2022 Les Champs Libres
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Tasting notes
A standout white in 2022, Les Champs Libres is the pure Sauvignon Blanc (carefully sourced Sancerre clones) from the Ch. Lafleur team, made with specific vineyards at Grand Village. Despite the warm year, the limestone soils have helped retain incredible freshness, with a pH of just 3.02. At this youthful stage, there’s the slightest pear note overlaying a fresh herbaceous character, but it’s on the palate that the wine reveals its potential. There is such freshness, energy and intensity here – with a fine mineral texture, a chalky grip that verges on phenolic, building a framework around the core of zesty fruit. Irresistible.
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Neal Martin, Vinous
More reviews and scores
A 100% Sauvignon Blanc picked on August 24th, the 2022 Blanc from Les Champs Libres wafts from the glass with a delicate, fresh bouquet of menthol, white fruits, lemon and jasmine. Medium to full-bodied, dense and layered, it's precise and pure with a concentrated core of fruit and a long, penetrating and perfumed finish.
Another incredible white from the Guinaudeau family, the 2022 Les Champs Libres Blanc is based on 100% Sauvignon Blanc brought up in a mix of new and used oak, It delivers lemon, pineapple, honeysuckle, crushed stone, and white flowers as well as a medium-bodied, lively, racy, exotic style on the palate. As I wrote during En Primeur, this is a masterclass in world class Sauvignon Blanc that readers shouldn’t miss.
The 2022 Les Champs Libres, one of the whites from the Guinaudeaus at Lafleur made from Sauvignon Blanc, has a refined bouquet with white peach, nectarine and a hint of lanolin blossoming in the glass. The palate retains its Burgundian allure with fine delineation, clean and precise notes and a hint of orange rind. It offers gentle grip and persistence in the mouth with a fresh, vibrant finish. This has a lovely texture and so much freshness. It is superb.
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.