Pomerol 2020

Château Lafleur farms a compact plot of roughly 4.5 hectares on a gravel-and-clay rise in Pomerol, planted to roughly half Merlot and half old-vine Cabernet Franc — locally known as Bouchet — with sources putting the exact split anywhere from about 60/40 to

50/50 depending on vintage; whatever the precise figure, it is a proportion of Cabernet Franc far higher than almost any other Pomerol estate, most of which lean heavily on Merlot.

This unusual varietal balance is the estate's defining technical fact: it gives the wine a firmer tannic spine, more overt herbal and floral lift, and a slower-developing, longer-lived character than the plush, Merlot-forward style typical of the appellation.

Winemaking at Lafleur is deliberately restrained — native yeast fermentation, gentle extraction, and aging in a mix of new and used French oak barrels without excessive new-wood influence — in keeping with the estate's long-standing motto of quality over quantity.

Because volumes are so small, the wine is scarce and closely tied to the identity of whoever farms the vineyard, which is part of why ownership transitions here (there have only been a handful across two centuries) are closely watched by Bordeaux followers.