Château Lafleur, Pomerol, 2014

Name: Château Lafleur, Pomerol
Brand: Château Lafleur
Price: 1954.76 GBP

Available Vintages

all 1996 1999 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

justerini & brooks tasting note

Baptiste explained that while the Indian summer did come to the rescue of many estates, he felt that June laid the foundations for quality. He reported average June temperatures a full three degrees above 2005 with very low rainfall. July and the first half of August were cool and there was a distinct lack of sunlight, however, when the Indian summer came, they were still in good shape to produce excellent wine. The late ripening Cabernet Franc particularly benefited from the conditions and we cannot remember a year when the Cabernets have leant such wonderfully pure aromas to their wines. Produced from 44% Merlot and 56% Cabernet Franc, we always expect Lafleur to have gravitas and complexity, but the 2014 has an ethereal quality too. That is not to say that it is in anyway lightweight or feminine, this is still very much a big, brooding, long-term wine, but it just has this sparkle and energy that raises it to a higher realm. The Cabernet Franc really signs with gorgeous minerality, bright red berry fruit and a potpourri of floral aromas. The palate is a gourmand, complex, a melting pot of Sanguinello orange, crème de mûre and tayberries. It is so refreshing and long; easily one of the most profound and persistent wines of 2014 and certainly one of the most complex. Beautiful velour textured tannins caress and frame the fruit; they are ever present, but never obtrusive. An utterly mouth-watering Lafleur!

critic reviews

95/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2014 Lafleur is bright and lively on the nose with expressive red berries, briary and black truffle scents springing from the glass. This displays a little more energy than its 2015 counterpart. The palate has fine tension and a keen line of acidity, bright and energetic even if it does not possess the complexity nor the substance of other vintages. It is thus likely to drink earlier, though it still requires another five or six years. Tasted from ex-château magnum at Kate & Kon's 40-Year vertical in Austria.

DRINKING WINDOW 2030 - 2055

date of review 09/2025

94/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,The Wine Independent

Deep garnet-brick in color, the 2014 Lafleur needs a lot of swirling to coax out subtle scents of forest floor, menthol, and baked cherries, with emerging suggestions of iron ore, incense, and potpourri. The medium to full-bodied palate is packed with seductive red and black berry preserves layers, framed by firm, rounded tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long and minerally.

DRINKING WINDOW 2024 - 2044

date of review 03/2024

97/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

Concentrated ruby in colour at the 10 year mark, and wow this is good, just mouth-filling black truffle, bilberry, olive tapendade, Cabernet Franc dominant in its floral violet and raspberry leaf curls, standing head and shoulders above most of the Pomerols in the vintage, lord of all it surveys. Has a sense of drama and restraint, then releases a saline juicy finish.

DRINKING WINDOW 2024 - 2042

date of review 02/2024

95/100Neal Martin,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2014 Lafleur has a lucid hue. The bouquet bides its time, gradually unfolding with scents of raspberry coulis, blackberry, black truffle and just a faint hint of dark chocolate, all beautifully defined and yet you know it is keeping something in reserve. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin. There is that backbone, which of course you expect with this Pomerol, but also a sense of refinement and poise, a seam of spiciness that develops with time in the glass that prolongs the finish. No, it is not the greatest Lafleur that I have tasted. It's just a really great Pomerol that will give many years of pleasure.

DRINKING WINDOW 2024 - 2050

date of review 03/2017