Acker JK 51st birthday in NYC. Small glass quick note. All black fruited and mocha nose, black fruited flavors wrapped in a solid tannic frame but fine boned, concentrated, long aftertaste.
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6 Vintages Le Pin vs Petrus vs Lafleur vs Other Pomerol: All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
TN: Extracted, nutty, ripe dark fruit nose. Herbs and minerality to compliment. On the palate quite fresh and round, beautiful creaminess and enough tension. Again nutty notes, some toast, ripe dark fruit, some herbs. Overall quite good but not the most complex wine and a slightly abrupt finish. 93/94 pts.
Decanting: Like most Lafleurs this needs time to open up. I guess it would have been better with 2, 3 hours in the decanter.
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Petrus vs. Le Pin vs. Lafleur 2004-2011, blind (Fribourg): Expressive nose, rich and ripe, a bit too fore-square for a higher score. Gets better on the palate, riper fruit here as well, good structure and finish. Solid but but not grand and behind the others who did very well in 2008.
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Pétrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin (Fribourg): 6 vintage face-off (2006-2011) Pétrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin vs alternating Pomerol pirate. The wines were served in vintage flights of 4 and not decanted. Main observations were: 1/ Le Pin knocked it out of the park coming in first in 4 out of 6 vintages while Pétrus came in last with not a single vintage win (Lafleur came in best in two off-vintages, 2006 and 2008), 2/ The best overall vintage was 2009 (runner-up 2010) while 2006 came in last (scoring range 85-92), 3/ best bottle was Le Pin 2009 (99), followed by Pétrus 2010 and Le Pin 2010 (98 each), 4/ best pirate was Clos L’Eglise 2009 (97). List of wines per score included in the tasting story.
Tasting note: This initially left you with a lactic, boiled egg character along with some earthy notes and mushrooms. Fruit rather in the background, but coming forward with a bit of aeration with the lactic notes dissipating into a nice and earthy frame. Dense and concentrated, but hitting the extraction G-spot. On the palate fresh and muscular while showing nice integration with the grippy tannins built well into the structure.
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rich young purple-red color, quiet and closed nose, subdued cherries and plums, a good bit of spicy oak with a very slight sting on the tail end, on the palate a real beauty- lush and yet detailed on a mid-weight scale like a number of other great 2008s, ripe blueberries, cherries, racy chalk notes, spicy oak that is integrating well but a bit rough on the tail end, a very pretty Lafleur with good mid-term potential- a good one to have around while waiting for the 1998 to mature.
(****)+, 2030-2050
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Big and full with the highest alcohol level of the decade according to Amri which is almost hard to believe given '09, '05, etc. Quite rich with deep flavors of black fruits, tobacco, damp forest and smokey earth. Finishes rather closed and tannic at this point but this should turn out to be a classic, ripe and decadent version of this great terroir down the road. 93+
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Wow! Erotic cherries, truffle, chocolate, incense and spice grab your attention. On the palate, the wine is rich, concentrated, long, tannic, fresh and structured. Still young, the finish is fresh, with lingering sensations of spicy, fresh, cherries and plum. If you like wines young, feel free to pop a cork. I’m giving mine at least 10 more years.
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51% Cabernet Franc and 49% Merlot make up the blend. The perfume is all about smoke, plum, earth, truffle, licorice, flowers and spice box. In the mouth, this is full bodied, round, rich and concentrated. The wine ends with a big, fresh, black cherry, chocolate and coffee infused sensation.
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2008 Lafleur has added considerable aromatic complexity and depth over the past several months. Fresh blackberry, Asian spice, plum, oak, truffle and licorice scents are easy to find. This full bodied, intense, tannic, fresh wine expresses a lot of purity and flavor. The wine ends with a long, ripe, rich finish. 97 Pts
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08 Château Lafleur is dark ruby. Essence of earth and black fruit, with a hint of oak and plum, make the perfume for this concentrated wine. The tannins and fruit feel polished in the mouth. The wine finishes with deep, dark, pure ripe black fruit. 95-97 Pts
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12/17/2022 - mpoel Likes this wine: 97 Points
Paired against Hosanna - another league. Much younger in colour. More fresh and concentrated. Amazing length. Still a bright future ahead
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11/19/2022 - Mag357 Likes this wine:
Acker JK 51st birthday in NYC. Small glass quick note. All black fruited and mocha nose, black fruited flavors wrapped in a solid tannic frame but fine boned, concentrated, long aftertaste.
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5/15/2022 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points
6 Vintages Le Pin vs Petrus vs Lafleur vs Other Pomerol: All wines tasted single blind, not decanted. Served in 6 vintage flights with a alternating 4th Pomerol added to every flight. A few observations: 1) Le Pin handily won this tasting, for me (4 out of 6 vintages at 96/97 pts) and the consensus. Made in a charming way, with loads of perfectly integrated, luxurious oak-derived notes, this wines drink well young and works very well in a larger tasting like this were you can’t follow the wines over an evening. Complex, round, intense, sexy yet elegant. 2) Lafleur came in second, despite mostly only hinting at its potential with very high complexity, it’s wonderful, typical herbal and earthy notes, all embedded in an impeccable, light structural frame. But they need time. 3) Most vintages of Petrus underperformed tonight (all below 95 pts). They would have needed more time to open up and come together. 4) 2009/10 vintages are great and unsurprisingly got the highest scores, 2008 confirmed it status as a Bdx vintage that is excellent to drink today. More information/rankings in the tasting story.
TN: Extracted, nutty, ripe dark fruit nose. Herbs and minerality to compliment. On the palate quite fresh and round, beautiful creaminess and enough tension. Again nutty notes, some toast, ripe dark fruit, some herbs. Overall quite good but not the most complex wine and a slightly abrupt finish. 93/94 pts.
Decanting: Like most Lafleurs this needs time to open up. I guess it would have been better with 2, 3 hours in the decanter.
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5/11/2022 - Collector1855 wrote: 95 Points
Petrus vs. Le Pin vs. Lafleur 2004-2011, blind (Fribourg): Expressive nose, rich and ripe, a bit too fore-square for a higher score. Gets better on the palate, riper fruit here as well, good structure and finish. Solid but but not grand and behind the others who did very well in 2008.
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5/9/2022 - sirpat00 wrote: 95 Points
Pétrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin (Fribourg): 6 vintage face-off (2006-2011) Pétrus vs Lafleur vs Le Pin vs alternating Pomerol pirate. The wines were served in vintage flights of 4 and not decanted. Main observations were: 1/ Le Pin knocked it out of the park coming in first in 4 out of 6 vintages while Pétrus came in last with not a single vintage win (Lafleur came in best in two off-vintages, 2006 and 2008), 2/ The best overall vintage was 2009 (runner-up 2010) while 2006 came in last (scoring range 85-92), 3/ best bottle was Le Pin 2009 (99), followed by Pétrus 2010 and Le Pin 2010 (98 each), 4/ best pirate was Clos L’Eglise 2009 (97). List of wines per score included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
This initially left you with a lactic, boiled egg character along with some earthy notes and mushrooms. Fruit rather in the background, but coming forward with a bit of aeration with the lactic notes dissipating into a nice and earthy frame. Dense and concentrated, but hitting the extraction G-spot. On the palate fresh and muscular while showing nice integration with the grippy tannins built well into the structure.
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12/10/2019 - Elpaninaro Likes this wine:
rich young purple-red color, quiet and closed nose, subdued cherries and plums, a good bit of spicy oak with a very slight sting on the tail end, on the palate a real beauty- lush and yet detailed on a mid-weight scale like a number of other great 2008s, ripe blueberries, cherries, racy chalk notes, spicy oak that is integrating well but a bit rough on the tail end, a very pretty Lafleur with good mid-term potential- a good one to have around while waiting for the 1998 to mature.
(****)+, 2030-2050
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11/3/2019 - fcxj wrote: 90 Points
Needs a lot more time.
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12/5/2017 - dream Likes this wine: 93 Points
Big and full with the highest alcohol level of the decade according to Amri which is almost hard to believe given '09, '05, etc. Quite rich with deep flavors of black fruits, tobacco, damp forest and smokey earth. Finishes rather closed and tannic at this point but this should turn out to be a classic, ripe and decadent version of this great terroir down the road. 93+
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7/22/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Wow! Erotic cherries, truffle, chocolate, incense and spice grab your attention. On the palate, the wine is rich, concentrated, long, tannic, fresh and structured. Still young, the finish is fresh, with lingering sensations of spicy, fresh, cherries and plum. If you like wines young, feel free to pop a cork. I’m giving mine at least 10 more years.
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8/3/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
51% Cabernet Franc and 49% Merlot make up the blend. The perfume is all about smoke, plum, earth, truffle, licorice, flowers and spice box. In the mouth, this is full bodied, round, rich and concentrated. The wine ends with a big, fresh, black cherry, chocolate and coffee infused sensation.
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7/18/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
2008 Lafleur has added considerable aromatic complexity and depth over the past several months. Fresh blackberry, Asian spice, plum, oak, truffle and licorice scents are easy to find. This full bodied, intense, tannic, fresh wine expresses a lot of purity and flavor. The wine ends with a long, ripe, rich finish. 97 Pts
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7/30/2009 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
08 Château Lafleur is dark ruby. Essence of earth and black fruit, with a hint of oak and plum, make the perfume for this concentrated wine. The tannins and fruit feel polished in the mouth. The wine finishes with deep, dark, pure ripe black fruit. 95-97 Pts
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