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Tasting notes
The 2011 Lafleur was just pipped by the 2012. It has retained that Left Bank allure on the nose with graphite and tobacco infusing the black fruit, which does not have quite the brightness nor energy of the following vintage. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, a little drier and more austere than the 2012, though it coheres wonderfully in the glass and lingers long in the mouth. This is a no-frills Lafleur with a conservative streak that you have to accept. Tasted from ex-château magnum at Kate & Kon's 40-Year vertical in Austria.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Neal Martin, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2011 Lafleur has an almost Left Bank-like bouquet, well-defined and poised, quite fresh with tobacco and cigar box scents emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins with a fine bead of acidity. Quite fresh and lightly spiced with white pepper and tobacco emerging towards the finish. This is a deeply impressive Pomerol in context of the growing season. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.
Magnum. Herby, Franc-ish nose. The palate is ripe and still very fruit-driven with the gloss of Pomerol. Silken yet firm. Powerful and rounded. (RH)
Tasted blind. Mid crimson. Slightly simple red fruits on the nose. Thick and quite heavily extracted – and pinched, almost painfully so – on the end. Very showy! But still much more youthful than most of these 2011s. (JR)
About the producer
The Société Civile du Ch. Lafleur is the collective name for the Guinaudeau family’s wines and estates. These are some of the Right Bank’s most famous wines, including Ch. Lafleur and Les Pensées in Pomerol, along with Les Perrières, Les Champs Libres and Ch. Grand Village in Fronsac.