2018 chateau lafleur, pomerol
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Why We're Buying
Wine critic Robert Parker described the Château Lafleur grand vin best, calling it "one of the most distinctive, most exotic, and greatest wines – not only in Pomerol, but in the world". Today, it's the highest-priced wine in Pomerol and a must-have for investors and connoisseurs.
Critics Scores
James Suckling
The sweetness of fruit in the center palate is incredible with a ripe-plum and currant undertone. Very aromatic already. Full-bodied, tight and compressed with a tannin quality that folds beautifully into the wine. Incredible finish. Such, such power with finesse. Tight but glorious at this stage.
Vinous
The 2018 Lafleur is mesmerizing. What a wine! The aromatics alone are spellbinding. There is no need to actually taste the 2018 to know how profound it is. Silky and caressing, with phenomenal persistence, the 2018 is a total knock-out. Spice, cedar, blood orange, sage, mint, rose petal and kirsch all race out of the glass, saturating the palate with a dazzling concoction of aromas, textures and flavors. Readers lucky enough to find it should not hesitate.
Jeb Dunnuck
More deeply colored, the 2018 Lafleur is one heavenly barrel sample that’s certainly going to end up being one of the wines of the vintage. Based on 54 Cabernet Franc and 46 Merlot, all from the gravelly portions of the vineyard, it boasts a massive bouquet of smoked blue fruits, black raspberries, scorched earth, orange blossom, tobacco, and cocoa. Deep, full-bodied, yet weightless and seamless, with a Grand Cru Burgundy-like texture, it has a stacked mid-palate, fine tannins, and a great, great finish. While most wines from the vintage have plenty of upfront appeal, there’s a classic, backward style here that makes me think this will require a solid decade of cellaring.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Lafleur is a blend of 54 Cabernet Franc and 46 Merlot. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the nose absolutely shuts down upon first pour. After a lot of air, it slowly unfurls to reveal alluring scents of fresh black cherries, ripe blackberries and redcurrant jelly, leading to suggestions of sandalwood, pencil shavings, lilacs and forest floor, with emerging, heady wafts of camphor, iron ore and Indian spices. The rich, full-bodied palate is equally slow to read, offering whispers and murmurs of earth and exotic spice-laced black fruits with glimpses at a fleeting floral undercurrent, framed by firm, finely grained tannins and beautifully knit freshness, finishing with an edifying perfume. This is liquid poetry, but I would touch it for 7-8 years, at least. Should you be around in 40 years' time, expect it to blow your mind.
Decanter
Another exceptional vintage at Lafleur, with great concentration and intensity, holding back just enough to keep you guessing. The wine is concentrated but creamy and definitely reminiscent of 2016 but with a touch more velvet to the tannins and unlikely to close down as tightly or for as long. Deep dark chocolate and liquorice notes gently layer up next to succulent black fruits and softer floral notes with the more architectural texture of slate doing its bit to add poise and precision. Normal yields were recorded as there was no mildew but being Lafleur they don't talk in hl/ha but express that as around 3/4 of a bottle per vine!!
Wine Spectator
The dark plum and cherry preserve flavors are fleshy in feel, with singed cedar and tobacco notes filling in through the finish. A touch woodsy in the end, but there's enough fruit to soak that up. Drink now.