Château Lafleur

Château Lafleur dates to 1872, when Henri Greloud, already owner of Château Le Gay in Pomerol and Château La Dominique in Saint-Emilion, bought a parcel of vines around the corner from Le Gay. His family also owned Château Tertre-Daugay, since renamed Château Quintus under Domaine Clarence Dillon. Rather than fold the new vines into Le Gay, Greloud created a separate property. By 1893 the wine was considered the third-best in Pomerol, behind only Vieux Château Certan and Pétrus, according to The Wine Cellar Insider. Henri's son Charles Greloud inherited Lafleur in 1900, and in 1915 André Robin, husband of Henri's granddaughter Gabrielle Greloud, bought the property together with Château Le Gay. After André Robin took over, the family removed the Malbec planted in the vineyard, perhaps by the early 1920s. Robin's daughters, Thérèse and Marie Robin, took over management in 1946 and devoted themselves to keeping the vineyard intact. Jacques and Sylvie Guinaudeau, great-great-grandchildren of Henri Greloud, took stewardship of Lafleur from Marie Robin in 1985. Marie Robin died in 2001, and the Guinaudeaus acquired the remaining shares that year; later in 2001 their son Baptiste and his wife Julie joined the family business.

• Founded 1872 by Henri Greloud, owner of Château Le Gay and Château La Dominique; his family also owned Château Tertre-Daugay (now Château Quintus)
• A separate property from the start: Greloud chose not to fold the new vines into Le Gay
• Ownership passed to Charles Greloud (1900), André Robin (1915, husband of Henri Greloud's granddaughter Gabrielle), then Robin's daughters Thérèse and Marie Robin (1946)
• Jacques and Sylvie Guinaudeau, great-great-grandchildren of Henri Greloud, have held stewardship since 1985; Marie Robin died in 2001 and the Guinaudeaus acquired the remaining shares that year, when son Baptiste and his wife Julie joined

The Lafleur vineyard sits at the heart of the Pomerol plateau, with La Fleur-Pétrus, Pétrus, Vieux Château Certan and Hosanna as its closest neighbors, and is planted in a near-perfect square, a shape unique in Pomerol. It measures no more than 4.5 hectares (Winedoctor) or 4.58 hectares (The Wine Cellar Insider); across its six wines, Société Agricole de Lafleur farms 24 hectares of vineyard in total. There are four soil types: a gravel hillock with brown gravelly soil to the northwest, brown sandy-gravelly soil over a gravelly-clay subsoil to the south, brown sandy-gravelly soil over a sandy-clay subsoil to the east, and, at the center, a crescent-shaped 0.8-hectare parcel of deeper soils that supplies Les Pensées, which The Wine Cellar Insider describes as sandy silt to brown sand and the estate calls a small stretch of clay. The vineyard is divided into 24 parcels holding close to 21,000 vines (about 7,500 on gravel-clay, 5,250 on gravel-sand at the center, and 8,250 on the largest, more clay-and-gravel section). Merlot and Cabernet Franc often grow side by side in the same row, and the vines are color-coded by variety. Vine density ranges from 6,000 to 7,500 vines per hectare, and average vine age is about 40 years; some vines predate the 1956 frost and were never replanted.

• 4.5 to 4.58 hectares depending on the source; the company farms 24 hectares of vineyard across all six wines
• Four soil types: gravel hillock to the northwest, sandy-gravelly over gravelly-clay to the south, sandy-gravelly over sandy-clay to the east, and a central 0.8-hectare crescent of deeper soils that supplies Les Pensées
• 24 parcels, close to 21,000 vines, Merlot and Cabernet Franc often side by side in the same row and color-coded by variety; vine density 6,000 to 7,500 vines per hectare
• Average vine age about 40 years; some vines predate the 1956 frost and were never replanted

The Guinaudeau family calls itself "farmers and vine growers, committed to preserving our farmers' common sense that set us a part in the universe of Grands Vins," and all farming and winemaking decisions come from day-to-day hands-on experience. In Jacques Guinaudeau's words, "It is our job, as vine-growers, to do everything to enable each vine plant to find its best expression. We have to monitor and follow the vines throughout their natural growing season, taking into account the character of each vintage and without excessive intervention"; he compares the vineyard to "a large garden where each plant is given its own particular attention." Soils at Lafleur are never turned, only raked, so gravel stones stay at the surface to capture and radiate heat. The estate has installed a drainage system and does not work the soil in July, to encourage a slight vine water deficit that aids ripening. Vines are worked by hand one at a time, ripeness is checked daily, and plots are harvested one at a time. Vinification takes place in 12 traditional cement vats of 30 to 80 hectoliters, and malolactic fermentation has taken place in barrel since 1991. After about three weeks of maceration, the wine ages in an average of 25% new French oak, down from as much as 50% in earlier years, with the rest in barrels previously used for about 12 months at sister estate Grand Village; barrel aging runs about 15 months before bottling. Les Pensées is vinified separately in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks and aged the same way as the Grand Vin.

• Soils never turned, only raked, to keep gravel stones at the surface radiating heat; no soil work in July, to encourage a slight water deficit
• Vines worked by hand one at a time and harvested plot by plot; vinified in 12 cement vats of 30 to 80 hectoliters; malolactic fermentation in barrel since 1991
• About three weeks of maceration; averages 25% new French oak (down from up to 50% in earlier years), the rest in used Grand Village barrels; about 15 months in barrel
• Les Pensées is vinified separately in temperature-controlled stainless steel and aged the same way as the Grand Vin

Société Agricole de Lafleur produces six wines. Lafleur itself has been harvested from the same plot since 1872 and balances the Bouchet and Merlot grape varieties; the estate calls it "a mythical wine, a singular association of power, finesse, and remarkable length." Sylvie and Jacques Guinaudeau created Les Pensées in 1987 as a much coveted second wine, and over the past 25 years it has evolved into a Grand Vin in its own right; it comes from a small stretch of clay at the center of Lafleur's gravel-dominated vineyard. Les Perrières, created in 2018 by Julie and Baptiste Guinaudeau, is in the estate's words "a novel interpretation of the unique Bouchet de Lafleur variety, translated through the great limestone soils on the plateau of Meyney" and "a limestone version of Lafleur." Les Champs Libres, created in 2013 by Julie and Baptiste Guinaudeau, is a Sauvignon Blanc assembled from four parcels on the clay-limestone plateau d'Ambeau. Le Grand Village Rouge comes from the family's original property, founded in 1650 by their direct ancestor Jacques Verdery, which the estate calls "the birthplace of our family of winegrowers"; the family has lived there for more than 45 vintages. Le Grand Village Blanc, created in 1990 by Sylvie and Jacques Guinaudeau, comes from the family's small clay-limestone vineyard on the plateau d'Ambeau. None of the six wines is sold direct to consumer; all are distributed through an international network of ambassadors.

• Lafleur: harvested from the same plot since 1872; a blend of Bouchet and Merlot
• Les Pensées: created 1987, evolved from second wine to independent Grand Vin over the past 25 years; comes from a small stretch of clay at the center of the Lafleur vineyard
• Les Perrières: created 2018 on the limestone plateau of Meyney from the Bouchet de Lafleur variety
• Les Champs Libres: created 2013, a Sauvignon Blanc from four parcels on the clay-limestone plateau d'Ambeau
• Le Grand Village Rouge: from the family's original property, founded 1650 by ancestor Jacques Verdery; Le Grand Village Blanc: created 1990 from a small clay-limestone vineyard on the plateau d'Ambeau

In a letter dated 24 August 2025, the Guinaudeau family announced that, beginning with the 2025 vintage, none of the estate's six wines would carry the Pomerol or Bordeaux appellation; all would instead be labelled Vin de France. The letter read: "The vintages 2015, 2019, and above all 2022, were all strong evidence of [climate change]. 2025 goes a step further. We must think, readapt, act." Irrigation restrictions, planting densities and permitted grape varieties have been hotly debated in Bordeaux as producers adapt to the hotter, drier conditions of 2022 and 2025. Outside AOC rules, the family wrote, it can protect the "perennity of our vineyards, the quality and the identity of our wines" while "maintaining the utmost respect for our fellow producers and the appellations of Pomerol and Bordeaux," summing up: "We change to remain the same." Decanter called Lafleur the first of Bordeaux's top tier, with six highly sought-after wines, to break with the AOC system. It joins a small group of French domaines that have turned away from the AOC framework for greater creative freedom: in Bordeaux, Loïc Pasquet's Liber Pater has long eschewed the Graves classification, and in the Languedoc the late Laurent Vaillé's Grange des Pères was made outside any appellation. The announcement came just as the 2025 harvest began, with the family describing early tastings as "shaping up not just as a great vintage, but as an extraordinary one."

• Announced in a letter dated 24 August 2025; effective from the 2025 vintage across all six wines
• The letter cited the vintages 2015, 2019 and above all 2022 as evidence of climate change: "We must think, readapt, act"
• Liber Pater has long eschewed the Graves classification, and Grange des Pères in the Languedoc was made outside any appellation
• Effective from 2025, all six wines are labelled Vin de France rather than Pomerol or Bordeaux

Before Robert Parker's first visit to the estate in 1975, the quality of Lafleur was not widely known outside the Right Bank, Belgium and a few buyers in London, and it sold for about the same price as Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste. Parker never stopped writing about the wine, and by the 1980s Lafleur sold for more than the First Growths; today only Pétrus and Le Pin sell for more. The Wine Cellar Insider counts 1945, 1947, 1950, 1961 and 1982 among the estate's legendary vintages, made with no selection and probably little or no new oak, and rates 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020 as possibly the best vintages in the history of the vineyard. The 1982 was made by Christian Moueix and Jean-Claude Berrouet with almost no selection and at most about 10% new oak.

• Robert Parker first visited in 1975; before that, Lafleur was known mainly on the Right Bank, in Belgium and to a few London buyers
• At the time of Parker's first visit, Lafleur sold for about the same price as Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste; by the 1980s it sold for more than the First Growths
• Today only Pétrus and Le Pin sell for more than Lafleur
• The 1982 was made by Christian Moueix and Jean-Claude Berrouet with almost no selection and at most about 10% new oak

The Wine Cellar Insider describes Lafleur in its best vintages as combining power, elegance, opulence and an exotic, dark-cherry and mineral character, and ranks it among the longest-lived wines of Pomerol and all of Bordeaux, with the best vintages needing two to three decades to develop. Peak maturity generally falls between 15 and 50 years after the vintage. Its tasting notes find the 2025 (51% Cabernet Franc, 49% Merlot) showing "truffles, flowers, cocoa, black cherries, smoke, and chocolate mint" on the nose and "pure, sweet, energetic fruit, marine influences, dark cocoa, and a touch of herbs" on the palate, and the 2024 (55% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot) opening with "orange flowers, black cherries, and black raspberries, combined with red and purple flowers, along with chocolate mint" before "exotic citrus, with lingering notes of dark chocolate, plums, sea salt, and chalk." Lafleur is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit) and pairs with classic meat dishes such as veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game and roast chicken, as well as Asian dishes and hearty fish courses such as rare tuna.

• 2025 blend: 51% Cabernet Franc, 49% Merlot
• Best vintages need two to three decades to develop; peak maturity 15 to 50 years after the vintage
• 2024 blend: 55% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot
• Serving temperature 15.5C/60F

Primary sources (producer's own site, Société Agricole de Lafleur): https://lafleur.org/en/, https://lafleur.org/en/philosophie, https://lafleur.org/en/lafleur, https://lafleur.org/en/les-pensees, https://lafleur.org/en/les-perrieres, https://lafleur.org/en/les-champs-libres, https://lafleur.org/en/grand-village-rouge, https://lafleur.org/en/grand-village-blanc, https://lafleur.org/en/ambassadeurs. Secondary sources: Decanter (Georgie Hindle, 24-27 August 2025), The Wine Cellar Insider, Winedoctor (partial, subscription-gated beyond the introduction). Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.