Lafleur 2022 (1.5L)

99-100 DE / 98-100 JA / 98-99 JS / 97-99 WA / 97-99 VM / 96-98+ WI / 96-98 JD / 17.5++ JR

A sublime wine from Lafleur in 2022 that delivers a vibrant, electric and incredibly charming wine with subtle power. A beautiful nose, inviting, generous and elegant, sweet and forward with hints of ripe fruit and roses. Sleek, sharp, direct and coursing with energy on the palate interweaving layers of dark fruits, tightly-knitted tannins, savoury spice and fresh minerality. Plum, damson, cherry, violets, floral and cool blue fruits, graphite and slate with a blood-iron tang. The edges have electricity and bite despite the clear concentration and power in-between. Long length that goes on and on. Perhaps less openly charming and generous than some at this point but this takes its time to open, carefully expanding and showing its potential. Wonderful. 98-100 points. – Georgina Hindle, Decanter

Delivers the density and serious character of Lafleur, but while this is deep in colour it is not impenetrable, with more nuance than many, jewel ruby with vibrant reflections. Clear austerity to the tannins but this is a wine that always takes patience, and it provides a welcome sense of continuity in a vintage where the byword is excess. Confident, careful, precise, with red roses, peony, heather, slate, steel, graphite, incense, blueberry and raspberry fruit, and oyster shell salinity, layered and joyful, with cooling mint leaf on the finish. Jean-Baptiste Guinaudeau so often sets the conversation in a vintage, and he is doing so again here. Harvest September 3 to 17, 30% new oak. Potential 100.-Jane Anson

A structured Lafleur with tannins that spread across the palate that are polished and serious. Full and so beautiful. Shows complexity with white pepper, cloves, and rose stems. Velvety and thoughtful. 51% cabernet franc and 49% merlot. -James Suckling

A deep, gourmand vintage for this singular estate, the 2022 Lafleur unfurls in the glass with aromas of mulberries and cherries mingled with hints of rose petal, iris, orange zest and vine smoke. Full-bodied, layered and enveloping, it's pure and seamless, with supple tannins, huge depth at the core and a long, resonant finish. One of the most characterful as well as most consistent wines produced in contemporary Bordeaux, it will surely emerge as one of the vintage's high points.-William Kelley, Wine Advocate 

The 2022 Lafleur was picked from 3 September with the early Merlot and then over the next two weeks. It underwent double sorting in the vineyard and then at reception, aged in 25% new oak. This is bestowed a compelling bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit, iodine and incense, beautifully defined, maybe more sensual than recent vintages. The palate is blessed with unerring symmetry, a fine thread of acidity, a graphite seam from start to finish and a constant sapidity. Extremely precise and ineffably persistent, this is an intellectual and delicious Lafleur - a lethal combination. Among the best that Baptiste and Julie Guinaudeau have conjured in recent years and that's a very impressive canon of work.-Neil Martin, Vinous Media

A blend of 49% Merlot and 51% Bouchet (Cabernet Franc), with a pH of 3.8, Lafleur 2022 has a deep garnet-purple color. The nose is incredibly backward and closed, slowly unfurling to offer glimpses at plum pudding, baked black plums, and dark chocolate, followed by subtle nuances of licorice, violets, cast-iron pan, and Indian spices, with a touch of wood smoke. The medium to full-bodied palate is built like a skyscraper, with very firm, very fine-grained tannins and plenty of freshness supporting the tightly wound black fruits and earthy layers, finishing with incredible length. It will need a lot of time. -Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

Moving to the Grand Vin, the 2022 Château Lafleur is 51% Bouschet (an older selection of Cabernet Franc) and 49% Merlot brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. It's a concentrated beast of a wine offering incredibly purity in its red, blue, and black fruits as well as notes of spring flowers, minty herbs, graphite, and chocolate. Full-bodied on the palate, it has a great mid-palate, building tannins, and a straight, focused, inward style that's going to demand significant bottle age.-Jeb Dunnuck

Very embryonic, even recalcitrant at the moment. Changes in the glass but all the components are there – gourmand fruit, plentiful but fine tannins, plush texture and better balance than Les Pensées. Firm, long, austere finish. As always will need time.-James Lawther MW, Jancis Robinson