Les Pensées, Pomerol, 2020
Not tasted tasted by Justerinis and Brooks due to travel restrictions. Please find the thoughts and words of Jacques Guinaudeau below: “To better understand the complexity of the wines crafted at Château Lafleur, one must first understand its vineyard. The vines at Château Lafleur are planted on top of three distinct soils: To the northwest, the sandy-clay gravels of Lafleur. To the south and east, the clay gravels of Lafleur. At the heart of the vineyard, the gravelly sands of Lafleur. This very rare association of soils allows us to explain in part the singularity of Château Lafleur. Next, the unique ensemble of grape varieties must be evoked, having the vineyard planted with equal parts of Bouchet and Merlot, which undoubtedly plays a major role in the complexity of Château Lafleur. The priceless genetic heritage of the vineyard at Lafleur, above all our old vine Bouchet, should be duly noted. Finally, we should pay tribute to the women and men who take part in the making of the wines of Société Civile du Château Lafleur. Baptiste and Julie joined us at the beginning of the new millennium, both carrying the same passion for subtleties, precision and finesse, which has always been our signature. With the passing of the years our little team has grown bigger and younger, today consisting of fifteen persons who employ all of their enthusiasm in the service of the different vineyards of Société Civile du Château Lafleur. We hold a unique and rare position in the Bordeaux landscape. Above all we are vignerons, present throughout the year in our vineyards and cellars, our goal is to understand and work with nature and climate as best as we can. Château Lafleur, based on the three pillars mentioned above, is a rare wine, bringing together in harmony both power and finesse. Les Pensées 2020 : 29% Bouchet (Cabernet Franc) harvested on the 18th September and 71% Merlot harvested on the 12th September.” Jacques Guinaudeau, May 2021
critic reviews
The 2020 Les Pensées de Lafleur is a wine that I rated very highly at the blind Southwold tasting—but on this bottle, perhaps in juxtaposition with the 2019, there is a patina of over-ripeness on the nose. The palate nevertheless delivers the goods with ripe black cherries, dark chocolate and a deft sprinkle of spice. This coheres marvellously in the glass with gentle grip. Tasted from ex-château magnum at Kate & Kon's 40-Year vertical in Austria.
The 2020 Pensees de Lafleur unwinds in the glass with deep aromas of cherries, raspberries, crushed mint and black truffle. Full-bodied, layered and velvety, with a broad and enveloping attack that segues into a deep and rather taut mid-palate, it concludes with a long, penetrating finish. As usual, this isn't a second wine, per se: it derives from vines growing in the part of Lafleur's vineyard through which a watercourse once flowed and where the soils are richer in clay and better hydrated, and the Guinadeau family like to refer to it as more stereotypically Pomerolais than Lafleur itself. The 2020's tension and structure, however, mark it out as the most Lafleur-like Pensees of recent years.
A blend of 71% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 Pensees de Lafleur comes from the clay plots in the Lafleur vineyard. Deep purple-black in color, it is a little subdued to start, requiring a good shake to wake up notes of licorice, chargrill, fertile loam, and dark chocolate, giving way to a core of baked plums, boysenberry preserves, and cast-iron pan. The palate is full-bodied and densely packed with layer upon layer of black and blue fruit accented by earthy and mineral nuances. It is framed with exquisitely ripe tannins and lovely freshness to restrain the opulent fruit, and finishes on a lingering ferrous note.
Generous aromatics, richly textured, powerful and earthy, signature Pomerol with the deft touch of Lafleur. Opens wide and generous and then tightens and grips. This is a gorgeous wine filled with black cherry, damson, mocha, orange zest, all with a whisper of aniseed bitterness that stops the fruit from being overly sweet.