We wagen ons aan drie letters: WAW! Zoveel charme, discretie, precisie, densiteit; hoe kan het ook anders: dit is Lafleur! Samen met eigenaar Baptiste Guinaudeau dronk ik de fles leeg op een maandag rond de middag. Ik voelde géén gêne. Dit is de perfectie volgens James Suckling (100; “It’s hard to describe perfection. It’s not just power and depth. It’s something mystical and ethereal”). Uber-Pomerol specialist Neal Martin (97-99) voorspelt: “it will be one of the standout wines of the vintage”.
De neus brengt zwart fruit, sous-bois, viooltjes. De mond is zacht en precies met rijpe zwarte pruimpjes, fluwelen rijkelijkheid met onderliggend een frisse verfijning. Dit is intens en immens, soepel en rijp, naadloos en “élégantissime”. Geniet ervan ergens tussen 2026 en 2040. Dit wordt misschien wel de wijn van deze generatie…
Lafleur behoort tot de top 5 van 2015 waartoe je ook bijvoorbeeld Margaux, Petrus, Haut Brion, Yquem of Ausone mag rekenen. In grote wijnjaren (denk 2005, 2009 en 2010) staat Lafleur altijd (en soms eenzaam) aan de top. Hopelijk wordt dit méér dan “de beste belegging” en kan iemand … ergens … ervan genieten… als hij/zij het verdient! Voelt u zich ook geroepen? Life is beautiful: obviously…
IN DE PERS
98 Neal Martin - vinous.com (Juli 2019)
The 2015 Lafleur has a broody but intense bouquet with exquisite definition and top quality Cabernet Franc showing through. This just has to be Lafleur! The palate is extremely well balanced with gentle grip, almost powdery in texture and demonstrating enormous depth and persistence on the finish. It is nowhere near ready but it will be a wonderful Pomerol. There is a sense of audacity here that is compelling. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.
98 Neal Martin - vinous.com (November 2018)
The 2015 Lafleur has an exquisite, detailed bouquet with pure, intoxicating scents of blackberry, cranberry, rose petals and crushed stone, gradually opening to reveal more marine-like elements that lend more personality, and another dimension to the wine. The palate is medium-bodied with layers of red fruit tinged with truffle. I observe the "arching" structure that has been evident since en primeur, a quite brilliant wine that will sit comfortably alongside the 1982, 2000 and 2010. Tasted in Bordeaux. Drink 2023-2070.
99 Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate - robertparker.com (Maart 2018)
The 2015 Lafleur has a quite brilliant bouquet, supremely well defined with extraordinarily pure blackberry, cranberry, cold stone and light floral (rose petal) aromas that are beautifully defined. It is only with aeration that it develops that marine tincture that I picked up on out of barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with an intense opening: layers of blackberry, raspberry coulis, bay leaf and hints of black truffle. This is a multidimensional Lafleur with an arching structure and yet manages to maintain stunning focus and precision on the finish. This is going to be one of the great Lafleur wines to rank alongside the likes of the 1982 and 2000. Heavenly. Anticipated maturity: 2025 - 2055.
97-99 Neal Martin – The Wine Advocate Issue #224 – erobertparker.com (April 2016)
The 2015 Lafleur is a blend of 51% Merlot and 49% Cabernet Franc picked 11-15 September and 1-2 October respectively. As usual, I waited for the Grand Vin to open in the glass, so I chewed the fat with Baptiste Guinaudeau before I started to tap away at the laptop. It unfurls beautifully delivering small red cherries, cranberry and Japanese nori aromas that gain intensity with every swirl. The palate is medium-bodied with full and rounded tannin, very complex with layers of cranberry and raspberry fruit, veins of white pepper and bay leaf, structured on the finish but not as foreboding as the leviathan 2010 Lafleur. It will still require ten years in bottle to reach its plateau, but it will be one of the standout wines of the vintage. Drink: 2028-2060.
100 Lisa Perrotti-Brown – The Wine Advocate Issue #236 – erobertparker.com (April 2018)
The 2015 Lafleur is a blend of 54% Cabernet Franc and 46% Merlot. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it's profoundly scented of plum preserves, chocolate-covered cherries and blueberry pie with nuances of black olives, lavender, unsmoked cigars and cast iron pan plus a touch of Indian spices. The rich, medium to full-bodied palate is completely packed with tightly wound fragrant earth, black fruit and exotic spice layers, supported by perfectly ripe, wonderfully velvety tannins and seamless freshness. The epically long finish delivers a sum that is greater than the many compelling characters imparted on the nose and palate, whispering promises of a whole myriad of provocative finishes to discover throughout this wine's very long future. This exquisite masterpiece is not to be missed. Drink: 2024-2054.
100 James Suckling – jamessuckling.com (Juni 2018)
Very deep and dark fruits on the nose with black mushrooms and wet earth and just a hint of stones. Touch of rust. Full-bodied, tight and focused. Lots of tannins yet this is so polished under the surface of the wine. Draws you in and holds you with its unique personality. Some tile and clay character to it. Makes you think. Try in 2025.
100 James Suckling – jamessuckling.com (Maart 2016)
It’s hard to describe perfection. It’s not just power and depth. It’s something mystiscal and ehteral. The wine just floats on your palate with incredible density yet precise. Taste it and you want it forever. So creamy and textured. Glorious.
97+ Antonio Galloni - vinous.com (Februari 2018)
Just as it was from barrel, the 2015 Lafleur is restrained, inward and not anywhere near as showy as most wines in this vintage. Deep, dark and quite potent, the 2015 is going to need many years to be at its best. I wouldn't dream of touching a bottle before age ten, and even that probably won't be enough time to allow the 2015 to start unwinding. The 2015 is endowed with superb depth and intensity from the very first taste. Time in the glass brings out much of the Cabernet Franc character. The 2015 is an infant, but it is also a great wine in the making. Drink 2020-2045.
93-96 Antonio Galloni – Vinous - vinous.com (April 2016)
The 2015 Lafleur is compelling in its beauty and translucent energy. One of the most restrained wines of the vintage, the 2015 isn't in a mood to show all of its cards just yet. And still, there is something totally fascinating and alluring here. In a vintage in which so many wines are obvious and overt, Lafleur is the exact opposite.
100 Jane Anson - decanter.com (Februari 2018)
18/20 Jancis Robinson – jancisrobinson.com (April 2016)
51% Merlot picked 11 and 15 Sep, 49% Cabernet Franc picked 1 and 2 Oct. Much darker crimson than Pensées with more blue in the mix. Very rich and spicy on the nose. Masses of sweetness upfront but also great refinement and freshness. Sinewy and really very glorious. Gorgeous elixir. Lots of layers and different nuances. Drink: 2025-2050.
97 James Lawther MW - Decanter Magazine – decanter.com (April 2016)
51% Merlot, 49% Cabernet Franc. 'Both varieties were good this year,' insists Baptiste Guinaudeau. True to form, this is a complex, crafted wine with enormous depth and detail. The palate is unctuous and layered, the carpet of ripe tannin providing tremendous presence and persistence. Huge ageing potential. Drink: 2027-2050.
19/20 Bettane & Desseauve (April 2016)
19-20/20 Revue des Vins de France (April 2016)
18/20 Jean-Marc Quarin – quarin.com (April 2016)
99 Tim Atkin – timatkin.com (April 2016)
In a year when too many châteaux seemed to be trying too hard to make great wines, this is the real deal, a subtle, complex, finely judged Pomerol from an exceptional terroir, made with Burgundian love of the land. Racy and sweet, balanced, silky and aromatic, with red berry fruit wound around a mineral core. One of my top two wines of the vintage. Drink: 2025-2040.
Château Lafleur Pomerol
A couple of hundred yards from Petrus, in what is a remarkably peaceful corner of Pomerol, lies one of the wine world’s very special places: Château Lafleur. Standing outside the winery buildings, looking out over the clay vineyards, one gets the same feeling one gets standing at the foot of La Romanée-Conti. It’s a very special place. Pétrus might be the more famous Pomerol property, but Lafleur is the more elysian. There is a sense of magic here.
The vineyard is planted mostly to Cabernet Franc, a rarity in Pomerol, where Merlot dominates. And it is in the vineyard where the magic of Lafleur begins. This exceptional terroir is cared for – and cared is the word – by the Guinaudeau family. The vineyards lie in a single block with four distinct parcels of soil, and are co-planted with Cabernet Franc and Merlot. One of the four plots is used exclusively for their “second” wine: Les Pensées de Lafleur, which is easily one of the best Pomerol wines in itself. In the winery the approach is distinctly simple and non-interventionist: all of the work here is done in the vines.
It is hard to define quite what makes Lafleur so special. Pétrus and Le Pin get more press, with Lafleur sitting quietly in the background. It is one of the most cerebral wines of Bordeaux. If the definition of a fine wine is one that provokes thought and emotion, then Château Lafleur is right at the top.
GuinaudeauJacques en Sylvie Guinaudeau en nu hun zoon en schoondochter, Baptiste en Julie, staan aan het roer van Lafleur. In Pomerol staat deze legendarische wijngaard bekend als «le vignoble-jardin ». Lafleur is eigendom van hun familie sinds 1872, één jaar na de stichting van Vyncke-Daels…
Lafleur is een mythe en één van de allergrootste wijnen van Bordeaux. Hij is diep, intens, karaktervol en cerebraal. Omwille van zijn zeer beperkte productie (om en bij de duizend kistjes) is het cult- en knuffelgehalte bij verzamelaars wereldwijd bijzonder hoog. Naast Petrus heeft Lafleur waarschijnlijk het mooiste terroir van Pomerol, ook al rekent Lafleur voor 65% op Cabernet Franc om de droom werkelijkheid te maken; bij Petrus draait het om 100% Merlot. Samen brengen ze de allerbeste Pomerols en dat met de regelmaat van een klok.
Julie en Baptiste wonen op Lafleur, en Sylvie en Jacques op Grand Village in Mouillac nabij Fronsac (ze maken er een knappe rode en een vibrante witte Bordeaux). Op de weg tussen Grand Village en Lafleur startten ze in 2009 een nieuw avontuur met "G de Guinaudeau" die ze graag bestempelen als "een grote wijn in wording". Onlangs werkten ze zelfs met Sauvignon Blanc druivenstokken uit Sancerrre om een piepkleine productie witte wijn te maken die de naam kreeg « Les Champs Libres ».
Het mag tegenstrijdig lijken maar de familie Guinaudeau zijn perfectionisten met een laissez-faire attitude. Hun inborst en werkwijze toont hoe je het hoogste niveau kan bereiken van op drie verschillende terroirs.
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