One of the wines of the vintage, but likely to prove slower evolving and more introverted than its 2019 counterpart, the 2020 Lafleur unwinds in the glass with aromas of cherries, raspberries, kirsch, black truffle, orange zest and vine smoke. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's deep and concentrated, with a tightly wound core of fruit framed by rich, powdery tannins, concluding with a long, saline finish. This is another magical bottle from an estate that just seems to do everything right.
There’s such beautiful clarity to this with freshly crushed grapes, flowers such as violets, and hints of chocolate. Aromatic. Full and linear with refined tannins that give length and focus. Poised. Such brightness. Needs five or six years to show it’s greatness.
Smooth, supple and alive in the glass, this has an energy and brightness. It’s compact and there’s density and concentration, but coiled right now, almost narrow, driving the flavours vertically. Seriously elegant, sophisticated and intellectual with the savoury elements of wet stone, liquorice, dried earth, tobacco and an iris and violet florality lingering and dominating, but this manages to be complex and detailed with polished tannins and a sense of absolute purity. A great Lafleur that will take its time, only just offering a glimpse of what’s to come.
Looking at the flagship 2020 Château Lafleur, it’s based on 54% Merlot and 46% Bouchets (Cabernet Franc) that spent 15 months in just 25% new French oak. This brilliant Pomerol reveals a saturated ruby/purple hue as well as a dense, primordial bouquet of red and black fruits, tobacco leaf, iodine, flowers, and crushed stone-like minerality. A powerful, full-bodied, concentrated Lafleur built for the long haul, it has beautiful overall balance, lots of ripe tannins, and the vintage's focused, pure, structured style front and center. It needs to be forgotten for a solid decade and will evolve for 40 years or more.
TWI
98pts
The Wine Independent
The 2020 Lafleur is a blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs lots and lots of patient swirling to coax out a slowly emerging perfume of kirsch, wild blueberries, juicy black plums, and lilacs, followed by wafts of tar, crushed rocks, Sichuan pepper, and wood smoke. The full-bodied black, blue, and red berry flavors grow in the mouth, allowing earth and mineral nuances to emerge, textured by velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epically long-lasting stone and licorice-laced flavors. This will need at least 10-15 years in bottle to reveal its cards, and personally I think it's holding onto a full house.
The 2020 Lafleur lies in marked contrast to the 2019. This is far less expressive and, as I remarked last year, shows a little more reduction. You can immediately tell this is a very serious, almost stentorian Lafleur, but it is refusing to come out and play. The palate is quintessentially Lafleur, a bit reserved and moody with quite hefty tannins, perhaps not as finessed as the 2019. Stylistically it harks back to the 2000 and as such, demands at least another decade in bottle. (Perhaps the larger format compounds its backward nature.) Patience is required. Tasted from ex-château magnum at Kate & Kon's 40-Year vertical in Austria.