Region | |
---|---|
Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > Pomerol |
Colour | Red |
Type | Still |
The 1982 Lafleur, at least for my palate, while qualitatively no better than Mouton Rothschild, Latour, and La Mission Haut Brion, is off the charts in terms of the hedonistic and intellectual pleasure it gives me. I have only a few bottles remaining in my cellar, and this 1982 is still a young wine. The extraordinary intensity and purity of the kirsch liqueur and licorice, the remarkable opulence, the thickness and richness, yet the ability to seem fresh with laser-like precision are all things that must be tasted to be believed. This wine is showing a little bricking at the edge, but has off the chart concentration as well as a viscous texture and unreal purity and fruit. It is as close to some of the legendary 1947s that were produced in Pomerol as anything made in the last thirty years. This is a remarkable wine! Anticipated maturity: now-2030.
The 1982 Lafleur is probably my favorite wine of the vintage, even if there are two or three wines that can rival it in quality, simply because it made such an impression on me when I first tasted it as a student. Today, from a perfect cellar where it has been stored since release, it remains extremely youthful; but it is also much more expressive than it was only six or seven years ago, offering up a singular bouquet of kirsch, sweet berries, licorice, orange zest, exotic spices and crushed mint. Full-bodied, satiny and sensual, it combines huge concentration with rare energy, exhibiting beautifully melted tannins and concluding with a long, pure finish. If I owned any bottles, and sadly I don't, I struggle to think of any circumstances in which I would willingly part with them.