2012 Les Pensees

The second wine, the 2012 Les Pensees de Lafleur (about one-half the entire production), is a blend of 54% Merlot and 46% Cabernet Franc. It is a mid-weight, delicate wine displaying hints of sweet cherries, plums, licorice, wet gravel and earth. This supple, medium-bodied, pleasant offering should easily drink well for 10-15+ years. Baptiste Guinaudeau, the young, tall proprietor of this tiny treasure on the Plateau of Pomerol, harvested his Merlot at a perfect moment, September 23, and finished with the Cabernet Franc on October 6, several days before a huge deluge inundated Bordeaux. He spoke of 46 straight days with no rain, which created hydric stress in parts of their vineyard. The final blend for the 2012 Lafleur was 54% Cabernet Franc and 46% Merlot. Yields were low, never having surpassed 40 hectoliters per hectare in over 30 years, even in abundant years such as 1990 and 1982.

54% Merlot (picked 4 October), 46% Cabernet Franc (10 October). Very specific terroir in the middle of the Lafleur vineyard that is much later than the parcels that go into Lafleur. Richer, slightly more humid soil. Intensely aromatic, pure cassis with just a touch of spice and dusty leafiness. Scented more than perfumed. Touch of raspberry in there too. Silky and energised by great freshness. Tannins are very dry and papery but not at all drying. (JH)