximum impact.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Lafleur’s 2017 Merlot came in just before the rain. Cellar Master Omri Ram commented, “The 2017 Merlot was very similar to the 2015. With the Cabernet Franc, we waited; we were patient, and it came in ripe yet more fresh than the Merlot.” As it turns out, that combo of the wonderfully decadent Merlot and the galvanizing Cabernet Franc are just magic! Blended of 47% Merlot and 53% Cabernet Franc, the 2017 Lafleur has a medium to deep garnet-purple color and opens with a positively electric intensity of red and black fruits—cherries, black plums, red currants, black raspberries and mulberries—with touches of roses, cinnamon stick, smoked meats and forest floor plus a hint of truffles. Medium to full-bodied with densely packed layers of red and black fruits accented by floral and earthy sparks, it possesses very firm, very finely pixelated tannins and a lively backbone, finishing with epic persistence.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
I tasted many superb 2017s, but only a few that are viscerally thrilling and emotional. The 2017 Lafleur is one of a handful of wines that ascends into the stratosphere. Rich and exotically beautiful, the 2017 possesses off-the-charts intensity, tremendous aromatic depth and an impossibly long finish. A rush of dark plum, licorice, leather and mocha leaves the last impression in a wine I can only describe as: eternal. The 2017 spent about nine months in oak, 30% new. It is a towering achievement from the Guinaudeau family and their trusted associate, Omri Ram. If you can find it, buy it. And please invite me over sometime to share it with you!
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2017 Lafleur is without question one of the wines of the vintage on the Right Bank. Dense powerful and structured, the 2017 is all class. Given the wine's richness, I was not surprised to learn that the berries were even smaller in 2017 than they were in either 2016 or 2015. Powerful, explosive and beautifully layered, the 2017 simply has it all. What a wine. This is a tremendous showing from the Guinaudeau family.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2017 Lafleur is very deep, almost opaque in colour. This has a very intense bouquet that clearly shrugs of any risk of frost to produce copious black fruit laced with white pepper, clove, truffle and crushed stone. It actually seems to close in a little with aeration instead of opening up. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, very fresh and certainly very mineral-driven. A pixelated but "serious" finish suggests as usual, this is a long-term Pomerol. Baptiste Guinaudeau has overseen one of the wines of the vintage.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2017 Lafleur was picked 8 to 12 September and 28 and 29 September for the Merlot and Cabernet Franc respectively. It has a very impressive bouquet, frankly, one of the best that I have encountered in Pomerol, perhaps on the Right Bank. Despite the higher proportion of Cabernet Franc, the Merlot is more expressive with black cherries, a touch of cassis, sea spray and a hint of iodine. It just gains intensity with every swirl of the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with firm but fine tannin, layers of black and red fruit mixed with white pepper, sage and a slight ferrous note towards the persistent finish. This is an awesome 2017 from Baptiste Guinaudeau, one of the few that will oblige several years in the cellar.
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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