Chateau Lafleur 2024

JAMES SUCKLING: "A superb red for the vintage with so much character, singing Lafleur like a world-class opera singer. So spicy and floral, showing tobacco, cherries and redcurrants. Some milk chocolate and truffles. Complex with seductive tannins and creamy acidity. Wonderful length. Reminds me of the 1978. A blend of 45% merlot and 55% bouchet (cabernet franc)."

WEINWISSER: "55 % Bouchet, 45 % Merlot. Dicht verwobenes, ungeheuer tiefgründiges Bouquet, zarte Würze, Heidekraut, Iris- und Veilchenparfüm sowie Wildkirsche. Am komplexen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, engmaschigem, perfekt reifem Tanningerüst, sehr geradlinig, durchtrainierter Körper. Im vielschichtigen, nicht enden wollenden Finale legt der Pomerol richtig los, unglaubliche Energie und Kraft zeigend, schwarze kleine Beeren, dunkle Mineralik und erhabene Adstringenz. Für mich grosses Pomerolkino."

VINUM: "Ein Duft mit viel Tiefgang, klar und rein in der Frucht, dazu rauchige Noten, Koriandersamen, Granatapfel, Sauerkirschen, Flieder, Veilchen; der Gaumen ist cremig, rund, packt dann zu, sehr vertikal, verspielt, voller Energie, grosse Eleganz, die Tannine sind von ausgezeichneter Qualität, kein Gramm Fett, dennoch grossartige Länge. Ein hervorragender, hocheleganter Lafleur, macht früh Spass, wird ausgezeichnet reifen."

ANSON: "Takes its time in the glass to unroll, as true in 2024 as in any other vintage of Lafleur. Dark fruit character, leafy cassis bud alongside blackcurrant, gunsmoke, poppy seeds, black tea, crayon, even the beginnings of white truffle. Remarkable how different the structure, fruit quality and tannins here are to many others in the vintage - if you are planning to secure any of the big names, this should be on your shortlist. Builds in intensity in the glass, certainly you don't need to worry if you are a collector and don't want to miss a vintage. Harvest 20 to 30 September. They did no green harvesting here, and with the terroir plus careful work in the vineyard, the yields are in mid to high 30s. Lafleur team working under Julie and Baptiste Guinaudeau. 25% new oak."

DECANTER: "Fragranced cherry and raspberry fruit, great clarity on the nose, floral and red fruit. Structured and firm, this has a sweet, and cherry plump core with a real salty freshness and such a joyful touch to the palate. Lifted, smooth, light, well balanced, a touch of Pomerol evocatism and charm here while actually being light footed, almost glamorous in terms of aroma and lingering flavours but straightens and focuses in terms of texture on the finish. Incredibly approachable already. Excellent. It has a depth of flavour and texture that is very compelling. Easy to recommend."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "Deep garnet-purple colored. Needs a lot of shaking to unlock notes of fresh red cherries, black raspberries, and blackberries, opening out to hints of lilac, Sichuan pepper, underbrush, and fertile loam. The medium-bodied palate delivers a firm frame of grainy tannins and just enough freshness to support the tightly knit red and black berry layers, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2024 Château Lafleur is classic in every way, offering a gorgeous perfume of black raspberries, gravelly earth, and spring flowers that evolves toward more violet and mineral-driven notes with air. Medium-bodied, with a layered, rounded mouthfeel, it's not massive but shines for its precision, ripe, polished tannins, and gorgeous finish. This is a wine that gains in nuance the longer it sits in the glass, and these subtle, graceful 2024s from the Guinaudeau family feel like a throwback to the 1980s, made with remarkable purity and precision."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Orange flowers, black cherries, and black raspberries, combined with red and purple flowers, along with chocolate mint, begin to define the nose. It is balanced between its vibrancy, purity, and ripe red pit fruits on the palate before leading to exotic citrus, with lingering notes of dark chocolate, plums, sea salt, and chalk in the finish. Unlike many vintages of Lafleur, this is a year that can be enjoyed with pleasure in its youth. That being said, it can also age and evolve for three decades as well. The wine blends 55% Cabernet Franc, and 45% Merlot. 13.5% ABV. Harvesting took place for the Merlot September 20-21, and for the Cabernet Franc, September 30. Drink from 2030-2055."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2024 Lafleur is an ode to leisurely, slow ripening, offering a delicately perfumed bouquet of violets, cherries, cassis, flowers and spices. Medium to full-bodied, layered and pure, it's seamless and polished with ultrarefined tannins and a delicate yet vibrant core of fruit, culminating in a long, ethereal finish laced with rose petal nuances. Less dense and structured than many recent vintages, it evokes the charm and elegance of 1983 or 1985, reimagined through a modern lens (and a cooler, wetter growing season), both in viticulture and vinification."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, tiefer Kern, violette Reflexe, dezente Randaufhellung. Zarte Kräuterwürze, schwarze Kirschen, ein Hauch von Brombeerkonfit, zarter Edelholztouch, noch etwas zurückhaltend. Stoffig, reife Kirschen, komplex, Brombeeren auch am Gaumen, feine, reife Tannine, gut Frische, rotbeeriger Nachhall, gutes Entwicklungspotenzial."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "More reticent than Pensées but a minty freshness as it opens. Plentiful but very fine tannins layered in fruit. Restrained but sapid and balanced. Good potential."