Beautiful ruby color with bricking throughout the wine showing it has matured. Outstanding nose of blackberries, blueberries, spice cake, truffles, cassis, tobacco, lots of tertiary aromas. On the palate very delicate and burgundian in structure, good lift mid palate and superbly balanced structure, medium bodied and hedonistic but finishes a bit thin hence the lower score. Still a beautiful wine and a privilege to drink Lafleur in any vintage.
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Mature red colour with clear brick on the rim.Beautiful nuanced perfumed nose with dark and red fruit,truffle,leather,spices,smoke .... Not a blockbuster,but a very delicious classic Pomerol with an almost Burgundian elegance.So complex,fresh and smooth,it drinks like a charm.Bottles like this could easily last another 5-10 years or even more.Lovely !
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Our last bottle . Great sadness . I so wanted to write a review that praised this wine to the sky. I have looked after, literally looked after , this wine for 25 years because I hoped it would be magnificent.
It is really interesting , challenging and unique. But what it isn't is the fabulous wine I had hoped. Enough negativity...this wine is so contrary I hardly know where to start. Plums, liquorice and a cassis backdrop. A nose to die for. But , but , but, just not complete if you know what I mean.Superb delineation in acidity, and an expressive velvety mouthfeel lead you to the gates of paradise but you never get in.
I imagine, because I honestly don't know , that great vintages of this wine must be amongst the best in the world.
Open That Bottle Night (Mike's house): RATHEREDBEDRINKINGWINEs bottle. This drinks like an aged bordeaux, although somewhat fragile and lighter. There is slight menthol and a woody character. There's some pleasant tertiary qualities, but regrettably little or no fruit.
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This was my third, and last, bottle of this wine. The first two were corked. Fortunately, this one was not! Well...fortunately, sort of....this wine did not come close to meeting my expectations. A nice wine, but not a great wine. Fruit was there, but muted. Tertiary flavors were dominant, but also slightly muted. I feel confident others would appreciate this more than I, and that it likely drank better years ago, but I would also speculate that this was never a great wine. I like the 96 vintage from the other bank, but it did not turn out to be a great vintage in Pomerol, and certainly not for Lafleur. This was about 20% muted red fruit (mostly cherry, with hints of cocoa) and 80% muted tertiary flavors (mostly earth and bramble with some herbaceous notes). Would definitely pass at this price point (so many better wines out there regardless of your palate). The wine did not get better or worse during 1 1/2 hours of drinking it. 90 points at best.
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Nieces are in control...: Corked - this is ridiculous...bought three bottles of this, this is the second bottle I have opened and it too is corked...does not appear to be a storage issue as cork came out fine with minimum staining on the bottom, no seepage and cork was neither pushed up nor pulled down into the bottle. Oh yeah, and oof course a nose of wet newspaper...grrrrr
Fully matured Lafleur characteristics of mineral, and cherry/kirsch flavours. The nose had pronounced flora and cherry notes. The high percentage use of Cabernet Franc makes the wine more elegant. There are still enough tannin and acidity for the wine to last another 10 years or more. In 1999, Robert Parker commented that the 1996 Lafleur is a painfully backward, austere wine that represents a modern-day clone of this estate's 1966. It possesses a backward, tannic, Medoc-like character. In my opinion, he's absolutely spot on his comment made 21 years ago.
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This is still singing for me. Such a masculine wine after all these years and an incredible 96' Pomerol. Clay, earth, beautiful mustiness, dried flowers and chocolate tones are everywhere....Still has a seductive linger but I remember it being longer the last time...Drink this!
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Clean and floral nose, it blossoms one hour after uncorked. Wonderful Pomerol nose. Still some tannins yet to be resolved but not bothersome. ABV 13% with no trace of alcohol. Complex and very long finish. In early drinking plateau but this can easily last another 15 to 20 years with its impeccable balance. Great showing today. First Growth stuff.
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Some wines are built for the long haul but this wine is positively Jurassic in its ageing potential. Even at two decades old it feels there is so much development yet to come. We loved this wine but it must carry the caveat that one must have enormous faith to believe that it will get better.
Renowned commentators speak to Lafleur's longevity and if they are correct this wine could be truly majestic . It has a core of sweet red fruit, amazingly some unresolved tannin, hints of vanilla and plums/prunes and a fairly fresh mouthfeel. It is neither over-extracted nor boring and screams classy right bank at the top of its voice. It was our first experience of the wine and we now more fully appreciate why the best Pomerol estates have such a dedicated and affluent following. It was a beautiful wine to share , to discuss, to remember and with the promise of more glory to come, this wine does all that a wine could hope.
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OK ... OK. Some leather, herbs. This was pretty dark with cassis and maybe blackberry but not that sweet - blueberry? a bit? can see a bit of vanilla - oak. This is fairly taut with decent acid.
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HDH Auction (Tru - Chicago, IL): Lots of brambly red fruit, some cranberries, and smoke. The palate was sappy and had some drying tannins. I liked its cranberry and cherry tones on the palate and with its soft rose tones, thought it was showing very nicely.
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Served following a 96' Rousseau Ruchottes Chambertin, tough act to follow but manage to hold its own. Wood on the nose from start but majority blow off after 1/2 hour. Sweet and smooth on entry with good balance. Enter its prime and should last. Good stuff. This is ahead of 93' and 01' vintages tasted recently.
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Forward nose of dark fruit, hint of tobacco and lovely violet. Open and smooth on the palate. Black currant, tobacco, touch of red fruit, some herbs and spice and a sweet plum note. Outstanding texture and very harmonious. Lithe. Long silky finish.
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Drank this wine right before the 1989 and 1990 Petrus. Went back for a re-visit to this wine alongside the Petrus.
While the Petrus is in a DIFFERENT league of elegance, this wine is just as enjoyable. A gentleman's wine, with unforgettable deep tobacco character and intertwining black fruit and exotic spice. The fish is big, long and outstanding, but what blows me away about this wine is its up-front no-nonsense statement of power and complexity.
Still holding up very, very well, with room to improve over next few years and longer.
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2nd bottle of a case bought during EP, not much improvement from last bottle consumed 6 months ago. Subtle nose. Cabernet Franc nose is there but not forward. Not very clean nose, some off aromas that I could not describe. Sweet and savory tannins, a bit St Julien like. Notes of dark cherry, blackberry, cassis and raspberry. Still has slight hints of oak but almost fully integrated. Very young and fresh both in terms of color and palate, if I have tasted it blind, I would guess it about 7 to 8 year old. Good length and balance. This is not ready and has a long life ahead. At the moment, its better on the palate than on the nose. 92-93 pts.
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Intensive color. Nose is metallic and leathery. Short finish, no harmony, some berries but lots of acidity. Bad bottle? Expensive gamble...will sell my other bottles as I also had several difficult encounters with the 1996 Pensees de Lafleur...
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Disappointing especially for Lafleur. Blind tasted I didn't recognize this as Right bank Bordeaux. Missing the roundness and thickness. Austere and high acidity.
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Wonderful bouquet from Cabernet Franc and remind me of 1983 Cheval Blanc. A bit astringent first but open up in the glass after about 2 hours. Big wine. Still very young and fresh, full of fruits and tannin. Not ready yet, probably 5 years away from mature. Complex, concentrated, and fleshy. Has a chance to be a star when mature.
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Popped for Pomerol night dinner. Still closed, and tannic after several rounds of decanting. Started to open a little after 3 hours into dinner. This bottle may have to be kept and not drunk early.
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Casual Wines Session on Monday night (Extra Space, Boon Keng): Decanted for about 2 hours. This has a vibrant core, with purple red hue showing no sign of age. Subtle and elegant nose, very floral but still primary and young, with blackcurrant, plum and some hints of minral. Still a little tight after decanting, young and fresh with plenty of dark fruits and mineral notes. Chewy tannins with long finish. Very good intensity but strange that it did not excite me as much as I thought I can be for such a wines at this pedigree as I am expecting more depth and complexity.
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South Florida does Lafleur (Cafe Maxx, Pompano Beach, Florida): This vintage showed much better than the '95 that immediately preceeded it and got better as it sat in the glass, always a good sign. A bit thin in texture, yet sweet and seductive. Floral and elegant. Very, very fine.
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4/4/2024 - dcwino wrote: flawed
Another Wine gathering at RJ’s; 4/4/2024-4/7/2024 (Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina): Corked, unfortunately.
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1/30/2024 - Montesquieu Likes this wine: 96 Points
La Vie du Vin featuring Chateau Lafleur, Omri Ram, Martine's Wines, and Chef Tim Hollingsworth (Blackberry Farm, TN): Fabulously advanced in its tertiary stage. Full of mushroom, truffle, moist soil. I found this to be far superior on my rating scale than most other CT reviewers. Exactly what I want in a great aged Bordeaux that turns tertiary.
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1/15/2023 - the player Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful ruby color with bricking throughout the wine showing it has matured. Outstanding nose of blackberries, blueberries, spice cake, truffles, cassis, tobacco, lots of tertiary aromas. On the palate very delicate and burgundian in structure, good lift mid palate and superbly balanced structure, medium bodied and hedonistic but finishes a bit thin hence the lower score. Still a beautiful wine and a privilege to drink Lafleur in any vintage.
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11/19/2022 - valedeniro wrote: 94 Points
Mature red colour with clear brick on the rim.Beautiful nuanced perfumed nose with dark and red fruit,truffle,leather,spices,smoke .... Not a blockbuster,but a very delicious classic Pomerol with an almost Burgundian elegance.So complex,fresh and smooth,it drinks like a charm.Bottles like this could easily last another 5-10 years or even more.Lovely !
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9/15/2022 - ESCO wrote: 91 Points
Our last bottle . Great sadness . I so wanted to write a review that praised this wine to the sky. I have looked after, literally looked after , this wine for 25 years because I hoped it would be magnificent.
It is really interesting , challenging and unique. But what it isn't is the fabulous wine I had hoped. Enough negativity...this wine is so contrary I hardly know where to start. Plums, liquorice and a cassis backdrop. A nose to die for. But , but , but, just not complete if you know what I mean.Superb delineation in acidity, and an expressive velvety mouthfeel lead you to the gates of paradise but you never get in.
I imagine, because I honestly don't know , that great vintages of this wine must be amongst the best in the world.
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2/26/2022 - galewskj wrote: 90 Points
Open That Bottle Night (Mike's house): RATHEREDBEDRINKINGWINEs bottle. This drinks like an aged bordeaux, although somewhat fragile and lighter. There is slight menthol and a woody character. There's some pleasant tertiary qualities, but regrettably little or no fruit.
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2/26/2022 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 90 Points
This was my third, and last, bottle of this wine. The first two were corked. Fortunately, this one was not! Well...fortunately, sort of....this wine did not come close to meeting my expectations. A nice wine, but not a great wine. Fruit was there, but muted. Tertiary flavors were dominant, but also slightly muted. I feel confident others would appreciate this more than I, and that it likely drank better years ago, but I would also speculate that this was never a great wine. I like the 96 vintage from the other bank, but it did not turn out to be a great vintage in Pomerol, and certainly not for Lafleur. This was about 20% muted red fruit (mostly cherry, with hints of cocoa) and 80% muted tertiary flavors (mostly earth and bramble with some herbaceous notes). Would definitely pass at this price point (so many better wines out there regardless of your palate). The wine did not get better or worse during 1 1/2 hours of drinking it. 90 points at best.
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11/26/2021 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine wrote: flawed
Nieces are in control...: Corked - this is ridiculous...bought three bottles of this, this is the second bottle I have opened and it too is corked...does not appear to be a storage issue as cork came out fine with minimum staining on the bottom, no seepage and cork was neither pushed up nor pulled down into the bottle. Oh yeah, and oof course a nose of wet newspaper...grrrrr
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10/14/2021 - rocknroller wrote: flawed
Aristocrat's Wine Dinner (Joe & Khem's Place, Mpls): Corked. Same bottle as I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine.
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10/14/2021 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine wrote: flawed
Aristocrat's Wine Dinner at Joe's: Corked....what a bummer as I was so looking forward to trying this!
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1/22/2020 - Sean Tay Likes this wine: 91 Points
Fully matured Lafleur characteristics of mineral, and cherry/kirsch flavours. The nose had pronounced flora and cherry notes. The high percentage use of Cabernet Franc makes the wine more elegant. There are still enough tannin and acidity for the wine to last another 10 years or more. In 1999, Robert Parker commented that the 1996 Lafleur is a painfully backward, austere wine that represents a modern-day clone of this estate's 1966. It possesses a backward, tannic, Medoc-like character. In my opinion, he's absolutely spot on his comment made 21 years ago.
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7/25/2019 - Purple Tooth wrote: 95 Points
This is still singing for me. Such a masculine wine after all these years and an incredible 96' Pomerol. Clay, earth, beautiful mustiness, dried flowers and chocolate tones are everywhere....Still has a seductive linger but I remember it being longer the last time...Drink this!
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7/6/2019 - Sean Tay wrote:
The nose had pronounced flora and cherry notes, black fruits, jam, prune, fig, plum. Full-bodied and long finish.
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7/25/2018 - pclin wrote: 96 Points
Clean and floral nose, it blossoms one hour after uncorked. Wonderful Pomerol nose. Still some tannins yet to be resolved but not bothersome. ABV 13% with no trace of alcohol. Complex and very long finish. In early drinking plateau but this can easily last another 15 to 20 years with its impeccable balance. Great showing today. First Growth stuff.
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4/19/2017 - RayOB wrote: 84 Points
Drank at 67
Maybe it will get better with age but right now it is not very good.
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2/9/2017 - ESCO wrote: 90 Points
Some wines are built for the long haul but this wine is positively Jurassic in its ageing potential. Even at two decades old it feels there is so much development yet to come. We loved this wine but it must carry the caveat that one must have enormous faith to believe that it will get better.
Renowned commentators speak to Lafleur's longevity and if they are correct this wine could be truly majestic . It has a core of sweet red fruit, amazingly some unresolved tannin, hints of vanilla and plums/prunes and a fairly fresh mouthfeel. It is neither over-extracted nor boring and screams classy right bank at the top of its voice. It was our first experience of the wine and we now more fully appreciate why the best Pomerol estates have such a dedicated and affluent following. It was a beautiful wine to share , to discuss, to remember and with the promise of more glory to come, this wine does all that a wine could hope.
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10/16/2015 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
Clarity. Merlot sweetness. Bit on the light side
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2/28/2015 - fatfishzsy Likes this wine: 93 Points
酒如其名，花香四溢，果香端庄，香气无敌，用桶不重,入口结构强，但略坚瘦
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9/20/2014 - Seth Rosenberg wrote:
HDH Auction (Restaurant Tru, Chicago, IL): Whatever. Tastes like BDX. Moving on ...
OK ... OK. Some leather, herbs. This was pretty dark with cassis and maybe blackberry but not that sweet - blueberry? a bit? can see a bit of vanilla - oak. This is fairly taut with decent acid.
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9/20/2014 - tooch wrote: 91 Points
HDH Auction (Tru - Chicago, IL): Lots of brambly red fruit, some cranberries, and smoke. The palate was sappy and had some drying tannins. I liked its cranberry and cherry tones on the palate and with its soft rose tones, thought it was showing very nicely.
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6/23/2014 - pclin wrote: 93 Points
Served following a 96' Rousseau Ruchottes Chambertin, tough act to follow but manage to hold its own. Wood on the nose from start but majority blow off after 1/2 hour. Sweet and smooth on entry with good balance. Enter its prime and should last. Good stuff. This is ahead of 93' and 01' vintages tasted recently.
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6/8/2014 - johnh1001 wrote: 94 Points
Forward nose of dark fruit, hint of tobacco and lovely violet. Open and smooth on the palate. Black currant, tobacco, touch of red fruit, some herbs and spice and a sweet plum note. Outstanding texture and very harmonious. Lithe. Long silky finish.
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4/27/2014 - Purple Tooth wrote: 98 Points
Drank this wine right before the 1989 and 1990 Petrus. Went back for a re-visit to this wine alongside the Petrus.
While the Petrus is in a DIFFERENT league of elegance, this wine is just as enjoyable. A gentleman's wine, with unforgettable deep tobacco character and intertwining black fruit and exotic spice. The fish is big, long and outstanding, but what blows me away about this wine is its up-front no-nonsense statement of power and complexity.
Still holding up very, very well, with room to improve over next few years and longer.
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2/28/2013 - pclin wrote: 92 Points
2nd bottle of a case bought during EP, not much improvement from last bottle consumed 6 months ago. Subtle nose. Cabernet Franc nose is there but not forward. Not very clean nose, some off aromas that I could not describe. Sweet and savory tannins, a bit St Julien like. Notes of dark cherry, blackberry, cassis and raspberry. Still has slight hints of oak but almost fully integrated. Very young and fresh both in terms of color and palate, if I have tasted it blind, I would guess it about 7 to 8 year old. Good length and balance. This is not ready and has a long life ahead. At the moment, its better on the palate than on the nose. 92-93 pts.
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9/25/2012 - Wine_lvr wrote: 85 Points
Intensive color. Nose is metallic and leathery. Short finish, no harmony, some berries but lots of acidity. Bad bottle? Expensive gamble...will sell my other bottles as I also had several difficult encounters with the 1996 Pensees de Lafleur...
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9/1/2012 - Ary wrote: 86 Points
Disappointing especially for Lafleur. Blind tasted I didn't recognize this as Right bank Bordeaux. Missing the roundness and thickness. Austere and high acidity.
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8/18/2012 - pclin wrote: 93 Points
Wonderful bouquet from Cabernet Franc and remind me of 1983 Cheval Blanc. A bit astringent first but open up in the glass after about 2 hours. Big wine. Still very young and fresh, full of fruits and tannin. Not ready yet, probably 5 years away from mature. Complex, concentrated, and fleshy. Has a chance to be a star when mature.
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8/7/2012 - weiboon Does not like this wine:
Popped for Pomerol night dinner. Still closed, and tannic after several rounds of decanting. Started to open a little after 3 hours into dinner. This bottle may have to be kept and not drunk early.
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8/6/2012 - hkm520240 wrote: 92 Points
Casual Wines Session on Monday night (Extra Space, Boon Keng): Decanted for about 2 hours. This has a vibrant core, with purple red hue showing no sign of age. Subtle and elegant nose, very floral but still primary and young, with blackcurrant, plum and some hints of minral. Still a little tight after decanting, young and fresh with plenty of dark fruits and mineral notes. Chewy tannins with long finish. Very good intensity but strange that it did not excite me as much as I thought I can be for such a wines at this pedigree as I am expecting more depth and complexity.
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9/7/2007 - sdr wrote: 90 Points
South Florida does Lafleur (Cafe Maxx, Pompano Beach, Florida): This vintage showed much better than the '95 that immediately preceeded it and got better as it sat in the glass, always a good sign. A bit thin in texture, yet sweet and seductive. Floral and elegant. Very, very fine.
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