Les Perrieres, Chateau Lafleur, Bordeaux Superieur 2018

The 2018 Les Perrières de Lafleur comes from a massal selection of vines from Château Lafleur planted on the clay and limestone soils in Fronsac. Based on 51% Cabernet Franc and 49% Merlot aged 15 months in one-third new French oak, it has a stately, regal style offering medium to full-bodied richness, notes of blackcurrant, black cherries, graphite, chalky minerality, white truffle, and violets, a broad, expansive mouthfeel, and building tannins. It shares a similar elegance and seamlessness with its Pomerol counterpoint, yet the high percentage of Cabernet Franc and different terroir give it a style all its own. It's a beautiful wine that needs 2-4 years of bottle age and will evolve for 15+ years. As I wrote after tasting it from barrel, if you find a bottle, you should buy it!

The 2018 Les Perrieres de Lafleur is a blend of 49% Merlot and 51% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it prances out of the glass with wonderfully gregarious notes of kirsch, Black Forest cake and wild blueberries, followed by hints of menthol, rose hip tea and underbrush. The medium to full-bodied palate is packed with energy-charged red and black fruit layers, supported by exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and fragrant. Mmmm, that is good!

The 2018 Les Perrières de Lafleur is a total knock-out. Soaring aromatics make a strong opening statement. Inky dark fruit, chocolate, new leather, mocha, spice, licorice and menthol infuse the 2018 with a real sense of brooding power and intensity. The 2018 is a serious wine that will benefit from time in the cellar. In a word: superb.

A refined and crafted red from this appellation with blueberry, dried mushroom and bark undertones. It’s medium-bodied with integrated and lightly dusty tannins and a flavorful finish. More linear this year. Merlot and bouschet. Better in 2023.

The 2018 Les Perrières de Lafleur has a perfumed, floral, black cherry- and blueberry-scented nose that translates the opulence of the vintage, yet there is impressive control and this avoids blowsiness. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins countered by a keen line of acidity. Notes of black cherries and black olive lead to a sapid finish, perhaps just marred by a little heat on the aftertaste. Otherwise, there is plenty of potential here. Tasted from ex-château magnum at Kate & Kon's 40-Year vertical in Austria.