Pensées De Lafleur 2011

Pensées de Lafleur is the second wine of Château Lafleur, the Pomerol estate held by the same family since 1872. The blend is built on Merlot with a share of Cabernet Franc, the latter planted from 1920 in place of the old Malbec. The Pomerol plateau here mixes gravel with iron-rich clay and a band of crasse de fer, the dense subsoil that holds water through dry summers and feeds the late-ripening fruit a savoury, mineral edge. Merlot brings flesh and dark plum, while Cabernet Franc adds lift, structure and a graphite line. The wine spends fourteen months in French oak under respectful farming, the slow oxygen exchange through the staves softening the tannins and knitting the fruit to gentle wood spice. It pours a deep garnet. The nose carries plum, dark cherry, damp earth, tobacco leaf and cocoa, with cedar from the barrel. The palate is medium to full, the 2011 vintage giving freshness and grip rather than weight, closing long on leather and fine dusty tannin. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees and decant an hour ahead. Good with roast lamb, rib of beef or a mushroom and beef ragout.