x
  • Country ranking ?

    144
  • Producer ranking ?

    7
  • Decanting time

    3h
  • When to drink

    now to 2030
  • Food Pairing

    Lamb Loin with Carrot Risotto

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

Close

An utterly awesome wine, the only problem with the 2000 Lafleur is that I indicated its maturity window would be 2012-2040+. Based on two tastings of it, I would now argue 2020-2060+. Yes, it is that backward, but it has extraordinary potential. Dense ruby/purple to the rim, this fabulously concentrated wine has a sweet nose of kirsch liqueur intermixed with licorice and subtle floral notes as well as a hint of truffle in the background. It is stacked and packed on the attack, with a multi-dimensional mid-palate of unbelievable intensity of concentration and richness, yet at the same time all this power is allied to striking elegance, purity, and depth. This is great Bordeaux, a profound Lafleur, and in about ten years, much of its magic should begin to be unleashed. If you can find it, it is an extraordinary wine, and as expensive as it was a decade ago, it will look cheap compared to prices for more recent vintages. Wine Advocate.June, 2010

Close

The Story

Between the estates of Pétrus and La Fleur-Pétrus, amid vineyards, stands a stone house with closed shutters. The road that winds to the house between the vine rows has no signs or indications as to the name of the place. The construction looks more like a maintenance shed for the neighbouring estates than the main building of a winery. However, this is a house that makes one of the most desirable wines in Bordeaux: Château Lafleur.

Lafleur’s wines form an interesting contrast to their neighbour, Pétrus. Their terroirs differ significantly, even though the distance between them is only 50–100 metres. Whereas Pétrus is more seductively rich, full-bodied and intense, Lafleur is charming in its elegance, femininity and subtlety.
Lafleur’s wines are delightful, but they do require aging for at least twenty years in order to display their full, nuanced character. Guinaudeau’s investments into improving quality in all of Lafleur’s functions promise an even better future for the friends of Lafleur. Although tasting the 1947, 1950, 1961, 1975 or 1982, one can only wonder whether Lafleur’s wines could get any better?

Close

Wine Information

“Lafleur is a single-vineyard wine with exceptional terroir qualities. Firstly, it is located on a very gentle amphitheatrical slope to the north of Pétrus. The soil is clearly more gravelly and brown than the red clay at Pétrus. A comprehensive soil analysis in 1998 found that the estate comprises as many as five different types: the northwest has brown gravel, the south is more clay-based and sandy gravel, and the east has sandy clay with some gravel. In the middle is a mixture of all of those. These have completely different conditions in terms of the grapes’ ripening, size and concentration. The concentration is also affected by the old vines, with their average age of thirty years. The oldest vines actually go back five decades. We work the vineyard as four different plots, even though they go towards a single wine. We grow two varieties, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, but the differences in soil result in very different grapes within each variety. This diversity is the secret to Lafleur’s greatness,” Guinaudeau explains.

 

Close

Vintage 2000

Weather conditions / The 2000 vintage was proclaimed from the start as one of the best vintages of modern times. In the spring of 2003, I had many opportunities to find out if we really had a true dream vintage on our hands.

During the 2000 harvest, while doing a “personal inspection” in the vineyards, I noticed that something extraordinary was on the way. The grapes looked extremely healthy.

While the sorting table was rolling, I observed that there were few leaves, stems and weeds among the grapes. This is why sorting the grapes was so easy and quick. This must be one of the characteristics of the 2000 vintage, because normally even great vintages require a lot of work at the sorting table.

 

The 2000 vintage is a classic, extravagant and extremely long Bordeaux with dark and extremely dense wines, which have a huge concentration of fruit, length and superbly concentrated tannins. The tannin is not allowed to dominate, as it is well enveloped by the fruit. A scent of under-ripeness is only present in a few wines. One of the hallmarks of this vintage is an intense, deep aroma of dark berries, such as blueberries, blackberries and black cherries.

All red grape varieties have reached perfect maturity, including Bordeaux's most temperamental and unruly grape variety, Petit Verdot. Petit Verdot brings to wines the long-awaited addition of backbone and power.

Additionally, the grapes for whites, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle, ripened perfectly and produced extremely fine dry white wines. The sweet white wines have unfortunately transformed into some light, elegant and charming wines, based 100% on the September harvest. From October 11, it rained a lot in Bordeaux and this continued until the end of the year.

Close

Average Bottle Price

2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000
1 389€ -6.8% 1 490€ +10.8% 1 345€ -4.9% 1 414€ +1.1% 1 399€ +72.5% 811€ +35.4% 599€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

ending

Endless, Pure and Flavorful

recommend

Yes

taste

Balanced, Youthful, Full-bodied, Round, Harmonious, Rich and Silky tannins

Verdict

Impressive and Masterpiece

Written Notes

a 'phenomenal nose,' Frank cooed. It was classic all the way around with incredible breed - the pungent minerality, the unbelievably pure red and black fruit symphony, the light cedar and jam, and there was an unbelievable harmony amongst all. 'The '98 is less concentrated than the 2000,' Guinaudeau (I think) remarked. There was great structure and intensity, but its balance and high pitch set it apart. The palate was rich, concentrated, mouth-filling and delicious with its chocolaty and minerally flavors. Long, balanced and pure, the wine was dripping with plums, plums and more plums. Believe the hype
  • 98p

With the 1982 vintage, Lafleur joined the same rarefied group as Petrus and Le Pin. Chateau Lafleur had a long history of quietly making stunning wine. In fact, JP Moueix remarked that the only wine of Pomerol that was as good as, or even better than Petrus was Lafleur! 

2000 Chateau Lafleur is still a baby, with a lifetime of promise to look forward to? With that in mind, this was a great pair of wines to remember. But regardless of how I got here, this wine is off the hook! There are no two ways about it. At its best, Lafleur offers a kinky, exotic, hedonistic profile that is unequaled in other wines. 

 I bought this wine as a future in 2001 for a then whopping $300 per bottle. That was the most money I had ever spent on a wine. Like Paul McCartney sang, “How I long for Yesterday.”

 2000 Chateau Lafleur – I’m thinking this is the wine of the vintage, and that says a lot, when you consider how many great wines were born in 2000. But I have had this stunning Right Bank wine more than enough times to feel quite comfortable proclaiming that. The bottom line here is, the wine is opulence on steroids. It has unbelievable levels of concentration. A mouth feel that words cannot do justice to, and a finish that breaks the one minute mark and keeps on going. 100 Pts

 

and a finish that breaks the one minute mark and keeps on going. 100 Pts

  • 100p

Tasted on the 9th December 2016. Lafleur was just timeless treat, so dense, so rich, so deep, so sophisticated. Paradise!

  • 100p
Load more notes

Information

Origin

Pomerol, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Investment potential

Very Good

Glass time

2h

Inside Information

Wine Advocate #189
Jun 2010
Robert M. Parker, Jr. 100 Drink: 2020 - 2060 $1439-$3300
An utterly awesome wine, the only problem with the 2000 Lafleur is that I indicated its maturity window would be 2012-2040+. Based on two tastings of it, I would now argue 2020-2060+. Yes, it is that backward, but it has extraordinary potential. Dense ruby/purple to the rim, this fabulously concentrated wine has a sweet nose of kirsch liqueur intermixed with licorice and subtle floral notes as well as a hint of truffle in the background. It is stacked and packed on the attack, with a multi-dimensional mid-palate of unbelievable intensity of concentration and richness, yet at the same time all this power is allied to striking elegance, purity, and depth. This is great Bordeaux, a profound Lafleur, and in about ten years, much of its magic should begin to be unleashed. If you can find it, it is an extraordinary wine, and as expensive as it was a decade ago, it will look cheap compared to prices for more recent vintages.
Read more
Incorrect Information
If you found some information that is wrong, let us know
Are you sure you want do delete this wine? All information will be lost.
Are you sure you want to recommend this wine?
Are you sure you want hide this written note ?
Are you sure you want show this written note ?
UPGRADE MEMBER PLAN
Upgrade your membership now, it's quick and easy. We use PayPal, the world's largest payment system, it accepts all credit cards. Once you've chosen your membership level, you'll go directly to PayPal. You can cancel your membership at any time.
Thank you for your support!
 

Pro Member

 

Winemerchant Member

 

Winery Member

 

User

 

HOW TO USE TASTINGBOOK?

We recommend you to share few minutes for watching the following video instructions of how to use the Tastingbook. This can provide you a comprehensive understanding of all the features you can find from this unique service platform.

This video will help you get started



Taste wines with the Tastingbook


Create Your wine cellar on 'My Wines'



Explore Your tasted wines library



Administrate Your wine world in Your Profile



Type a message ...
Register to Tastingbook
Sign up now, it's quick and easy.
We use PayPal, the world's largest payment system, it accepts all credit cards.
Once you've chosen your membership level, you'll go directly to PayPal, where you can sign up for a free 7-day trial period. You can cancel your membership at any time. We wish you a rewarding journey to the world of Fine Wines.

Free 7 days Member trial

 

Member

 

Pro Member

 

Winemerchant Member

 

Winery Member

 

User

  Register