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  • Country ranking ?

    493
  • Producer ranking ?

    22
  • Decanting time

    4 h
  • When to drink

    2025-2040
  • Food Pairing

    Duck Confit with a Merlot Sauce

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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...

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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 so...

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Vintage 2011

The 2011 vintage is not easy to handle.

Smith Haut Lafitte not only makes great white and red wine from Bordeaux in Pessac Léognan, they are also at the cutting edge of technology. They were one of the first Bordeaux wine producers to begin using optical sorting, which came in handy with the difficult 2011 Bordeaux harvest. Fabien Teitgen, long-time general manager, joined us for a long detailed conversation about what happened at Smith Hau...

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Tasting note

color

Deep, Ruby red and Clear

ending

Long, Pure and Flavorful

flavors

Blackcurrant, Vanilla, Smoky, Leather, Truffles and New-oak

nose

Intense, Refined, Fresh and Opulent

recommend

Yes

taste

Balanced, Well-structured, Full-bodied, Round, Fragrant, Firm and Silky tannins

Verdict

Transparent and nice but not special

Written Notes

The wine was produced from a blend of 53% Cabernet Franc and 47% Merlot. Violets, truffle, cherry, forest, earth and spicy aromas couple with concentrated, sensuous layers of ripe, fresh and pure clean plum, cherry and blackberry. On the palate, the wine moves between red to dark berries while building and expanding in depth and intensity. 96-98 Pts
  • 97p
Good looking normal size bottle, is in a excellent condition and has by the neck level. Colour is ruby red and deep. On the nose it is wide, intense, refined, fresh, opulent and round. The taste is full, round, fragrant, firm, vigor, with silky tannins, full-bodied, with balanced and well-structured structure. On the palate it is layered and has floral, leather, new-oak, smoky, spice, truffles, vanilla and blackcurrant flavours. The finish is long, extensive, flavorful, pure and spicy. This wine is transparent and outstanding. Perfectly stored bottles are still very worthy and will last well for another 20-30 years and decant at least 2h before tasting.
- (Tasting note created by Tb's AI)
  • 98p
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Information

Origin

Pomerol, Bordeaux

Vineyard size

4,5 hectare

Winemaker

Jacques Guinaudeau

Age of vines

30 years

Vintage Quality

Above Average

Value For Money

Good

When bottled

2013

Investment potential

Average

Fake factory

None

Glass time

3h

Drinking temperature

18

Inside Information

Wine Advocate #200
Apr 2012
Robert M. Parker, Jr. (92-94) Drink: 2017 - 2042 $455-$1000
This tiny jewel of a property has produced a beautifully rich 2011 Lafleur from a blend of 53% Cabernet Franc and 47% Merlot. The Merlot was picked between August 31 and September 12, and the Cabernet Franc between September 22-23. The 2011 reveals a floral-scented bouquet with notions of kirsch, licorice and black raspberries. It is medium to full-bodied with terrific fruit purity, good minerality and slightly more acidity and freshness than are found in such ripe vintages as 2009 and 2010. At present, the Guinandeau family, the owners, are using between 50-60% new oak in an attempt to emphasize their great terroir and the extraordinary fruit quality they achieve from both the old vine Cabernet Franc and Merlot. This cuvee possesses some serious tannin and will undoubtedly need 5-6 years of cellaring after its release, but it should be one of the longer-lived wines of the vintage, lasting 25+ years.
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