Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2015

Vinous

98 / 100

par Neal Martin le 10/07/2019

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.

Wine Advocate

99 / 100

par Neal Martin le 02/03/2018

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. 

Vinous

97 / 100

par Antonio Galloni le 27/02/2018

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.

Jamessuckling.com

100 / 100

par James Suckling le 12/02/2018

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.

Decanter.com

100 / 100

par Jane Anson le 26/01/2018

The difference between Les Pensées and Lafleur itself is almost invariably in the intensity, texture and weight in the mouth. The extraction time for Lafleur is no more than for its little brother, and both have just 20% new oak in this vintage, one of the lowest percentages at this quality level across the whole of Bordeaux, I would like to bet. And yet the ripeness and density of the fruit is full of impact, showcasing tannins that are fine but structured, with an explosion of black fruits and fresh mint leaf on the mid-palate, layered with graphite, slate, cigar box, and black pepper spice. It's going to last and last.

Jamessuckling.com

100 / 100

par James Suckling le 14/06/2016

Château Lafleur It’s hard to describe perfection. It’s not just power and depth. It’s something mystical and ethereal. The wine just floats on your palate with incredible density, yet it’s precise. Taste it and you’ll want it forever. So creamy and textured. Glorious. 100 points

Vinifera

5 / 5

le 31/05/2016

Nez superbe. Prune, épices douces, violette. Très belle bouche, avec du volume. Entrée de bouche, précise, douce. Long développement crescendo. Finale superbe, d’une grande pureté. Remarquable !

Wine Advocate

97-99 / 100

par Neal Martin le 29/05/2016

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

The Wine Cellar Insider

98-100 / 100

par Jeff Leve le 30/04/2016

Come-hither textures and a beautiful purity of fruit, this wine achieves a racy sensuality that leaves you aching with desire. In a display of mastery, this wine is opulent with lambskin tannins and a dazzle of sweetness on the palate, leaving you wanting and needing to take another taste. The wine is a deep, long kiss that is concentrated, clean, precise and fresh with an impressive textural component. Produced from a blend of 51% Cabernet Franc that was picked on two separate dates, October 1 and 2 and 49% Merlot that was picked September 11 and September ?, the wine reached 14.1% alcohol with a pH of 3.75.

Bettane & Desseauve

19-19,5 / 20

le 28/04/2016

Assemblage de 51 % de merlots vendangés les 11 et 15 septembre et 49 % de cabernets francs vendangés les 1er et 2 octobre, ce cru mythique de Pomerol est d’une précision à couper le souffle dans sa fraîcheur aromatique qui oscille entre la guimauve, la violette et la pivoine. On retrouve tous ces parfums en bouche avec un tannin qui prend progressivement possession du dégustateur, il vous imprègne et ne vous lâche pas. Avec ce 2015, on a une idée de l’éternité.

Decanter.com

97 / 100

par James Lawther MW le 28/04/2016

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.2027-2050

Vinous

93-96 / 100

par Antonio Galloni le 27/04/2016

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.

timatkin.com

99 / 100

par Tim Atkin MW le 20/04/2016

Jean-Marc QUARIN

18 / 20

par Jean-Marc Quarin le 18/04/2016

Sur cette minuscule propriété, il s'est écoulé 26 jours entre le ramassage des merlots, très tôt début septembre, et celui du cabernet franc début octobre. Couleur intense, belle, pourpre et violine. Nez très aromatique, fin, floral, subtil et particulièrement pur. Bouche tendre, fondante particulièrement fruitée, suave, et très noble au toucher avec une sensation de gelée de mûres tout à fait incroyable. Longue finale séveuse et aérienne. Vin esthétique, très précis et délicieux. A suivre pendant l'élevage. Assemblage 49% cabernet franc  et 51% merlot. Degré d'alcool : 14 : pH: 3,8.

René Gabriel

19 / 20

le 10/04/2016

Dunkles Granat, recht satt in der Mitte, rubiner Rand. Kein einfaches Unterfangen diese Lafleur-Fassprobe nasal anzugehen, er wirkt dezent medizinal oder auch mineralisch, zeigt rote Fruchtschalen, Kräuternuancen und helle Edelhölzer. All dies bewegt sich im diskreten Bereich. Im Gaumen füllig mit cremigen Tanninen, man spürt deutlich seine Grösse und man weiss auch, dass ein hoher Cabernet-Franc-Anteil immer eine schlechte Bank für Jugendavancen ist. Das Finale endet süss mit rotbeerigem Schimmer. Aus Erfahrung und aus der Jahrgangsvorgabe kann man hier sicher sein, dass dies ein grosser Lafleur wird. Mir schienen aber die früheren Jahrgänge bei Fassproben aufdringlicher und kraftvoller. Und die haben mir - ganz ehrlich gesagt - damals dann auch besser gefallen. Immer auch im Hinblick auf die ganz alten, legendären Lafleurs. Die heutigen sind anders, feiner und vielleicht auch zu allgefällig. Mir fehlt die alte Supplement-Genialität. Aber man muss das Neue auch akzeptieren, ohne den Wein zu strafen. Denn die Klasse ist – im Prinzip – fraglos da. 19/20 2025 – 2050

Jamessuckling.com

100-100 / 100

par James Suckling le 05/04/2016

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.