Les Pensées de Lafleur 2008

The 2008 Les Pensees de Lafleur is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. It is elegant, although not quite as rich and intense as the 2010, but loads of licorice, red and black fruits, earth and spice make for a medium-bodied, stylish wine to drink over the next 10-15 years.

Sweet plum, strawberry and raspberry fruit character on the nose and palate. Full and silky, with lovely fruit and a long finish. Minerally undertone

The second wine, the 2008 Les Pensees de Lafleur, a blend of 61% Merlot and 39% Cabernet Franc, is a richly fruity, seductive, sensual effort that should be drinkable young, and last for 10-15 years. The tiny Lafleur vineyard, which was harvested between October 8-14, produced a wine with an atypically high percentage of Cabernet Franc. Proprietor Guinadeau stated that the Cabernet Franc was among the finest he had ever harvested.

The Les Pensées de Lafleur 2008 appears to be maturing in accomplished fashion in bottle. It has lovely definition on the nose, quite floral with violet scents and just a touch of Italian cured meat lending complexity. The palate is sappy and saline, a "cool customer" in the sense that it is not concentrated (in keeping with the growing season), but holds everything back. Perhaps it might put on a little weight with continued bottle age? Maybe, but I see no reason not to broach this wine now and hold a couple back, just to see what it can do. Tasted February 2015.