Chateau Lafleur
Château Lafleur is a micro-estate of only 4.58 Ha in one plot, situated on the Right Bank of the Bordeaux area in the appellation Pomerol. In 1872 Henri Greloud, who was already the owner of the nearby situated Château Le Gay, bought the vineyard and started with renovations. He built a house and a cellar and named the property Château Lafleur.
Although the appellation Pomerol has no official classification, Château Lafleur was already in 1893 ranked as the #3 wine of Pomerol (behind Petrus and Vieux Château Certan). In 1915, the château was purchased by Andre Robin, together with Château le Gay. He was married to Gabriëlle Greloud, Henri’s granddaughter. In 1946, their two daughters, Thérèse and Marie Robin, took over control of Château Lafleur and the two sisters dedicated their lives to preserve the vineyard and produce one of the greatest Bordeaux wines of all time.
Until 1975, the wine was available at a competitive price. Then Robert Parker visited the château and his reviews were extremely positive, including some perfect scores. Château Lafleur became one of the most sought-after wines from Bordeaux and they were selling for more than the First Growths.
The vineyard consists of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc. The average age of the vines is close to 45 years. In general, the wine is aged in 25% new French oak barrels, where it remains for 15 months prior to bottling. In 1987 another wine was introduced: “Les Pensées de Lafleur”, which is definitely not their “second wine”, because it is made from a specific part of the vineyard.
Château Lafleur is one of the most long-lived wines of Pomerol and is able to age in certain vintages for 50 years or more. Top vintages are: 1947, 1950, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1989, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2015. In fact, all vintages produced after 1994 are of outstanding quality!
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