2019, Château Lafleur, AOC, POMEROL

Bordeaux Blend: Merlot, Cabernet Franc.

The 2019 Lafleur has a more fruit-driven bouquet, perhaps a little less cerebral than its peers in this flight. Mulberry intermixed with pencil box and undergrowth. With aeration, thankfully, it does gain more nuance and complexity. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, symmetrical, quite austere with Early Grey, bay leaf and clove, superb crescendo towards the almost audacious finish. Stunning. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. 99 Neal Martin, Vinous (2023).

I am not sure when the 2019 Lafleur is going to be ready to drink, but it is not going to be anytime soon. A huge, powerful wine, the 2019 Lafleur possesses tremendous intensity and energy, but less of the immediate charm of many recent vintages. All of its energy is focused inward. Hints of gravel, crushed rocks, graphite, dried herbs and sweet pipe tobacco gradually emerge over time. The purity of the flavours here is just unreal. The 2019 Lafleur is another magnificent wine from the Guinaudeau family. 98 Antonio Galloni, Vinous (2022).

The 2019 Lafleur is an utterly profound young wine that unwinds in the glass with aromas of rose petals, raspberries and sweet spices mingled with notions of blood orange, violets and fresh tobacco that are hauntingly reminiscent of this estate's great 1982. Full-bodied, deep and seamless, it's layered and multidimensional, with a concentrated core of vibrant fruit, lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins, concluding with a long, searingly intense finish. This magical Lafleur is unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage. 100 William Kelley, Wine Advocate (2022).

Drinking Window: 2026 - 2065