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1994 Chateau Lafleur, Pomerol

Colour: Red
Vintage: 1994
Region: Bordeaux
% Alcohol: 14.99

Situated in the heart of the Pomerol plateau, with Petrus, VCC and Lafleur-Petrus as neighbours, this modest, almost anonymous, looking property is as singular an expression of place as one could wish to encounter. The diverse soils are simply and sympathetically nurtured enabling the old vine Merlot and Cabernet Franc to fully express themselves. Indeed with the highest proportion of Cabernet Franc in the appellation, a combination more common to St Emillion than Pomerol, it is unsurprising that Lafleur is considered so distinctive. Whilst qualitative comparison is often made with Petrus - “Certainly Lafleur remains one of the few wines of Pomerol that is consistently capable of challenging, and in some cases surpassing, Petrus” (Robert Parker) - in style it is an altogether different beast with a unique emphasis on elegance, power and exoticism. Building on the decades of devoted work of the Robin family, first Jacques Guinaudeau and now his son Baptiste and wife Julie have edged the estate into a golden era that is establishing Lafleur, alongside Petrus and Le Pin, at the very apex of the appellation.

91 RP
90-93 WI
87 NM
1994 Chateau Lafleur, Pomerol

Out of stock

Tasting Notes and Scores

91 RP

Still backward, but one of the great successes of the vintage, the 1994 still has a deep ruby/purple color, notes of plums, a hint of prunes, earth, truffle, and mineral. As the wine sits in the glass, some of the steely mineral Lafleur character emerges. This remains an excruciatingly tannic, backward, medium to full-bodied wine that needs plenty of cellaring. I am not so sure the tannins will always mesh, given the fact that this wine does not quite have the concentration that some of the other top vintages of Lafleur possess. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025. Last tasted, 12/02.

Wine Advocate

90-93 WI

Very good deep red-ruby color. Initially mute nose opens to reveal a sappy black cherry and licorice aroma, but no sign of the superripe quality found in the best Lafleurs from decades past. Dense and extremely backward in the mouth; displays a very primary iodiney/fruit pit quality and excellent sweetness. Powerfully structured and quite tannic; this will require at least a decade of bottle aging. An impressive wine, but today's Lafleur lacks the sauvage splendor of vintages like '75, '79, '83 and '86.

Wine Independent

87 NM

The 1994 Lafleur is a vintage that I drank regularly in the days when such off-vintages were cheap. However, it has long been a wine that seems permanently stuck in a "root day": green and herbaceous on the nose, "Loire meets Pomerol" on the palate. Quite simply, I don't think the Cabernet Franc achieved full ripeness in this growing season.

Neal Martin

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