See our current Château Lafleur availability, including the otherworldly 1982 here.
Lafleur was born in the 18th century out of the division of Le Manoir de Gay into two parts for inheritance, Domaine de Lafleur and Château Le Gay. The estates passed through the generations into the hands of two sisters, Marie and Thérèse Robin in 1946, who ran them in tandem. Bottles of both Lafleur and Le Gay from the era bear the inscription ‘Th & M Robin, propriétaires’. It is the name Guinaudeau, Marie’s descendants and proprietors since 1985, which appears on Lafleur today.
Frequently compared with nearby Pétrus, Lafleur’s star has risen steadily since 1981 when it came under the management of Libourne négoçiant J-P Moueix, already distributor of the wine and also manager of Pétrus itself. Lafleur is the smaller of the two, its 4 hectares producing 1500 12bt cases annually. Pétrus produces over 3000 cases from its 11 hectares of vines. Despite the chateaux themselves being only 250 metres apart, the vineyard soils are marginally yet importantly different, Petrus’s being near-homogeneous iron-rich blue clay, Lafleur’s are more complex, comprising gravel, clay/gravel, gravel/sand and marl components. A further differentiator is vine mix, Petrus employing 95% Merlot, Lafleur contrasting with 45% Cabernet Franc alongside Merlot. It is the Cabernet Franc, sometimes contributing 50% to the final wine, that is said to be the source of the profound perfume for which Lafleur is known.
The Guinaudeau family are first and foremost vignerons, dedicating their time principally to this small square vineyard, also to recent acquisitions Chateau Grand Village (AOC Bordeaux), Les Perrières (AOC Fronsac) and others. The labels of each property all state Guinaudeau, vignerons, propriétaires.
If Pétrus is famed for its grandeur, opulence and exotic spice character, Lafleur is appreciated for its precise tannic structure, complex intensity, its beguiling mineral character and its savoury mid-palate, qualities very much derived from the specific terroir of the property.
Few wines rightfully acquire the "legendary" tag. Look no further than the otherworldly and highly reputed 1982, with no fewer than 10 perfect 100 point scores from the leading critics. Time will tell whether some of the modern day greats, such as 2000, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019 follow suit.
"as good as it gets"
Enquire here about Provinance's availability of wines from this producer.