A medicinal edge on the nose, some gorgeous floral and herbal touches to the ripe fruit but a savoury element too. Compact and dense on the palate, the tannins and general weight is felt in the mouth straight away, with searing acidity making this quite lean and focused but with a lovely creaminess that comes through as it slowly expands. This has a lot of power and charge but no overt weight, density but no fat. I like the lingering coolness with fresh mint and graphite giving a saline, mineral element at the end. Complex and serious yet elegant, full of taste and detail. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2040
Tasted by: Georgina Hindle (at Pomerol, 02 Jan 2023)

The 2020 Grand Village (Lafleur), which is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, comes from more clay soils and from cuttings from Château Lafleur in Pomerol. It's a gorgeous wine that brings serious power and richness while staying nicely balanced. Ripe black fruits, truffle earth, chocolate, and some floral, earthy notes define the aromatics, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, ripe yet building tannins, and a great finish. It's certainly a bigger, richer vintage at this address, and this beauty will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age. I can't imagine it not drinking well for a solid two decades. It's worth pointing out that production was down from an average 5,000 cases to over 3,000 cases in 2020, so there's certainly less of this beauty to go around. If you see a bottle, don't miss it.

The 2020 Grand Village was made during an uprooting of what Baptiste Guinaudeau termed the "less interesting" parcels to focus on the best plots of the original estate. This has a very intense bouquet with black cherries, boysenberry and crushed violet scents. Very fine delineation and less rusticity than the vintages of a decade ago. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy yet fine tannins, blackberry commingling with licorice and hints of wild fennel. Insistent grip towards the finish; this is relatively backward and will need another 3-4 years in bottle.

The 2020 Grand Village Rouge is a rich, heady wine. Black cherry, plum, mocha, licorice and cloves are all dialed up in a gorgeous wine that balances fruit intensity and vibrancy, all in a medium-bodied style that is hugely appealing. This is beautifully done.

(79% M, 21% Bouchet)
Floral, herbal, fragrant Merlot nose; rich, fresh, very lightly tannic; sweetly ripe, subtly mineral, straightforward wine, with a lovely freshness and good light length; a delicious, gentle, fleshy prospect in just a few years. Very nice indeed. Not, of course, Lafleur, but a tasty glimpse of the Lafleur team’s winemaking for well under £20 all told! 2023–30+.

79% Merlot, 21% Bouchet (Cabernet Franc). Part of the Lafleur (Pomerol) stable. Cask sample.
Pretty floral-violet nose with plenty of juice on the palate. Rich but sappy with a mineral edge. Tannins long and extremely fine. Clearly GV. (JL)