1955 Chateau Lafleur
Alongside its illustrious neighbours, Petrus and Lafleur Petrus, Château Lafleur is without doubt one of Pomerol's greatest wines. Previously known as Domaine Au Gay, Château Lafleur was renamed at the end of the 19th century, when connoisseurs began to appreciate the quality of the wines, resulting in a rapid increase in its price. Today the property belongs to Jacques and Sylvie Guinaudeau, who farmed the estate when it was owned by the Robin family. When the last Robin sister died, her descendants could have sold the property for a considerable sum, but chose to let it remain in the hands of the devoted Guinaudeau couple, and adjusted the price accordingly. A lovely story, and a rare occurrence among the great names in wine. At Château Lafleur, the grapes are grown with an elitist approach, in accordance with the maxim that the previous owners held dear: quality takes precedence over quantity. Jacques and Sylvie Guinaudeau work in the vineyard every day with their employees; the grapes are harvested on a plot by plot basis as each variety ripens, in the same manner as the top grands crus classés. The proportions of the various grape varieties are unusual for Pomerol in that Merlot is not predominant: it is accompanied by an equal proportion of Cabernet Franc, which gives the wines a particularly good capacity to age. As a result, Lafleur is certainly one of the Pomerols that improves the most over time and that can be kept the longest.
97 Points Jeff Leve WCI - "Intense, still tannic, not exactly refined, more full bodied, powerful, rich and exotic. On the palate, the wine exploded with a blast of wild, untamed, sweet, dark cherries and plums. Earthy, with a fabulous mix of flowers and truffles and an iron note that paired perfectly with all the red fruits. The long finish moved from sweet to tart and back to sweet. The finish kept on going long after the wine left my glass! What a treat. This was one of those dream wines that stay in your memory, which is a good thing as it's unlikely I am going to see another bottle. But I can promise you, it is not a wine I am going to forget tasting."
Robert Parker - Light notes on Ch. La Fleur..."I have always had a personal attachment to this tiny Pomerol vineyard. In the mid-seventies, when I first started tasting the wines of Lafleur, I could find nothing written about them. Yet in my small tasting group, we frequently found the wine to be as compelling as Petrus. I made my first visit to Lafleur in 1978, speaking little French, and found the two elderly proprietors, the late Therese Robin and her sister, Marie, decrepit, but utterly charming. The Lafleur chateau was, and remains today, more of a barn than a winery. Despite the advanced age of these two spinsters, they would ride their bikes out to Le Gay, the official reception center for both Lafleur and Le Gay. They were no doubt amused by my size, referring to me as Monsieur Le Taureau (bull). I probably did look a bit over-sized walking in the tiny chai, where the barrels, as well as a bevy of ducks, chickens, and rabbits were housed. It always amazed me how wines of such great extraction and mind-blowing character could be produced in such filthy conditions."
