Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Extremely rich and opulent nose of ripe fruit and meat with flowers, following through to a full body with round, juicy and chewy tannins that are polished and rather soft. Intense finish. Try after 2024.
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Wine Spectator
The dark plum and cherry preserve flavors are fleshy in feel, with singed cedar and tobacco notes filling in through the finish. A touch woodsy in the end, but there's enough fruit to soak that up.
Barrel Sample: 91-94 -
Decanter
Gorgeously silky texture, this is a lovely ripped, muscular Pomerol, although the high alcohol slightly threatens the balance overall on the finish. Drinking Window 2024 - 2038
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Jeb Dunnuck
Just an up-front, incredibly charming, irresistible Pomerol, the 2018 Château Lafleur-Gazin offers up a smorgasbord-like nose of red and black cherries, flowery incense, spice, and cedary herbs. With loads of sweet fruit, this plush, layered, sexy 2018 has sweet tannins, no hard edges, and the class to evolve and drink well for 10-15 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Black fruits and structured tannins are happily balanced by this wine’s freshness. The Merlot gives a huge feel to the wine, not beating about the bush in its density and concentration. At the end, though, there is fruitiness and the promise of freshness as the wine matures. Drink from 2027.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made from 100% Merlot, the 2018 Lafleur-Gazin has a medium to deep garnet-purple color, galloping out of the glass with expressive notes of baked plums, stewed black cherries and blueberry preserves, plus hints of pencil lead, iodine and dried mint. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is filled with robust black fruit preserves, framed by chewy tannin's and just enough freshness, finishing with a minty/medicinal kick.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
A source of exceptionally sensual and glamorous red wines, Pomerol is actually a rather small appellation in an unassuming countryside. It sits on a plateau immediately northeast of the city of Libourne on the right bank of the Dordogne River. Pomerol and St-Émilion are the stars of what is referred to as Right Bank Bordeaux: Merlot-dominant red blends completed by various amounts of Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon. While Pomerol has no official classification system, its best wines are some of the world’s most sought after.
Historically Pomerol attached itself to the larger and more picturesque neighboring region of St-Émilion until the late 1800s when discerning French consumers began to recognize the quality and distinction of Pomerol on its own. Its popularity spread to northern Europe in the early 1900s.
After some notable vintages of the 1940s, the Pomerol producer, Petrus, began to achieve great international attention and brought widespread recognition to the appellation. Its subsequent distribution by the successful Libourne merchant, Jean-Pierre Mouiex, magnified Pomerol's fame after the Second World War.
Perfect for Merlot, the soils of Pomerol—clay on top of well-drained subsoil—help to create wines capable of displaying an unprecedented concentration of color and flavor.
The best Pomerol wines will be intensely hued, with qualities of fresh wild berries, dried fig or concentrated black plum preserves. Aromas may be of forest floor, sifted cocoa powder, anise, exotic spice or toasted sugar and will have a silky, smooth but intense texture.