Château Lafleur, Pomerol, 2005

Name: Château Lafleur, Pomerol
Brand: Château Lafleur
Price: 10821.53 GBP

Available Vintages

all 1999 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

justerini & brooks tasting note

This is the first time we have tasted at Château Lafleur and we are grateful to Jacques and Sylvie Guinaudeau for their last minute hospitality. The name Lafleur carries with it almost magical connotations and we can see why: the house is simple and quaint, and the wine pure and, in a sense, simple, insofar as it is an honest and uncomplicated reflection of an exceptional terroir. On the nose to begin with, it is as humble as the château itself, delicate and floral, but it builds in confidence and expands gently on the palate to remarkable, mouth-filling proportions, all softness and balance, with pure fruit and a long, gentle finish. Quite an experience.

critic reviews

96/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2005 Lafleur has always been a bit of a beast. It is clearly nowhere near its drinking window either on the nose or palate. Blackberry, gravel, wild heather and graphite scents reluctantly emerge on the nose, but it is a little surly compared to the 2008, for example. The palate is huge in terms of concentration and structure, exerting a vice-like grip with an uncompromising muscular finish. This perhaps harks back to the style of the Robin sisters in the 1970s? A magnificent wine albeit hard to love. Tasted from ex-château magnum at Kate & Kon's 40-Year vertical in Austria.

DRINKING WINDOW 2033 - 2065

date of review 09/2025

100/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,The Wine Independent

The 2005 Lafleur is a blend of 67% Merlot and 33% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-brick in color, it is youthful and wonderfully fragrant on the nose, with a good swirling awakening notions of roses and lilacs, fallen leaves, and tilled soil, leading to a profound core of kirsch, blueberry pie, and plum preserves. Full-bodied, tightly knit, muscular, and with impressive freshness, it has a firm and grainy texture, finishing long and fragrant. Enjoying this wine now will certainly not disappoint, but there is certainly a lot more to emerge over the next 10-20 years with patient cellaring. Drink it to 2060+. It has been partly owned by the Guinaudeau family since the mid-1980s and fully since 2002. Located on the Pomerol plateau, next to Petrus and La Fleur Petrus, the vineyard only covers about 11 acres, but with quite complex soils of gravel, sand and clay, planted to 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot.

DRINKING WINDOW 2022 - 2060

date of review 07/2022

100/100Robert Parker,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

This amazing wine puts on a display of fireworks in terms of its aromatics, with a stunning nose of blue and black fruits, forest floor, flowers and earth. Dense purple, full-bodied, rich, moderately tannic and super-concentrated, this is a profound Pomerol that still needs another decade of cellaring. This is possibly the greatest Lafleur of the modern era, rivaling the 1982 and 2000. Forget it for another 5-10 years and drink it over the following quarter-century.

DRINKING WINDOW 2020 - 2050

date of review 06/2015