2021, Les Perrières, BORDEAUX Supérieur Rouge (Ch. Lafleur)

Bordeaux Blend: Cabernet Franc, Merlot.

Founded in 2018 by Julie and Baptiste Guinaudeau,Les Perrières de Lafleur is grown and produced in Fronsac at Château Grand Village on limestone dominant soil. The vines for Les Perrières are from Lafleur’s massal selection of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the same vinification process and the same team – the only difference is in the terroir.

A wine that's liable to rival and indeed surpass the 2019 and 2018, the 2021 Les Perrières de Lafleur offers up a beautifully pure bouquet of raspberries, violets, rose petals, tobacco smoke and sweet spices. Medium to full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, it's concentrated and chiseled, with a bright spine of acidity, ultra-refined tannins and a long, intensely saline finish. 94-95+ William Kelley.

The 2021 Les Perrières is the wine in the Guinaudeau family's range readers should focus on. Sure, Lafleur is epic, but it requires connections and resources to acquire. The Perrières, on the other hand, is easier to find, costs a fraction of the Grand Vin, and guess what? It is fabulous in 2021. Dense and packed, the Perrières overwhelms the senses with its captivating beauty. Dark fruit, gravel, spice, menthol and lavender infuse this virile, somber wine with tremendous nuance. I would be thrilled to own it. 93-95 Antonio Galloni.

You feel the depth on the aromatics here, exerting a grip from the opening beats. Majors on austerity, but they have constructed a wine that has flesh to its blueberry and raspberry fruits, with salty cracker, crushed rocks and graphite. 2021 was not the easiest year for limestone-dominant wines because they can head towards the extremes of being too lean, but while this is restrained but it clearly has depths and interest. A success, one to look out for. 92 Jane Anson

The 2021 Les Perrières from the Guinaudeau family, the fourth vintage under this name, was picked from 30 September to 1 October. It has a well-defined bouquet with crushed stone infusing the cool black fruit, a hint of sea spray in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, quit chiselled, slightly chalky tannins. Fresh and saline, there is a verticality towards the finish. Like the Grand Village, very impressive transparency here. Not persistent, yet undeniably finely chiselled. Getting close to their aim of producing a "Lafleur on limestone". 91-93 Neal Martin.