Scores
95
Robert Parker
Aromas of rose petals, raspberries, plums and musk introduce the 2021 Pensées de Lafleur, a medium to full-bodied, seamless and enveloping wine that's deep and sensual, it's ripe tannins entirely concealed in an ample core of succulent, pungently perfumed fruit. As I've written before, this cuvée derives from vines growing in the part of Lafleur's vineyard through which a water course once flowed and where the soils are richer in clay and better hydrated. It's a blend of 59% Merlot and 41% Cabernet Franc; this bottling hasn't really been a "second wine" since the late 1990s—but the market doesn't seem to have caught on.
93
Vinous
The 2021 Les Pensées de Lafleur is a very pretty wine. Strong floral and spice notes give the Pensées tons of charm. Silky tannins reinforce a feeling of finesse that further adds to its immediacy and appeal. Succulent red cherry fruit, red plum, orange peel, cinnamon and cedar open with time in the glass. Bright acids reappear on the finish to round things out. More than anything else, it is the wine's balance that is most impressive. What a charmer.
95
Decanter
Blackcurrant and black cherry nuances on the nose, smells aromatic but delicate. Strong and intense straight away, you can feel the power here, but it’s cloaked in silk. Smooth and shiny, this is giving confidence and brightness with tang and bite, Gorgeous succulence and crunch but pure too. There’s no sun so you get layers of pixelation and nuance of flavour, hints of spice, coolness, tang and acidity. Taught and tense, strict almost, but you can feel the beginnings of it start to soften. A delicious, pure and straight wine that will be a beauty.