1995 Château Lafleur

The 1995 Lafleur is a vintage that I have encountered several times. This example offers dark berry fruit, Earl Grey and light gamey aromas, coalescing nicely in the glass but still stubbornly backward. Plus ça change - c'est Lafleur ! The palate is medium-bodied with more fleshiness than the bottle drunk with Baptiste Guinaudeau. It has impressive depth and grip, with black truffle infusing the black fruit that dominates the finish, but you cannot resist that silky texture. This is superb, but patience is required. Tasted at the Pomerol dinner at Cornus restaurant in London.

The 1995 Lafleur was bought and served blind by Baptiste Guinaudeau at a dinner in Saint-Émilion. It's not dissimilar to the bottle drunk in 2018. On the nose, there is black fruit with graphite and game hints. Given that it is now 27 years old, the 1995 is maturing at a glacial pace. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins that loosen up with aeration. With blackberry, black truffle and a touch of smoke, this Lafleur exudes Cabernet Franc on the finish. I thought that it might be ready to drink now, but this suggests it would be better to wait. Tasted in Bordeaux.

Took a moment to gather itself, then revved up and blew everyone away, just refusing to drop in quality even with two or three hours in the glass. So much depth and intensity, cassis and bilberry fruits, almost Left Bank in expression, layers of black truffle, bitter dark chocolate, charcoal and mocha, grip, tension, mint leaf and slate, and so much to love. Concentrated and still just getting going even at 27 years old, what a briliant example of this Pomerol icon. 50% new oak. The wine was being made by Jacques Guinaudeau at this point, but would not be fully owned by his side of the family until 2002.