The 2012 Lafleur is a Bordeaux blend from the renowned Chateau Lafleur in the Pomerol region of Bordeaux, France. This red wine has a 14.0% alcohol content and has garnered significant acclaim from professional reviewers, reflecting its high quality and complexity.
Neal Martin's Wine Journal awarded the 2012 Lafleur a score of 94, describing it as a blend of 46% Merlot and 54% Cabernet Franc, with the Merlot picked on September 23rd and the Cabernet Franc on October 6th. Martin noted that the wine possesses an expressive nose with redcurrant, raspberry, wilted rose petals, and flinty notes. The palate is medium-bodied with chalky tannins and crisp acidity, resulting in a more masculine and broody character. The oak, comprising around 25% new wood, is subtly integrated, and the finish is generous and open, which is unusual for the vintage.
Vinous, also reviewed by Neal Martin, gave the wine a score of 95, highlighting its high-toned nose with scents of liquorice, blueberry, lavender oil, and wild heather. The palate features sappy red berry fruit with brown spices, cracked black pepper, cedar, and tobacco, culminating in a Médoc-like finish. Martin suggested that this Pomerol requires further aging to reach its full potential.
James Suckling awarded the wine an impressive 96 points, praising its fascinating nose with orange peel, mangoes, stones, and hints of blanched walnuts. Suckling described the wine as full-bodied, dense, and reserved, with amazing length and finesse, and a finish that shows wonderful, subtle, and pure fruit. He recommended enjoying it from 2018 onwards.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate also rated the wine at 94 points, emphasizing its well-defined bouquet with blackberry, granite, cedar, and graphite. The medium-bodied palate is finely delineated with plenty of graphite-infused black fruit and a spiciness on the finish. The review suggests that this Lafleur is destined for long-term aging.
Decanter rated the wine 95 points, calling it classic in style but racy and harmonious, with pure and expressive berry fruits and a hint of mint on the nose. The palate is beautifully balanced and long.
Jeff Leve from The Wine Cellar Insider gave the highest score of 97 points, noting the wine's structure and pure sensations of wild, ripe, and overripe cherries, boysenberry, plum, espresso, and stone. He described it as full-bodied, sweet, concentrated, and fresh, moving elegantly from blackberries to plum with spice, licorice, and earth.
The Wine Independent also rated it 96 points, highlighting its profound scents of dried cherries, prunes, wild thyme, camphor, iron ore, and cumin seed. The medium to full-bodied palate is rich and multi-layered with rounded tannins and an herbal lift on the finish.
Overall, the 2012 Lafleur is a highly praised wine with a complex profile, recommended for those seeking a well-structured and age-worthy Bordeaux blend.
