Stones and Petals in the Glass: Château Lafleur 2018

When I pour the 2018 Lafleur, the glass holds a mystery: deep garnet with purple edges, dense yet glimmering like velvet under candlelight. It needs time—this is a wine of tension and restraint, one that will not simply spill its secrets. For a young Lafleur such as this, at least two hours in a decanter is essential, though three will do it greater justice, allowing the Cabernet Franc’s floral lift and the Merlot’s plum-rich depth to intertwine. The graphite seam softens, and aromas of violet, cedar, and dark fruit unfold slowly. Served at 17 °C, in large tulip-bowled Bordeaux stems that permit space for its layered perfumes, the wine begins to rise in measured arcs, like a hymn finding its cadence. Patience is not a suggestion here; it is a requirement. To rush the wine is to silence its poetry mid-stanza.

From the Heart of Pomerol’s Plateau

This is Pomerol, the smallest yet most fabled of Bordeaux’s Right Bank appellations. Château Lafleur, stewarded by the Guinaudeau family, lies on the plateau where gravel and clay converge in paradox—soils heavy enough to give weight, porous enough to give lift. Here, vines balance nearly equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc, a rare marriage in Pomerol. Merlot brings roundness, plum, and flesh, while Cabernet Franc threads fine-boned structure, aromatic brightness, and that echo of graphite that seems carved from the very stones. Unlike its illustrious neighbour Pétrus, Lafleur has always walked a quieter path, producing wines that marry muscle with ethereality, precision with profundity. Every decision in the vineyard reverberates; the estate’s small size ensures nothing is lost in scale.

The Shape of 2018

The 2018 vintage in Bordeaux was a study in contrasts. Spring was damp and threatened by mildew, but the summer and early autumn were radiant, hot, and dry. The harvest, drawn out and precise, yielded fruit of remarkable concentration yet preserved balance. At Lafleur, this translates into a wine that is commanding yet never ponderous. The nose is intricate: blackcurrant, damson, and mulberry lifted by violets and framed by cedar shavings and a wisp of tobacco leaf. With time, earthy undertones—graphite, pencil shavings, wet stone—emerge. On the palate, the wine feels coiled but graceful. The tannins—those drying, tactile grips from the grape skins—are refined yet firm, like silk pulled taut. Acidity runs bright, carrying fruit and savoury notes through a long finish that reverberates with gravel, spice, and flowers. French oak whispers at the edges, never intruding. Though approachable after long aeration, it is destined for fuller glory between 2030 and the mid-2040s, rewarding the patient with complexity and depth.

The Feast of Lamb and Rib

At table, Lafleur 2018 finds natural affinity with the great meats of Bordeaux tradition. Roast lamb shoulder, long-cooked until tender and scented with rosemary and thyme, softens the wine’s tannins and mirrors its herbal lift. The fat renders down into sweetness that Cabernet Franc welcomes, while the charred crust calls back to Lafleur’s mineral bass line. Equally, a rib of well-marbled beef, seared until the surface crackles and the interior runs ruby, resonates with the Merlot’s plump fruit. The cut’s richness gives the wine something to shape itself against, allowing its acidity to cleanse and renew the palate, sip after sip. These are not mere accompaniments but dialogues—wine and food in conversation, echoing one another’s strengths.

Game, Spice, and the Forest

For those willing to step beyond the classic, Lafleur 2018 rises to game and spice with rare poise. Venison loin, its lean intensity accented with a blackberry and juniper reduction, finds harmony in the wine’s dark fruit core and firm spine. The acidity sharpens the meat’s edges, turning intensity into elegance. Duck breast, lacquered with soy and star anise, speaks to Lafleur’s savoury dimension. The soy’s umami deepens its mineral register, while the star anise spirals upward to meet its violet and cedar top notes. With such pairings, Lafleur does not overwhelm but elevates, adding layers to each mouthful, sharpening flavours into resonance.

Autumn Roots and Truffle Whispers

Lafleur is not the exclusive companion of carnivores. For the vegetarian table, it proves equally profound. A risotto studded with porcini and finished with a shaving of black truffle amplifies the wine’s earthy undertones, while the risotto’s cream lends tannins a gentle cushion, turning their firmness into silk. Roasted parsnips and celeriac, glazed in butter and kissed with caramel at their edges, draw forth the Merlot’s ripe plum and cassis, while their rooty sweetness chimes with the Cabernet Franc’s herbal clarity. Here, the harmony is one of soil to soil, vineyard to field, a reflection of shared origin.

Salt, Stone, and the Last Word

Even the smaller indulgences deserve thought. Pommes Anna—potatoes sliced fine, layered, brushed with butter, and baked until crisp—mirror Lafleur’s gravelly minerality in culinary form. Polenta, slow-stirred with aged Parmesan or Comté, builds a counterpoint of texture, its savoury richness drawing out the brightness of fruit and floral perfume. When the thought of dessert intrudes, it is best to resist sugar. Sweetness would jar with Lafleur’s nature, pulling it into bitterness. Instead, choose cheese: a wedge of aged Comté, its salt and nuttiness lifting Lafleur’s finish into further persistence; or an aged Gouda, where crystalline texture and caramel edges meet the wine’s lingering fruit. The effect is meditative, a twilight closing that stretches the finish into silence.

A Mythic Descent and Return

I know this rhythm well. Like my brother Dumuzi, who spends half the year beneath the soil, Lafleur too disappears into itself before flowering again. The 2018 rests in bottle now, vivid but inward-looking. To serve it too quickly is to cut off its song at the bridge; to wait is to witness its full chorus. The cycle of descent and return is etched into its very fabric: what feels stern today will, in years to come, glow with generosity, as if the wine itself has been reborn. It is not merely a drink, but a story of time, echoing myth and memory.

Benediction in the Glass

To drink Château Lafleur 2018 is to step into a rite. Decant it with reverence and patience, hold it at the cool of evening, pour it into a bowl wide enough to let it breathe its layered soul. Offer it lamb or rib, venison or duck, risotto or truffled roots. Honour it with silence between sips. This is a wine not only to drink but to contemplate, its true voice destined for 2040 and beyond. By then, its story will not be of fruit alone but of soil, stone, and the echo of time itself, remembered in each sip.