Professional reviews
Robert Parker (93)
Consistently one of the strongest candidates for the wine of the vintage, Lafleur’s 1988 has a dark plum/ruby color and a gorgeous nose of white flowers intermixed with kirsch liqueur and raspberries. The wine is full-bodied, sweet, round, and beautifully pure, with moderate tannin, medium to full body, and great elegance and complexity. This wine has come around faster than I would have thought.
Winespectator (95)
Toasted bread, with black cherry, tobacco and chocolate. Very perfumed, with wild flowers as well. Full, yet superrefined, with sweet fruit. It turns velvety and beautiful, with perfect balance. Chocolate. Brown sugar, some prune and light earth. It's all there.
Jancis Robinson (18)
Very dark crimson. Lighter nose than 1989. Lots of toasty minerality. A little lower key than the 1989. Spindly in comparison but in itself a very creditable mouthful. Firm and richly Pomerol. Actually a lovely wine if you were to encounter it in isolation. Very beautifully built. Late vintage picked early October. Arguably more subtle than 1989. From 1987 they started to sort the grapes and throw out those that were less successful.
Vinous (95)
The 1988 Lafleur is a vintage that I have not encountered for a while. It has a typical '88 nose, a bit austere (especially when directly juxtaposed with the ensuing two vintages), arguably conservative and not wishing to put a foot wrong. Light black fruit, antique bureau, freshly rolled tobacco and hints of pine emerge. The palate is medium-bodied and quite elegant in style, with fine balance and subtle spicy scents that surface with time. There is something mellow about this Lafleur that is very appealing, and it develops wonderful precision on the finish. Just a lovely wine.
Rene Gabriel (19)
Rene Gabriel rates this wine 19/20 points.
