The second wine of Chateau Lafleur which comes from a small, clay-dominated part of the estate vineyard, the 2017 Pensees De Lafleur is 53% Merlot and 47% Bouchet aged 15-16 months in 20-25% new barrels. Its deeper ruby color is followed by a beautiful bouquet of black raspberries, leafy herbs, damp earth, and hints of chocolate as well as a beautiful sense of minerality. Playing in the medium to full-bodied end of the spectrum, it has a gorgeous texture, impressive concentration, fine yet building tannins, and a great finish. The tannins here are brilliant, and this is simply pure class. Drink it over the coming 15-20 years.

While Lafleur is based on the gravel soils in Pomerol, Pensees is made from the vines on clay. The 2017 Pensees has 52% Merlot together with 48% Cabernet Franc and is medium to deep garnet-purple in color. It slowly develops in the glass into a gorgeous perfume of violets, black cherries, and licorice with a core of redcurrant jelly, cast iron pan, and underbrush. Medium-bodied, the palate is tightly wound with fantastic freshness and exquisitely fine-grained tannins, finishing long with loads of floral and mineral layers.

The 2017 Pensées de Lafleur is simply stunning. Tasting it today, I can only conclude that Pensées is obviously more complete and enthralling than many Grand Vins in this vintage. Explosive, deep and beautifully resonant, the Pensées shows tremendous depth and energy, not to mention so much character. What else can I say, except that I absolutely loved it. -- Antonio Galloni

The 2017 Pensées de Lafleur is a blend of 52% Merlot and 48% Cabernet Franc. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it springs from the glass with vivacious scents of exotic spices—cassia, fenugreek, cumin seed and star anise—over a core of black raspberries, wild blueberries and Black Forest cake plus a waft of roses. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is filled with juicy black fruits and loads of spicy sparks, framed by firm, finely grained tannins and a lively backbone, finishing on a lingering iron ore note.- LPB

The 1,500 candles in the vineyards (as with Petrus and VCC) were effective against the frost here, and as with much of the region the water stress was causing concern until rain at the end of June, which got everything growing again. The dry July and August saw no extreme temperatures, certainly more moderate than 2015, and the picking took place over two periods, with the Merlot on 16 September and the Cabernet Franc on 29 September. Those bouncy tannins are really defined, and this is a fairly serious take on Les Pensées de Lafleur, with accentuated power and tension that comes from its 0.69ha of clay soils (compared to the gravels elsewhere in the 4.58ha vineyard). Good persistency, and lovely floral edging. Read more at https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/france/bordeaux/chateau-lafleur-pensees-de-lafleur-pomerol-2017-20332#Rb2ujhbKw3KEhiKP.99

Floral in nature, maraschino cherries, silky tannins, wet earth and juicy plums come to front promptly. Soft, seductive, sweet and fresh, give this a few years to age so the wine can expand and soften. Made from a blend of 52% Merlot and 48% Cabernet Franc. The harvest took place for the Merlot on September 16 and the Cabernet Franc on September 29.