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Domain: Château Lafleur

Alongside its illustrious neighbours, Petrus and Lafleur Petrus, Château Lafleur is without doubt one of Pomerol's greatest wines. Previously known as Domaine Au Gay, Château Lafleur was renamed at the end of the 19th century, when connoisseurs began to appreciate the quality of the wines, resulting in a rapid increase in its price. Today the property belongs to Jacques and Sylvie Guinaudeau, who farmed the estate when it was owned by the Robin family. When the last Robin sister died, her descendants could have sold the property for a considerable sum, but chose to let it remain in the hands of the devoted Guinaudeau couple, and adjusted the price accordingly. A lovely story, and a rare occurrence among the great names in wine. At Château Lafleur, the grapes are grown with an elitist approach, in accordance with the maxim that the previous owners held dear: quality takes precedence over quantity. Jacques and Sylvie Guinaudeau work in the vineyard every day with their employees; the grapes are harvested on a plot by plot basis as each variety ripens, in the same manner as the top grands crus classés. The proportions of the various grape varieties are unusual for Pomerol in that Merlot is not predominant: it is accompanied by an equal proportion of Cabernet Franc, which gives the wines a particularly good capacity to age. As a result, Lafleur is certainly one of the Pomerols that improves the most over time and that can be kept the longest.