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Tasting notes
Tasted blind. Mid ruby colour. Fairly fragrant with fresh vanilla and dried flowers. Crunchy, fresh and cool on the palate. There is perhaps a sweet edge to the red fruit, but this is largely fine and well extracted. Lightly dusty tannins have a fine touch. Compact. (TP)
Critic scores
Average Score
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Tom Parker MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
News for fans: This will be the last “Acte” wine from Lafleur. But no need for sadness. This vineyard has at last come of age and has earned the right to its own name from 2018! Yay!! The new wine will be called Les Perrieres de Lafleur. Now the sad news: None of the Cabernet Franc survived the frost in 2017, so the wine is made from 100% Merlot this year. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Guinaudeau G Acte 9 is intensely scented of warm plums, baked black cherries and mulberries with hints of licorice, cloves, sandalwood and dark chocolate plus a waft of garrigue. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has fantastic precision and purity with a laser-fine line of racy acid and ripe, firm, finely grained tannins to support, finishing long and fruity. This vintage should age beautifully over the next 25 years+.
High level of frost damage. They recently replanted the Cabernet Franc (which they call Bouschets because the vines are right-bank mass selection not clones from the Loire) and it suffered badly because the vines are so young. So the wine is 100% Merlot this year, probably the only time it will be, harvested 21 September. Mid cherry red. I miss the Cabernet Franc fragrance here but it is still scented. Still some graphite. Smooth, chocolate texture. Longer maceration with less frequent remontage than in previous vintages. Rounded, gentle yet persistent with a really nice bite of freshness on the finish. (JH)
About the producer
The Société Civile du Ch. Lafleur is the collective name for the Guinaudeau family’s wines and estates. These are some of the Right Bank’s most famous wines, including Ch. Lafleur and Les Pensées in Pomerol, along with Les Perrières, Les Champs Libres and Ch. Grand Village in Fronsac.