Pensees de Lafleur 2021 (750ML)

94-96 WA / 95 DE / 94-95 JS / 93-95 JD / 93 JA / 91-93 VM

Aromas of rose petals, raspberries, plums and musk introduce the 2021 Pensées de Lafleur, a medium to full-bodied, seamless and enveloping wine that's deep and sensual, it's ripe tannins entirely concealed in an ample core of succulent, pungently perfumed fruit. As I've written before, this cuvée derives from vines growing in the part of Lafleur's vineyard through which a water course once flowed and where the soils are richer in clay and better hydrated. It's a blend of 59% Merlot and 41% Cabernet Franc; this bottling hasn't really been a "second wine" since the late 1990s—but the market doesn't seem to have caught on. -William Kelley, The Wine Advocate.

Smoked earth and iron touches with iris and rose perfume on the nose alongside sweet spices and tobacco. This is an exceptional wine giving sublime enjoyment and appeal. Gentle, soft and delicate yet also juicy and succulent with mouthfilling acidity - really lifted and bright. This has enjoyable roundness but no overt heaviness, it’s so refined with concentrated strawberry and red cherry brightness. Still quite taut, more on the subtle side, with a slow dedication and persistent drive. It’s certainly not shouting but carefully showing it's layered complexity, refinement and general deliciousness. Tannins are so fine, barely even noticeable giving a subtle frame and structure. Just before the finish it becomes more round and spherical with the wet stone, the graphite and density appearing on the palate. Like all wines in the Lafleur stable this year, they expand slowly but surely. -Geogina Hindle, Decanter.

A very pretty second wine with cherry, plum and mineral aromas and flavors. Medium body. Creamy, fine-grained tannins. Hints of crushed stone and peach stone. 59% merlot and 41% cabernet franc. - James Suckling

The 2021 Pensées De Lafleur, as always, comes from the more classic Pomerol clay soils that run through the middle of the vineyard, and it always has a more classic Pomerol style compared to the Grand Vin, which has its own unique style. A finesse-driven, elegant, medium-bodied beauty, it has lots of floral nuances, some earthy minerality, and a terrific core of black cherry and darker berry fruits. As with all the 2021s here, the tannins are terrific, and it has a very Burgundian, seamless profile both in its aromatics and texture. -Jeb Dunnuck.

This has weight and volume through the mid palate, with blackberry and cassis fruits as it opens. Less joyous and generous than in recent years, the finish is closer to a classic Lafleur, in that it has clarity, salinity and sinew, and as it builds through the palate you get clear tannins. Great quality, a little atypical but one to look out for. No chaptilisation. Harvest September 28 to October 2. Merlot-dominant on clay-sand-gravel, classic Pomerol terroir. -Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux.

The 2021 Les Pensées de Lafleur is quite floral and lifted, with lovely aromatic presence, fine balance and plenty of charm. Crushed flowers, sweet red berry fruit and blood orange lend brightness, with intense saline accents from the Bouchet (Cabernet Franc) that come through on the finish. -Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media.