2018 Grand Village
Buying options
Tasting notes
Black cherries, well-paced through the palate, with spiced cocoa bean, turmeric, cumin, espresso, a plus centre, exceptional quality for the appellation, reflecting the care and attention taken by the Guinaudeau family of Château Lafleur.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 2018 Grand Village is a pivotal vintage, notable for its aromatic intensity. It has turned out nicely in bottle, exhibiting aromas of dark berries, flowers, lead pencil, plums, licorice and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and polished, it’s fleshy and fruity with a lively core of fruit. Long and ethereal, the finish is superb with an elegant bitterness. This wine offers a deeper insight into the estate’s DNA.
The 2018 Grand Village has undergone a small reorganization in terms of its grape varieties (see my tasting note from barrel). It has a refined bouquet that opens over the course of a couple of hours, the Cabernet Franc expressive, lending subtle peppery scents to aromatics that convey a sense of classicism, something old-school, which I do not write pejoratively. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and peppery in style, the crunchy black fruit now laced with a little tobacco. There’s a lovely tang of cracked black pepper on the finish that lingers for 30 seconds. A superb Grand Village that should give up to a decade’s drinking pleasure.
About the producer
The Société Civile du Ch. Lafleur is the collective name for the Guinaudeau family’s wines and estates. These are some of the Right Bank’s most famous wines, including Ch. Lafleur and Les Pensées in Pomerol, along with Les Perrières, Les Champs Libres and Ch. Grand Village in Fronsac.