Collector Wines

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I am almost always in awe of Lafleur and this is one of the best. This is so subtle at first, but then the enchanting aromas of olive leaves, ivy, licorice, tar and treacle wash over you. In your mouth it’s as if you’re putting exquisite, dusty velvet inside; the tannins make this wine round, fat and encompassing. Perhaps most startling of all is the freshness retained over the years despite the intense, dense fruit. It allows not only for a chewy finish, but one that makes you want to drink more. This has reached a plateau now and is perfect for drinking, though its tightly-knit structure implies yet more potential cellaring. I’ve always been a believer in the 1989 vintage, and Lafleur is one of the best. Decant two hours in advance.James Suckling | 99 JSReally decadent and powerful, delivering dried fruit and grilled meat. Very Porty, featuring red licorice and prune on the nose. Velvety and rich, with a full palate and amazing fruit of aniseed and black licorice. It goes on and on. What freshness and beauty. Delicate fruit, chocolate and berries. This is just opening up now.—’89/’99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now. —Wine Spectator | 98 WSTasted at the Pomerol Comparative Exploration tasting in London, the 1989 Lafleur was perhaps the real surprise of a memorable evening of wine. What comes across on the nose is the detail, the precision with pure black fruit, crushed minerals, subtle floral scents and a palpable sense of energy. It evolves in the glass, later revealing smoke, Italian cured meats and a touch of bay leaf. The palate is simply crystalline with pitch perfect acidity, astonishing precision and laser-like focus that takes your breath away. I have never encountered a 1989 Lafleur with this detail and clarity, a wine that seems to improve every time I encounter it, which is regrettably once in a blue moon. Whilst I do not think the 1989 will surpass the 1982 Lafleur, my God, it is coming damn close.Vinous Media | 97 VMThe 1989 Lafleur, tasted side by side with the 1990 on two occasions in 2002, plays it closer to the vest. The wine needs far more coaxing to produce the licorice, black cherry liqueur, earth, and truffle notes from the nose. In the mouth, the wine is full-bodied, tannic, backward, and very tightly knit, with mouth-searing levels of tannin and extremely high extract. The tannins are firmer, the fruit seemingly less sweet, but still extremely ripe, and the evolutionary process is far slower in the 1989 than the 1990. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2045. Last tasted, 8/02.Robert Parker | 95 RP

(Château Le Pin, Pomerol, Red)

This is a crazy nose of tangerines and blueberries, with raspberries and mushroom and berries. Full-bodied, with ultra fine tannins. This wine is all about texture, with phenomenal tannins and subtle fruits that just make you think. Evocative. It is layered, yet changes all the time. I can’t believe it really. Speechless. Amazes me. Try in 2020.James Suckling | 100 JSAn absolutely prodigious blend of 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot, the 2009 Lafleur displays the tell-tale characteristics of this great estate. Kirsch liqueur, licorice and floral notes are intermixed with raspberry in a very full-bodied, super-intense, opulent and multi-dimensional style. Extraordinarily dense and pure, but not heavy by any means, the intensity, texture, and richness of the 2009 Lafleur are reminiscent of the perfect 1982. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2040.Robert Parker | 99 RPThe 2009 Lafleur (55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot) is an incredible wine in the vintage, not due to its concentration or richness, but due to its purity, finesse, and elegance! Revealing a deep ruby/purple color and perfumed notes of black raspberries, violets, forest floor, and spring flowers, this seamless Pomerol hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, multi-dimensional, weightless texture, and ultra-fine tannin. With perfectly integrated oak, a perfumed, complex style, and no hard edges, it’s as sexy and seamless as it gets. If this wine doesn’t put a smile on your face, I can’t imagine what would. It’s already impossible to resist (it blossoms with time in the glass) but I suspect it will cruise in the cellar for another 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThe 2009 Lafleur is intense on the nose with darker fruit than the 2009 Ausone: freshly tilled earth, touches of pressed rose petals and a subtle ferrous scent, involving and quite mercurial. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannin, velvety smooth and a cashmere texture. A mixture of blue and black fruit laced with spice leads to a very composed but powerful finish that lingers for 60+ seconds. This is only just beginning to show what it can do. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 97+ VMThis gushes with mouthwatering blueberry, boysenberry and blackberry fruit, leading to a long black tea– and incense-filled finish. Darkens up considerably as it airs, with layers of extra flesh, Kenya AA coffee and charcoal notes striding through the finish. Shows an exotic side, and gorgeous mouthfeel. Best from 2015 through 2030. 950 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

The most fun in Bordeaux these days is getting a ’10 and ’09 side by side. This has the fruit to match its older counterpart, though it’s a shade darker, with anise, plum, blackberry and black currant notes stitched together, while the charcoal and graphite structure is more evident but just as integrated. Remarkably dense, but without any sense of brooding or unnecessary muscle, this is about as finely tuned as a wine can be.—Non-blind La Fleur-Pétrus vertical (December 2015). Best from 2020 through 2040. 3,700 cases made. — JMWine Spectator | 98 WSWhat a complex nose of dark fruits, truffles and wet earth. Fascinating. Full, yet super long with ultra refined tannins and a long, long finish. It is tannic and muscular but polished and reserved. It’s a wine with refinement and power.James Suckling | 98-99 JSThis is an incredible effort from this 35-acre vineyard (almost the identical size as Petrus). I had visited the 2010 Petrus about an hour before I had La Fleur Petrus. I was dumbfounded – it appeared to have a character nearly identical to the great Petrus! The fabulous 2010 La Fleur Petrus boasts a dense purple color in addition to a big, sweet perfume of mocha-infused black raspberry and black cherry fruit that is extravagantly rich, textured and long. Super-pure, deep and full-bodied, this remarkable wine will be one for the history books. The tannins are elevated, but the depth of fruit and richness are amazing. For those who will never be able to afford a bottle of Petrus, this is about as close as one can get to the aromas and flavors of that mythical wine. It should drink well for three decades or more.Robert Parker | 95-98+ RP(Château La Fleur-Pétrus, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France, Red) Perhaps not the depth of today’s La Fleur Petrus but packed full of elegant, silky and sexy tannins, and is open right now, ready to welcome you in with tobacco, ash, crushed blackberry and blueberry fruits, chocolate shavings and creamy vanilla bean. (Drink between 2020-2042)Decanter | 95 DEA majestic wine, grand in every sense. It has weight, the firmest of tannins and an immense sense of structure. This neighbor of Château Pétrus is firmly dense, showing both the fruits and the tannins in balance. Give this wine at least 10 years in the cellar.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2010 La Fleur-Pétrus does not quite compete with the 2010 Gazin on the nose. It is more low-key than expected with brambly red fruit, loamy soil, wild heather and bay leaf scents, but it just lacks a little intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins. This feels well balanced and poised, a more gentle Pomerol than its peers with a feminine and quite persistent finish. You could drink this now although I would prefer to leave it another couple of years to see if it can replicate its more impressive showing after bottling. Tasted at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 93 VM(Château Lafleur-Pétrus) The 2010 Lafleur-Pétrus is an unqualified success in this vintage, as it offers up excellent complexity and depth on both the nose and palate. The first rate bouquet delivers scents of black cherries, plums, chocolate, a nice touch of tobacco leaf, gravelly soil tones, coffee bean and a discrete framing of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with ripe, firm tannins, fine focus and balance and truly exceptional length and grip on the complex finish. This is one 2010 Pomerol that does not push the envelope of ripeness and is much the better for its veneer of restraint. Lovely wine. (Drink between 2020-2060)John Gilman | 93+ JG