A quarter of a century on this has retained good colour, while the nose has developed evident sous bois notes. The palate is leafy and fresh, with cassis and blackberry the dominant fruits. It has a touch of char and woodsmoke, and prominent undergrowth on the mid-palate. This is elegant and persistent with admirable intensity and fine, chalky tannins. It's drinking well now, although it's showing obvious signs of maturity and is nearing its peak. Impeccable balance and admirable complexity for one of the region’s lesser and more complicated vintages. Drinking Window 2018 - 2024
asted by John Stimpfig (at Christie's, London, 10 May 2018)
Part of Château Lafleur vertical: 1993-2013

This has always been one of my favourite wines of the vintage. Here it has a consistent nose of mineral-laden black fruit, cedar and tobacco that verges of the Left Bank in style. The palate is very well balanced with crisp, rigid tannins and a pastille-like purity towards the finish that just seems to have mellowed a little. This is a Lafleur that does not make any compromises - it is what it is, come what may. As such, it is one of the most typical Lafleur wines of the 1990s, one that is drinking beautifully now. Tasted December 2013.

One of a small handful of contenders for the title of wine of the vintage, the 1993 Lafleur is beginning to drink brilliantly. Unfurling in the decanter and glass with aromas of sweet berry fruit, kirsch, loamy soil and black truffles, it's medium to full-bodied, muscular and concentrated, its imposing chassis of ripe but melting tannin cloaked in an ample core of thick, concentrated fruit. Uncommonly powerful for the vintage, and displaying none of 1993's tendency to asperity, it is just entering what will be a long drinking window. Held to any standards other than Lafleur's, this might well merit an even higher score, and it would be a great choice to insert into any blind tasting of more sought-after vintages.

Wonderful--dark and brooding--with plenty of currant and mint character. Super balance, with ripe tannins and a sense of elegance. Excellent quality for this vintage.--Château Lafleur vertical. PM

Exhibiting a dark purple color with an opaque middle, Lafleur's 1993 is structured, tannic, and almost charmless because of its huge power and structure. The wine offers up hints of gorgeously sweet, black-raspberry, kirsch, and truffle aromas (similar to those possessed by L'Evangile), but after that, one has to be content with its unbridled power, medium to full-bodied, layered richness, and ferocious tannin. This is a backward, dense, yet purely made wine. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2020.