Château Lafleur - Pomerol 2005 (750ml)
Price: $2499.00
| Producer | Château Lafleur |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Subregion | Pomerol |
| Varietal | Bordeaux Blend |
| Vintage | 2005 |
| Size | 750ml |
Wine Advocate: 100 Points
This amazing wine puts on a display of fireworks in terms of its aromatics, with a stunning nose of blue and black fruits, forest floor, flowers and earth. Dense purple, full-bodied, rich, moderately tannic and super-concentrated, this is a profound Pomerol that still needs another decade of cellaring. This is possibly the greatest Lafleur of the modern era, rivaling the 1982 and 2000. Forget it for another 5-10 years and drink it over the following quarter-century.
James Suckling: 100 Points
The nose on this wine is classic. Floral notes of lilacs and violets, citrus fruits, raspberries, and blackberries. On the palate this is full bodied, with incredible power and density. A very impressive silky texture underneath the intense fruit flavors that gives way to an excitingly long, long finish. It’s hard to believe the classic structure in this. Impeccable balance. Don’t touch this for 10 years.
Wine Spectator: 100 Points
Exhibits a complex nose of crushed blackberry, dried flowers and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, with a rich, powerful palate. Tannic and muscular, with great length. Superracy. Builds and goes and goes. So fine and beautiful. Mythic. Best after 2017.
Decanter: 99 Points
Jacques Guinaudeau describes 2005 as the 'deckchair vintage': 'It was such a perfect harvest that we only had to let nature take its course.’ That said, this is an utterly brilliant and sublime Lafleur, and for me is one of the standout wines of this great vintage. Interestingly there is a higher percentage of Merlot, at 61%. It has a floral, liquorice nose with ink and cassis notes, while the palate is full, sweet and mouthfilling, with flavours of dark chocolate, plum skin, graphite and creamy, ripe black fruits. Exquisitely sculpted tannins are offset by bright, racy acidity, giving this wine a gorgeously seamless texture, balance and a mind boggling finish. Utterly graceful and rivetingly compelling.
Drinking Window 2018 - 2050
Vinous: 98 Points
Tasted at the Pomerol Comparative Exploration tasting in London, the 2005 Lafleur is cut from the same cloth as say, the 1982 or 1998, insofar that it is evolving at a pace that makes a glacier look expedient. It continues to sport a tight, masculine and quite tertiary bouquet, that Cabernet Franc in the driving seat, deigning you with hints of black truffle after 20 minutes in the glass. The palate is beautifully defined with intense black fruit, a gigantic, arching backbone that frames this Lafleur built for long-term ageing. There is wonderful focus and persistence in situ, yet the unrelenting grip is a sign that you should really not broach this wine for another decade. Sorry folks...you'll have to be patient.
