Lafleur, Pomerol 1985 (1.5L) [RARE FORMAT]

Very high shoulder; lightly bin soiled labels

Chateau Lafleur is not a wine to drink young. It needs time to develop its nuances. Depending on the vintage, 15-20 or 30 years of bottle age will add dramatically to the wines complexities and unique textural characteristics.

This tiny vineyard dates back to 1872, when Mr. Greloud, Mr. Jacques Guinaudeau’s forebear, owner of Château Le Gay, purchases the parcel from Mr. Bernier. The Chateau Lafleur subdivision of Le Gay was eventually inherited by André Robin, and in 1946 passed on to his two daughters, Marie and Thérèse, who ran both estates for nearly 40 years until Thérèse’s death. Marie ran the estate with advisement and managerial assistance (1981) from the longstanding, legendary Libourne merchant Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix.

Convinced of the superior quality of these soils, the sisters focused on expressing the excellence of their wines. The legendary complexity of Château Lafleur comes from the diversity of its gravelly soils mixed with either sand or clay, and similar mixes of the subsoils. With the meticulous attention of Jacques and Sylvie Guinaudeau, helped by their son Baptiste, the wines express the natural depth and complexity of this vineyard.

Neal Martin, Vinous Media

The 1985 Lafleur is a vintage that I had not encountered for some years, though my memories glow with fond recollection. I crossed my fingers that this bottle would live up to expectations, and it was an absolute knockout, perhaps the best I have come across. Glorious! With a menthol-tinged nose, unerring symmetry on the palate, and enormous depth and grace on the finish, this is Lafleur in full flight. Yes, the ‘82 is more impressive, but if you invited me out for dinner, I might ask if we could drink the ‘85. (Enigma Variations: Lafleur 1955-2015, November 2018)

94 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

This is one of the greatest wines of the vintage, possibly the slowest-to-mature wine of the vintage, and potentially its longest lived. Tasted next to Petrus twice in 2002, the 1985 Lafleur seemed like it came from a different vintage. It was not herbal like the Petrus, far denser, the color more saturated than the Petrus, and more body, volume, and intensity than the Petrus. In fact, the Petrus looked like an emaciated, herbaceous, thin cousin to Lafleur. This wine is very special, with notes of figs, plums, minerals, violets, black raspberries, and licorice. Still a dense saturated ruby/purple with full body, great purity, and fabulous fruit, this is an immense vintage for Lafleur, and certainly ranks one of the great wines this small micro-estate has ever produced. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2030. Last tasted, 8/02. (6/2003)