Lafleur 2021 Case (750MLx3)

98 JS / 97 VM / 97 DE / 97 JA / 96 JD / 96 WA / 96 WCI / 96 FS / 95+ WI / 18 JR

It’s the mid-palate that really impresses you with a depth, focus and polish of such beauty and complexity. Hint of fresh tomatoes. It’s medium- to full-bodied with layers of fine tannins and fruit. Cherries, oranges and violets throughout. Just a hint of spices. Persistent and fascinating for the vintage. 52% cabernet franc and 48% merlot. - James Suckling

The 2021 Lafleur is a complex and mysterious wine. Tasting it today is like opening an early chapter in a great book. There's plenty of intrigue, but so much has yet to develop. Possessing dynamic energy and dimension, the 2021 is incredibly fascinating. This edition of Lafleur has tremendous pedigree and complexity—a wine of notable nuance and character. Dark red-toned fruit, lavender, rose petal, mint and gravel linger. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

An exceptional success in 2021 and surely one of the best wines of the vintage. An expressive nose, which opens more after 10 minutes in the glass, gives lovely salty soy aromas, ripe and concentrated blackcurrant, wet stone, smoked earth notes with perfume lingering in the background - lilac, violets and irises as well as some sweet chocolate - so much going on. Clearly powerful, ripe and concentrated - intensity on a grand scale - really giving a lot of flavour but tightly packaged in terms of layers and tannins which are finely grained and settle in the mouth giving the frame. The flavours expand slowly and then linger so long on the finish. Direct, linear, determined and persistent with clear definition of each element. Purity, clarity and balance - I just love the intention here - it knows where it's going with a quiet confidence and gives a warm blood and iodine note at the end bringing you right back to Lafleur. Sensational. - GH, Decanter

Inky and nuanced plum in colour, deep and complex aromatics of violets and earthy tobacco, this is a serious wine with fresh acidities and a sense of clarity, purity of fruit, translucence - characteristics that are hard to capture in a solar vintage, and give something to celebrate in a cooler climate year. The density in the tannic structure is hidden, reserved, accentuating a lot of the qualities that you find in Lafleur in a normal year. Unfurls slowly, Cabernet Franc dominant with a curl of gunsmoke that whips through the palate, tomato leaf and redcurrant and only slowly widens to show a fleshier Merlot character. Harvest September 17 to October 2. No chaptilisation. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

An utterly quintessential Lafleur, the 2021 Château Lafleur is a blend of 52% Cabernet Franc and 48% Merlot. Sensational framboise, woodsmoke, spring flowers, tobacco, and graphite are just some of the nuances, and it's medium to full-bodied, has a layered, multi-dimensional texture, ultra-fine tannins, and a stunning finish. It's clearly the wine of the vintage and has more depth, layers, and length than just about every other wine in the vintage. It deserves 5-7 years in the cellar and will evolve beautifully over the following two decades. Not enough can be said about the talent, dedication, and attention to detail that regularly occurs at this address, and clearly the results are in the bottle. -Jeb Dunnuck.

The 2021 Lafleur has turned out brilliantly in bottle, unfurling in the glass with aromas of mulberries and raspberries mingled with complex top notes of mint, rose petals, exotic spices, licorice, blood orange and iris. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's polished and suave, with an enveloping core of sweet, pure fruit framed by ripe tannins, concluding with a long, perfumed finish. It's a blend of 52% Cabernet Franc and 48% Merlot. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

It is impossible not to notice the multiple layers of black cherries, dark chocolate, black raspberries, and salt that show on the palate. This is a gorgeous vibrant, sapid, and racy, wine with salinity in the finish that allows the wine to continue lingering while enticing you to take another sip. This is the Pomerol of the vintage! Produced from a blend of 52% Cabernet Franc and 48% Merlot, 13.5% ABV, harvesting took place September 17-24 for the Merlot and October 2 for the Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2028-2060.-Jeff Leve, Wine Cellar Insider, tasted 6/24

A blend of 48% Merlot and 52% Cabernet Franc (Bouchet), the 2021 Lafleur has a deep garnet-purple color. After a swirl or two, the nose erupts with classic notes of fresh plums, boysenberries, and pencil shavings, leading to suggestions of tar, tilled soil, black truffles, and underbrush. Medium-bodied, the palate is built like a brick house, featuring a solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and great tension to support the muscular black fruits, finishing long and earthy. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent

 52% Bouchet (Cabernet Franc), 48% Merlot. Cask sample.
Exceptional density for the vintage. As usual restrained, although there is a floral nuance. Fruit-filled palate but with freshness and balance as well. Big tannic frame with imposing but polished tannins. Clearly the potential to age. - James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson