Chateau Lafleur, Pomerol

RJ’s birthday weekend; 2/27/2026-3/1/2026 (Bluffton, South Carolina) : One of my contributions. Purchased in 2007 from an European dealer when the market for Pomerol was going La La. Definitely from the period but perhaps fabricated by HR. It can also be a real deal. Super concentrated with the sweet fruit that only comes with time, black truffle, sauteed cep, dark chocolate, strong cedar, dark spices and earth. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of mature sweet black fruit, rich, warm, full …

1955 vintage

A rather austere wine. Compact on the palate, with good density. Slightly angular tannins, medium length. Concentrated with a robust structure, but with a slightly rustic definition. Not really convincing, especially for the price point.

1999 vintage

Tasted at Acker event, unable to record my tasting notes. Recorded only wine rating based on my preference.

2010 vintage

A wonderful balanced and complex nose. Bright red and blue fruits with layers of earthy spices, dark chocolate, oregano and seasoned cedar on the palate. Powerful yet polished mid-palate. Concentrated full-bodied mid-palate balanced with tons of fresh acidity extend the palate and finish which is very long. This is built to drink for decades. 96-98 pts

2010 vintage

Ein Duft mit viel Tiefgang, klar und rein in der Frucht, dazu rauchige Noten, Koriandersamen, Granatapfel, Sauerkirschen, Flieder, Veilchen; der Gaumen ist cremig, rund, packt dann zu, sehr vertikal, verspielt, voller Energie, grosse Eleganz, die Tannine sind von ausgezeichneter Qualität, kein Gramm Fett, dennoch grossartige Länge. Ein hervorragender, hocheleganter Lafleur, macht früh Spass, wird ausgezeichnet reifen.

2024 vintage

Outstanding, still too tannic but got so much potential. Its a whirlwind of flavours and every time i think ive got it, the flavours already changed.

2010 vintage

This was generously brought by a friend and the bottle was singing. Open and radiant, with that old-school Bordeaux smell of graphite, some animalic note, just ripe plum and red berries, some truffle, menthol, sme eucalyptus, orange zest and some pepper. It's medium-full bodied, with good persistence, some medium+ tannin that is a touch rough by today's standard, and very nice medium-high acidity. While this might not be the greatest vintage ever, there is a sense of effortlessness and class …

1999 vintage

24x Chateau Lafleur (1986-2020) : All wines were tasted blind, none of the wines were decanted. A rare opportunity to taste such a broad lineup of Chateau Lafleur, especially covering nearly every recent vintage side by side. This was a tale of two parts. Wines from before 2010 were inconsistent, often marked by drying tannins or bitter edges, a problem seen in many Right Bank wines from the 2000s. In contrast, almost everything from 2010 onward showed a clear step …

2010 vintage

24x Chateau Lafleur (1986-2020) : All wines were tasted blind, none of the wines were decanted. A rare opportunity to taste such a broad lineup of Chateau Lafleur, especially covering nearly every recent vintage side by side. This was a tale of two parts. Wines from before 2010 were inconsistent, often marked by drying tannins or bitter edges, a problem seen in many Right Bank wines from the 2000s. In contrast, almost everything from 2010 onward showed a clear step …

1999 vintage

Chateau Lafleur vertial 1986-2020 tasted blind : Youthful nose with restrained fruit and subtle spice. Palate is elegant and light-footed for the vintage, with refined tannins and a cool, understated finish. Very promising. 96+

2010 vintage

Chateau Lafleur vertial 1986-2020 tasted blind : Resinous and earthy on the nose, with faint red fruit peeking through. Dry and tertiary on the palate, showing more life than the 1989, but still nearing the end of its drinking window.

1999 vintage

45min of air in the glass and was ready to go. Tastes like blueberry pie. Delicious. Vintage shows up in form of a lower concentration.But the wine is easily able to overcome any limitations of the season.

1999 vintage

Really far from the fabulous 2022 and 2023

2024 vintage

Orange flowers, black cherries, and black raspberries, combined with red and purple flowers, along with chocolate mint, begin to define the nose. It is balanced between its vibrancy, purity, and ripe red pit fruits on the palate before leading to exotic citrus, with lingering notes of dark chocolate, plums, sea salt, and chalk in the finish. Unlike many vintages of Lafleur, this is a year that can be enjoyed with pleasure in its youth. That being said, it can also …

2024 vintage

Aromatic and creamy, full bodied with soft and ripe fruits and good complexity, good acidity and length. Beautiful wine.

2024 vintage

Quiet intensity and composure. Berries, violets, smoke and black truffle. Beneath, rose petals and rocks that carry a tension that feels almost weightless. Palate is seamless—silky in texture, charged with fine acidity, and shaped by precise, sculpted tannins. There’s clarity here, and something resolute. Cab Franc in full voice, lifted and cool, merging with Merlot’s depth and curve. Energy beaming beneath the surface. Spmething of nner brightness and composure. Long and resonant, the finish echoes in stone, florals, and soft …

2021 vintage

The nose is not the most intense but what a perfume! Black cherry, precious wood, tobacco, menthol and undergrowth. More powerful mouth, on exquisite black fruits that unfold a still lively juice, on a beautiful acidity, all in refinement, with a beautiful complexity on tobacco, cedar and undergrowth. It is especially on the way in which the wine stretches out in length that impresses. but what is most impressive in this wine is this glacial mint. Finish both earthy and …

1955 vintage

Strict fruits selection, serious wine making results this bottle in a mysterious stage at this moment and time! The blackish color, nose of supreme, thick skin, ripe dark fruits and sadly, rather reluctant to unfurl its deep, beautiful character! Rather spicy on the palate, fine but a touch closed on the palate! Definitely takes time to transform, maybe a good few years of storage or may need a decade, I don't know! All the great characters were there, just fail …

1999 vintage

Wonderful Lafleur, opened the bottle and from the start the wine tasted pefectly. Everything on the right place. I think it needed 25 years to ripe to perfection. Only the style of the year 99 prevents a higher rating.

1999 vintage

Opened at Another Place in HK. P&P and enjoyed immediately. Bonus wine! Beautiful purple colour and was very open right upon first pour, showing off dark fruit, graphite and hints of tomato and herbs. Not the most concetrated Lafleur I've had, and also felt more tertiary than perhaps it should have done, but a wonderful bonus to enjoy with everyone after an epic line-up. Thanks so much to M for the consistent genorosity, can't wait to return the favour!

1999 vintage

It is impossible not to notice the multiple layers of black cherries, dark chocolate, black raspberries, and salt that show on the palate. This is a gorgeous vibrant, sapid, and racy, wine with salinity in the finish that allows the wine to continue lingering while enticing you to take another sip. This is the Pomerol of the vintage! Produced from a blend of 52% Cabernet Franc and 48% Merlot, 13.5% ABV, harvesting took place September 17-24 for the Merlot and …

2021 vintage

Hello everyone. I have almost completed my tastings of the 2021 in bottles. There will be no more big surprises (Petrus not tasted). Basically, even if this vintage is not at the level of 2016, 18, 19, 20 and 22. To my taste it is very often superior to 2014 and 2017 in any case. It is very particular with enormous finesse and above all a precision in defining each terroir that is rarely achieved. A school model if you …

2021 vintage

Slow ox one hour. Medium to full bodied. Black cherry, licorice, herbs and smoke. Elegant and nicely balanced if lacking some of the power of the better vintages. Still this is a spectacular 1999.

1999 vintage

My colleagues and I were finally able to organize a mini Lafleur vertical last night (an old dream that was very, very difficult to bring together) to redefine the odds against the fabulous 2022 vintage. Once again, we can't put 100 points everywhere. 1) 2019 - 2022 (sample) 100/100 3) 2020 99-100/100 4) 2018 99/100 5) 2016 - 2021 (sample) 98-99/100 7) 2015 98/100 8) 2012 -2017 97/100 10) 2014 96-97/100 11) 2013 94/100

2021 vintage

Nose: black prune, forest, dark fruits Notes: tasted in a Lafleur vertical of 88, 89, 90, 93, 94, 99. Started drinking after breathing in the bottle for 3 hours. The aromas and palates are relatively darker than the other vintages. The overall feeling is that the wine is still very young and relatively heavier than the others and it seems like a lot more time is required for this wine to integrate. This is a little different to my last …

1999 vintage

Blackish crimson color with some bricking. Decanted and aerated for 90 minutes then drank over an hour. Beautiful nose of blackberries, truffle, some earth, mocha, licorice, cassis, a very refined entry on the palate with lots of perfumed dark fruits, nice acidity, good complexity but not mind bending, good mocha tinged finish with decent length and resolved tannins. Medium bodied. Delicious.

1999 vintage

Beautiful if unspectacular Very together, smooth and good length … but lacking depth and vibrancy. It’s definitely what you drink is what you get. That’s no criticism really - it’s a great wine, from a less than average year, made with the usual care expected from the family. No rush to drink, but also unlikely to get any better.

1999 vintage

Just a very solid claret which went down nicely with the prime rib. Nothing spectacular but enjoyable as expected from this chateau in a ok year.

1999 vintage

The explosive nose grabs your focus with truffles, dried flowers, spice, black plum, black salt, mocha, gunpowder, and mint. The wine is full-bodied, powerful, concentrated, rich and intense. The wine is seamless as it enters its expansive, dark red berry and cocoa finish. Lingering over 60 seconds, the purity, length and intensity is off the hook. Drink from 2025-2070.

2010 vintage

energy a bit low but Chocolate sweet beautiful elegance nose and palate. Nose a bit metallic. Super smooth. But drink up. Perhaps bottle condition

1955 vintage

Splendide comme d'habitude.

2021 vintage

98-99 In my opinion, once again the greatest wine of the vintage (along with Carmes Haut-Brion). A magical, stellar wine that transcends all standards of the year. Surprisingly, it succeeds much better in "small" vintages than all the other stars of Bordeaux (Petrus, Ausone, Pauillac 1er crus....) And if it was simply the best Bordeaux in the world? Apart from that, recently tasted, the 2019 is the most fabulous of Lafleur, ahead of 2018 and 2016 which are already perfect …

2021 vintage

Selections of Bordeaux 2021 from barrel : Candidate for wine of the vintage: sheer nobility in its cool, blueberry fruit, evoking expensive Havana cigars. I like the Merlot richness/sweetness to balance high-toned airy elegance from the Cabernet Franc (Bouchet). This blend of 52% Bouchet and 48% Merlot, is a high-wire act of excellence, with more ripe fruit than most other estates in 2021. No added sugar, clocking in at 13.5% alcohol. (95-97)

2021 vintage

Spearmint, tobacco leaf, flowers, cherries, wet earth, smoke, truffle and leafy herbs shine in the nose. This is an elegant, refined, pensive, vivacious, reserved Lafleur that remains focused on its purity of the fruit and silkiness in the tannins. Balanced, harmonious, vibrant, long and seductive, the wine offers a purity to its concentrated, red fruits that is made even better with its refreshing touch of mint and earthy nuances that come in nicely in the lengthy finish. Clearly, this is …

2021 vintage

6 Vintages Le Pin vs Petrus vs Lafleur vs Other Pomerol : All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a …

2010 vintage

Petrus vs. Le Pin vs. Lafleur 2004-2011, blind (Fribourg) : Beautiful nose here, fresh with dark cherry, cola, underbrush. Wow, soft and succulent on the palate, still with some unresolved dry extract but really deep and complex. A wow wine. 98-100

2010 vintage

Pétrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin (Fribourg) : 6 vintage face-off (2006-2011) Pétrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin vs alternating Pomerol pirate. The wines were served in vintage flights of 4 and not decanted. Main observations were: 1/ Le Pin knocked it out of the park coming in first in 4 out of 6 vintages while Pétrus came in last with not a single vintage win (Lafleur came in best in two off-vintages, 2006 and 2008), 2/ The best overall …

2010 vintage

Consistent with previous notes

1999 vintage

It seems to have been almost 9 years since my last crack at this wine. Time has been good here. Splash decanted and poured, which initially brought about a nice plummy, slightly firm wine with loads of earth, flowers, and truffle with a touch of olives. 1 hour later things picked up. The wine fleshed out and began delivering ripe plums, chocolate, truffle, flowers, mint, and fig. The tannins softened, helping the wine to spread out, soften and leave you …

1999 vintage

Sweet dark currant, tobacco, licorice and earth on nose and palate. Fully mature with good concentration. No wow factor. A good Bordeaux but a slightly underwhelming Lafleur. No wow factor. 92+

1999 vintage

Decanted for three hours. This is a more medium weight, elegant style of Lafleur. Very classic stylistically this shows black currant, plum, mocha and cigar box coming through with layers of complexity. This wine will never blow your mind but it is a beautiful wine in an off vintage.

1999 vintage

Plush, sweet, black fruit palate.

1999 vintage

The 1999 Lafleur is a fun wine to drink now, seemingly fully mature. The nose shows fine blue and black fruit with truffle, game, and chestnut. Its aromatic volume and vigor leave something to be desired. While the elements here are obviously enjoyable, it simply doesn’t possess the dynamic nature to propel it to the next tier.

1999 vintage

This wine is continuing to get better and better. This bottle was the best of my last 3 by far, and has me thinking this is really starting to emerge. In a few years time this will really blossom.

1999 vintage

3rd of 6, decanted 2 hours, perfect cork and level, fractionally better integrated and silkier but otherwise as bottle noted in June 17, impressive length and persistence, if not that concentrated, foxy CF quality to fore which others may like better than me, no rush. F (17.5).

1999 vintage

Similar to my last note from 2019. This may be slightly more resolved than last time, but there is still a slight veil of bitterness overlaying the fruit on the palate. Aromatically it is pure and inviting. Tannins are like cocoa powder and are perfectly balanced. This will hang on for a while but it’s pretty nice right now. Not sure how much upside there is.

1999 vintage

alluring nose of carrot tops and dirt. very earthy and pretty mouth - elegant but lacks umph. refined yet still quite tannic, this wine can still last a bunch more years. Not getting any of the lushness that I'd expect from Pomerol. In his Lafleur retrospective Neal Martin summed it up nicely as 'little Left Bank in style, with a graceful finish'. The 1998 was a much sexier wine.

1999 vintage

Decanted for three hours. Terrific sophisticated nose of black cherry and a little leather. The wine is fully mature, beautifully integrated and medium to full bodied. Concentrated flavors of black cherries, liqueur, licorice and leather this a graceful Lafleur that lacks the power and wow factor of the best vintages but for those who like a less structured, elegant Lafleur this works.

1999 vintage

Autumn leave and fungal nose. On the palate toasted oak and some green pepper. More red fruit and white pepper after time. Not a "wow" wine but velvety and Burgundian. 94+

1999 vintage

Bordeaux 2010 - 10 Years On - 61 Reds : Bordeaux 2010 after 10 years. 61 reds, mostly big names, tasted blind. Average score 92.1 and lower than the more open and charming 2009 vintage last year (93.4). A few observations: A) It’s not yet the harmonious, complex, classic, clean vintage. Especially the masculine appellations of the left bank need at least 5 more years to just open up, potentially longer to soften. B) Left bank trumps right bank thanks …

2010 vintage

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Chateau Lafleur, Pomerol

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