Lafleur 2019 (750ML)

100 Points, William Kelley, Wine Advocate: "The 2019 Lafleur is an utterly profound young wine that unwinds in the glass with aromas of rose petals, raspberries and sweet spices mingled with notions of blood orange, violets and fresh tobacco that are hauntingly reminiscent of this estate's great 1982. Full-bodied, deep and seamless, it's layered and multidimensional, with a concentrated core of vibrant fruit, lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins, concluding with a long, searingly intense finish. This magical Lafleur is unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage." 04/22

"The 2019 Lafleur has a bouquet that takes its time to unfurl in the glass, then renders you speechless. Mind-bogglingly intense black fruit, crushed stone and a hint of licorice display astonishing delineation, and blue fruit emerges with time. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins. As is customary, this feels very strict and, on reflection, represents the most quintessential Lafleur I have tasted in my many years of visiting the estate. Tensile from start to finish, it fans out audaciously and seems to never end. Baptiste Guinaudeau compared it with the 2005 and described it as a "[four-letter-expletive] you" Lafleur. When you taste this, you see what he means. An awe-inspiring Pomerol that will give decades of drinking pleasure for those prepared to wait." 02/22

98 Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous: "I am not sure when the 2019 Lafleur is going to be ready to drink, but it is not going to be anytime soon. A huge, powerful wine, the 2019 Lafleur possesses tremendous intensity and energy, but less of the immediate charm of many recent vintages. All of its energy is focused inward. Hints of gravel, crushed rocks, graphite, dried herbs and sweet pipe tobacco gradually emerge over time. The purity of the flavors here is just unreal. The 2019 Lafleur is another magnificent wine from the Guinaudeau family." 02/22

"So much sweet tobacco, Spanish cedar, dried flowers, dark mushrooms and roses. Really aromatic. This is so polished and very powerful, yet ethereal and refined at the same time. The finish goes on for minutes. Tight and harmonious. You want to drink it! So balanced, yet it will age beautifully. It will be this good forever. 94% cabernet sauvignon, 5% merlot and 1% petit verdot. Better after 2031." 02/22

99 Points, Georgina Hindle, Decanter: "A beautiful, almost sweet florality on the nose here, this smells amazing. Such tension on the palate, direct and crystalline with streamlined tannins and a smooth overall body yet layered with intricate flavours giving an iron/iodine nuance against liquorice, coffee, salty wet stones, raspberry, red cherry and blueberry fruits. Powerful yet succulent, weightless yet dense. A proud wine with a long future ahead. I just love it!" 03/22

100 Points, Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com: "If tasting the 2019 Château Lafleur doesn't just blow you away, I'm not sure what will. A perfect wine, if such a thing exists, it offers such a complex, singular profile in its black raspberries, kirsch liqueur, licorice, exotic flowers, white truffles, and sandalwood. On the palate, it has serious structure, yet the tannins build with time in the glass, and the mid-palate density and balance are so flawlessly integrated, you have to actually hunt for the structure. Pure, sensationally rich, and at the same time elegant, with awesome depth of fruit, this is what wine dreams are made of. It might be the finest young wine to ever pass my lips. It needs a solid decade of bottle age, 15 years would be even better (it will still blow your mind any time over the coming decade), and it will evolve gracefully over the following 30-40 years." 04/22