|
| "Nevertheless, Lafleur, measured by the highest standards of Bordeaux, remains one of hte most distinctive, most exotic, and great wines - not only of Pomerol, but of the world."
Robert M. Parker, Jr. |
| | | "Where to begin when singing the praises of Château Lafleur and its stewards, the Guinaudeau family?
At this address, rare seriousness and attention to detail, informed by a deep engagement with Bordeaux's past and present, meets a superb terroir planted almost entirely with old massal selections of Cabernet Franc and Merlot which have never seen pesticides or herbicides. The result, somewhat predictably, is one of Bordeaux's very greatest wines, but also, given its Cabernet preponderance and soils richer in gravel than in clay, a rather anomalous Pomerol.
But that's a teleological narrative: Lafleur is what it is today as much by accident as by design, for its former proprietors, the Robin sisters, simply didn't change anything between the death of their father in 1947 and 1985, when Jacques Guinaudeau took the reins.
After the famous 1956 frosts, when much of Bordeaux was replanted (often at lower densities and with inferior vine genetics, emphasizing Merlot at the expense of less-productive cépages), the Robins did nothing; they only adopted tractors when oxen became unobtainable. By 1985, some 30% of the vineyard's vines were dead, and those that remained were contorted by maladroit pruning. The upside to this more or less benevolent neglect was (besides wines of extraordinary concentration and intensity) an unspoiled genetic patrimony and living soils. What was missing was consistency.
Jacques Guinaudeau changed that. He replanted missing vines, but found that they didn't taste like Lafleur, so he embarked upon a massal selection program to preserve Lafleur's unique vine genetics. And determined to no longer submit to the ups and downs of good and bad vintages, he introduced (in 1987) what was initially a second wine, Les Pensées de Lafleur, which became, by 1999, a wine in its own right. Ever since, Lafleur derives from the two gravel 'banks' that are diagonally bisected by an old watercourse, which is the source of Les Pensées. The soils in this old watercourse are richer in clay and more humid (a permanent cover crop distinguishes these rows from the rest of Lafleur), and they deliver a wine that's much more typical of Pomerol than Lafleur itself, a wine that transcends appellations.
There's so much more to say, but that will have to wait for a future profile. In the meantime, it may suffice to say that Lafleur has once again produced one of the wines of the vintage .... But what's new?"
William Kelley, Wine Advocate |
| | | | | "Is there a better value in contemporary Bordeaux than Grand Village? This 17-hectare estate is run by the Guinaudeau family, who in recent years have decided to work here just as they do at Château Lafleur.
In fact, Grand Village and Lafleur are synergistic: all Grand Village's vineyards are being grafted over with Lafleur's massale selections of Cabernet Franc and Merlot; and once-used barrels from Grand Village travel immediately to Lafleur for re-use there. Grand Village is a testing ground where methods can be trialed before being employed at Lafleur; and in turn, Lafleur subsidizes Grand Village, permitting yields and techniques that would typically be unsustainable in the lowly Bordeaux Supérieur appellation.
Of course, the market it catching on, but for now, these remain wines to buy by the case."
William Kelley, Wine Advocate |
| | | ‣ "I love the whites from the team at Lafleur, and the 2022 Château Grand Village (Lafleur) Blanc offers a sensational perfume of honeyed limes, pineapple, minty herbs, and some obvious chalky minerality. Medium-bodied on the palate, it has a vibrant, focused texture, bright acidity, and a great finish. The blend here is 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon." Jeb Dunnuck |
| | | | ‣ "The 2022 Grand Village (Lafleur) comes from more clay and limestone soils and is 80% Merlot (half of the Merlot is a massale selection from Lafleur) and 10% Bouschet. This beauty is medium to full-bodied and has incredible purity in its ripe red and blue fruits as well as notes of graphite, chocolate, violets, and damp earth. It reminds me of a great Pomerol and brings plenty of richness and depth while staying balanced and finesse-driven." Jeb Dunnuck |
| | | | ‣ "Apple, pineapple, mango, apricot, pear, blossom, clean and flinty aromas. Fresh and bright, forward, well built - so energetic and vibrant but controlled, not too much acidity or sharpness. Great aromatic complexity as well as a comforting juiciness with depth as well as vibrancy with saline, ginger, lemon balm and pineapple flavours. Finishes so long with bitter orange and lemon, but also a cool chalkiness that lingers. Just fantastic." Georgie Hindle, Decanter Magazine |
| ‣ "All Sauvignon Blanc, the 2022 Les Champs Libres is straight-up brilliant, and I'd easily put this in the top handful of whites in the vintage (and I'd say that for many vintages today as well). Honeyed flowers, minty herbs, crushed stone, and citrus all define the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied, wth a beautifully layered, seamless mouthfeel, high acidity, and a distinct salinity on the finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. This is a masterclass in world class Sauvignon Blanc that readers shouldn't miss if given the chance." Jeb Dunnuck |
| | | | ‣ "The 2022 Les Perrières de Lafleur shows just how adapted this higher-altitude site on the plateau of Fronsac is to warmer vintages. Wafting from the glass with aromas of mulberries and raspberries, sweet spices and rose petals, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with racy acids and a taut, mineral profile. It's another brilliant effort from this visionary project." William Kelley, Wine Advocate |
| ‣ "The 2022 Les Perrieres de Lafleur comes from pure limestone soils (the same as in Saint-Emilion) and is 50% Merlot and 50% Bouschet. Its deep purple hue is followed by a Cabernet Franc-driven wine offering pure red and blue fruits as well as lots of floral, violet, and forest floor-like aromas and flavors. It's another medium to full-bodied, pure, seamless, impeccably balanced wine from this team that knocks it out of the park in the vintage. This is pure Fronsac brilliance." Jeb Dunnuck |
| | | | ‣ "Deep, dark ruby-garnet with an opaque core, purple highlights, and subtle rim variation. Intense, dark berry fruit underpinned with a very characteristic savouriness and underlain with fine herbal notes, rust, graphite, and blackberry. Complex, with delicate liquorice and ripe cherry fruit, then followed by taut, supporting tannins and salty minerality; suffused with power, enormous length, and great ageing potential; all elements are not yet fully integrated, but the prospects are terrific." Falstaff Magazin |
| | ‣ "Delivers the density and serious character of Lafleur, but while this is deep in colour it is not impenetrable, with more nuance than many, jewel ruby with vibrant reflections. Clear austerity to the tannins but this is a wine that always takes patience, and it provides a welcome sense of continuity in a vintage where the byword is excess. Confident, careful, precise, with red roses, peony, heather, slate, steel, graphite, incense, blueberry and raspberry fruit, and oyster shell salinity, layered and joyful, with cooling mint leaf on the finish. Jean-Baptiste Guinaudeau so often sets the conversation in a vintage, and he is doing so again here. Harvest September 3 to 17, 30% new oak. Potential 100." Jane Anson |
| ‣ "Boysenberries, black raspberries, cherries, lilacs, violets, cocoa, and plum liqueur create the intoxicating perfume. Texturally, the wine meshes its viscosity, volume, density, opulence, and power with energy and lift. The levels of depth, and concentration here are are off the charts. The unctuous finish exceeds 60 seconds as it expands, builds, and coats your mouth, teeth and gums. It is important to note, that nothing is out of place, nothing is heavy. Everything is balanced and seamless. Like all great Lafleur vintages, this has almost unlimited aging abilities, yet the wine can be enjoyed after 5 years or so of bottle age. The wine blends 51% Cabernet Franc and 49% Merlot. 14.5% ABV, 3.8 pH. Harvesting took place from September 3 - September 17." Jeff Leve, Wine Cellar Insider |
| | | | Continue the hunt at retail:
|
| | Continue the hunt at auction:
|
| | | |
|
| | | Spectrum Wine Santa Ana (HQ)
• Santa Ana, California
www.SpectrumWine.com
Phone: 949-748-4845
Fax: 949-567-1360
Hours:
Mon - Sun, 10:00am - 6:00pm
|
| | Spectrum Wine Newport Beach
• Newport Beach, California
www.SpectrumWine.com/Storage
Address:
865 Production Pl
Newport Beach CA 92663-2809
USA
Hours:
Tue - Sat, 10:00am - 5:00pm, By Appointment |
| | Spectrum Wine Hong Kong
• Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
www.SpectrumWine.com
Phone: 852-2116-1103
Email: Carmen.Lee@SpectrumWine.com
Address:
Room 1603, 16/FMiramar Tower
132 Nathan Rd
Tsim Sha Tsui
Hong Kong
Hours:Mon - Fri, By Appointment |
| | Spectrum Wine Minneapolis
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
www.SpectrumWine.com
Phone: 949-748-4845 x 302
Address:
Minneapolis MN
Hours: Mon - Fri, By Appointment |
| |
|
| | |
