This shows such beautiful ripeness and freshness with dark berries, blueberries and hints of dark chocolate. Full-bodied yet balanced and refined with linear drive and brightness. - jamessuckling.com, April 2019

Altogether more robust on the nose with deep, intense black fruit and nori. Wow fruit, with such density and lightness. Broad, round texture with a stunningly pixellated mid palate and a powerful, driving but seductive finish which has great polish and precision. - April 2019

This is showing a more open aromatic profile at this stage than the Perrières with evident creaminess to the berry fruits and a softness to the tannins. It closes down on the finish, showing the depth and concentration behind the pleasurable opening. As it settles into the glass, a truffled earthiness comes through, along with touches of grilled coffee bean. Overall fairly exuberant at this point although bound to close down for a few years.

The 2018 Les Pensées de Lafleur has an open bouquet with iris-inflected raspberry and blackberry, a touch of iodine emerging with aeration. The palate is fresh and quite sensual with oodles of blackcurrant and blueberry fruit. It does become a bit heady with aeration, with a sweet white pepper- and tobacco-tinged finish. Frankly, it is not far away in quality from the Grand Vin. Tasted from ex-château magnum at Kate & Kon's 40-Year vertical in Austria.

Composed of 46% Merlot and 54% Cabernet Franc, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Pensées de Lafleur bursts with plum preserves and redcurrant jelly scents, giving way to nuances of red roses, dusty soil, bouquet garni and tapenade with a waft of black truffles. The medium to full-bodied palate is oh-so-elegant, featuring very soft tannins and beautifully knit acidity to support the generous black and red fruits, finishing long and earthy. Give it a good 3 years to spread its wings and drink it over the next 15 years or more.

The 2018 Pensées De Lafleur is often thought of as the second wine from this magical estate, but it comes from a designated region of the estate vineyard that consists of slightly more vigorous, clay soils. A blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, it’s possibly the finest vintage to date of this cuvée and offers a beautiful bouquet of smoked earth, tobacco, spring flowers, and ample raspberry and blueberry fruits. It’s silky, seamless, already beautiful, and will keep for 15-20 years. - jebdunnuck.com, May 2019

Composed of 46% Merlot harvested September 21 and 54% Cabernet Franc harvested October 4, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Pensées de Lafleur comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant notes of warm blueberries, crushed red and black cherries and plum preserves with hints of licorice, charcuterie, wild sage, underbrush and truffles. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals exquisitely ripe, rounded tannins and tons of freshness supporting the multilayered, vivacious fruit, finishing long with an herbal lift. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, April 2019, The Wine Advocate

The 2018 Pensées de Lafleur emerges from a strip of soil measuring 2/3rds of a hectare than runs through Lafleur. The blend is 54% Bouschet (Cabernet Franc) and 46% Merlot, but is the Merlot that really seems to inform the wine, especially in a textural profile that is all about suppleness. Plump, juicy and inviting, the Pensées offers tremendous immediacy and overall appeal. The 2018 is an especially suave Pensées, but there is plenty of structure underneath.

Darkest cherry red. Here there is the more leafy side of Bouchet and a mineral/salty touch. So fragrant and alive on the nose. Sour-cherry fruit, with an intensity you barely notice until you see the length. Finest and smoothest tannins even though there is a fine grain to add freshness. Smells of small wild berries. Seductively smooth texture.Julia Harding, jancisrobinson.com, April 2019