2023 Chateau Lafleur & the Guinaudeau family wines
Something happens when you pass through the gate of Chateau Lafleur and taste the wines of the Guinaudeau family; the rules by which you understand other Bordeaux start to break down. The assumptions and parameters you apply to any given vintage when tasting elsewhere no longer help make sense of what’s in your glass.
At the same time, it is hard to think of wines more tightly bound to their origins or more faithfully expressive of their growing seasons. To paraphrase the title of the excellent book from Noble Rot, these wines are Bordeaux from Another Galaxy.
In talking to our customers about Bordeaux 2023, Vinum’s message has been that this is not A Great Vintage (of the sort that gets capital letters) but it is a year in which some great wines have been made. The six crus of the Guinaudeau family are unequivocally amongst the great wines of 2023.
As ambassadors for the Guinaudeau family in Singapore it is a huge privilege not only to offer some of Bordeaux’s most unique and prestigious wines, but to do so at prices that continue to justify en primeur purchasing. Prices chez Guinaudeau retain admirable stability and sobriety compared to many of their peers and do not show the boom and bust volatility of many chateaux. They also work hard to bake value into their futures pricing, ensuring it consistently represents a meaningful discount to physically available stock.
Whether you are buying Grand Village or Lafleur itself, it is a priority for the Guinaudeau team to ensure that en primeur is the best time for private clients to acquire their wines.
Sylvie, Jacques, Julie & Baptiste Guinaudeau.
In 2023 these are wines of stunning aromatic range, purity and finesse. Power and intensity are not challenges for these terroirs, so greater emphasis can be given to elegance, precision and texture. The generosity of the vintage means we have slightly more wine to offer this year, so we are able to include all six wines in our offer – although some will have to be tightly allocated.
2023 is probably the best vintage of Chateau Grand Village I have ever tasted. The nose alone makes a mockery of the price point. Everyone buying this vintage should have a case of this (probably in magnums!). Grand Village contains slightly more Merlot than usual because…
…all the Bouchet went into Les Perrieres which, in 2023, is 100% from the genetically unique pre-clonal Cabernet Franc known by its old name. This is an astonishing wine of soaring minerality and tension that is stylistically closer to Chateau Lafleur that Les Pensees.
We have not been able to offer Les Pensees en primeur for a couple of years as production has been low and our allocation too small. From a band of classic Pomerol clay that cuts diagonally through Lafleur’s gravel-dominated vineyard, this tastes much more like Pomerol than does Lafleur itself. More than ever, the dark-toned and brooding 2023 reminds me of Trotanoy.
Lafleur is Lafleur, utterly profound and utterly unique. The 2023 was one of my two wines of the vintage and one of the few with a potential 100/100 from William Kelley.
Vinum has never offered Grand Village blanc at en primeur before. It is a beautifully poised wine, delivering killer value, that very few collectors will ever get to have in their cellars due to limited production and huge demand from restaurant clients.
In just a decade of production Les Champs Libres has established its own identity and place amongst Bordeaux’s finest dry white wines. The 2023 has tremendous clarity and mineral cut that drives through the palate. It is just a shame our allocation is not larger.
These are wines that always have to be allocated (please see below). It is Vinum’s job to spread them as fairly and broadly as possible amongst our best clients, and we look forward to hearing your interest in these incomparable 2023s.
With best wishes,
Matthew Hemming MW
THE OFFER
Offered subject to allocation and final confirmation. Initial allocations will be made during the w/c 13/5 and communicated to customers from Wednesday 15th. It may be necessary to offer single bottles in some circumstances.
The listing of larger formats reflects the relative scarcity of the wines although we may be able to consider special requests in some circumstances.
Château Grand Village 2023
$165 ($179.85 inc GST) per case (6*75cl OC)
$175 ($190.75 inc GST) per case mags (3*150cl OC)
Brilliantly floral – has a suggestion of very rich fruit that never develops but morphs into violets and blossom. Bright, with an acidity that gives accent and definition. Saline, taut and mineral. Silky and intensely savoury through the core. Gorgeous. 91% Merlot gives a beautiful, plummy quality with a richness to the texture. Mineral on the finish.
92-93pts – Matthew Hemming MW
The 2023 Grand Village is gorgeous. Merlot plays the leading role this year, but what really comes through is the wine’s saline minerality and nuance. Crushed red berry fruit, mint, blood orange, cinnamon and dried herbs are nicely pushed forward. The 2023 is an especially deep, serious Grand Village that benefits from the inclusion of Merlot that typically would have gone into Les Perrières.
90-92pts – Antonio Galloni / vinous.com
Les Perrières 2023
$540 ($588.60 inc GST) per case (6*75cl OWC)
$550 ($599.50 inc GST) per case mags (3*150cl OWC)
100% Bouchet. Fabulous purity of blackberries and cracked pepper spice. Palate is lithe, juicy and vivid. Totally linear and savoury, with a limestone spine and fresh tobacco tones. Strikingly purple in profile – not just the colour but the style of fruit and floral characters. So singular and standing proud. Has an edginess and tension. Tannins are chalky but also have a glassy, cool sheen to them.
94-96pts – Matthew Hemming MW
The 2023 Les Perrières de Lafleur reveals aromas of violet, dark wild berries, spices and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, enveloping and deep, layered and textured, it has a good depth of fruit with powdery tannins, concluding with a saline, lead pencil-inflected finish. Crafted entirely from Cabernet Franc, it’s one of the most singular Les Perrières produced by Baptiste Guinaudeau and his team.
94-96pts – Yohan Castaing / robertparker.com
Les Pensées 2023
$680 ($741.20 inc GST) per case (3*75cl OC)
70% Merlot; 30% Bouchet. Shows great density, volume and mineral tension. Reminds me of Trotanoy in many ways but with less breadth and more focus and linearity. Showcasing the salinity of the vintage. Has white blossom and floral aspects. Humming with energy.
93-95pts – Matthew Hemming MW
The 2023 Pensées de Lafleur is an especially serious rendition of a cuvée that is generally more forward and demonstrative than its stablemate Lafleur. Unfurling in the glass with deep aromas of cherries and dark berries mingled with violets, orange zest and spices, it’s medium to full-bodied, with a broad attack that segues into a fleshy, layered core of real depth and density, underpinned by rich, powdery tannins and concluding with a long, harmonious finish. It’s a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc.
94-96pts – William Kelley / robertparker.com
Château Lafleur 2023
$3,060 ($3,335.40 inc GST) per case (3*75cl OC)
54% Bouchet; 46% Merlot. Lilacs, iris, violet and fresh tobacco aromas. Very fragrant. As ever, totally unique and thrilling. Super clean lines, cleansing and savoury. Has build and thrust as it accelerates through the palate and away onto the finish. Has an inner sweetness and perfume but without any sugar impression. Profound and beautiful.
96-98pts – Matthew Hemming MW
The 2023 Lafleur is one of a small number of contenders for the title of wine of the vintage, and it’s one 2023 that appears to surpass its 2022 counterpart. Wafting from the glass with aromas of blackberries, cherries and plums mingled with hints of licorice, violets and mint, it’s full-bodied, deep and layered, with a concentrated core of lively, succulent, pure fruit framed by beautifully refined tannins, concluding with a long, fragrant finish. Its exquisite structure, intensity without weight and ineffable harmony mark it out as a great Lafleur, and one that will be worth a special effort to seek out. It’s a blend of 56% Cabernet Franc and 46% Merlot.
98-100pts – William Kelley
The 2023 Lafleur was picked from September 7 to 17 and is the usual blend of roughly equal parts Bouchets (Cabernet Franc) and Merlot. It has a very backward nose at first, only reluctantly opening. Tobacco and touches of shucked oyster shell surface with air. This is a more tertiary bouquet—completely different in style to the neighboring Pétrus. The palate is very linear and strict, like the nose, fresh with a tincture of dark chocolate and wrapped up with black fruit, black pepper and a touch of tea leaves toward the finish. The Bouchets is very expressive on the close, and it lingers beautifully. This is not a flamboyant Lafleur—it is very reflective of the growing season, perhaps a more cerebral wine that will be fascinating to observe as it ages. This is one of the few profound wines this vintage, yet it’s still a challenge. This is a wine for those who like cryptic crosswords and Pomerol.
97-99pts – Neal Martin / vinous.com
Château Grand Village blanc 2023
$190 ($207.10 inc GST) per case (6*75cl OC)
$200 ($218 inc GST) per case mags (3*150cl OC)
80% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Semillon. Has a richness allied to an intensity of acid that was lacking in many other whites tasted so far. Floral aromas but, crucially, with a penetrating, intense and punchy quality. Slightly edgey at the front of the palate and then fleshing out into white stone fruit in the middle. Only just starting to harmonise. Super crisp and precise, saline finish.
90-92pts – Matthew Hemming MW
Compared to the 2022, the 2023 Grand Village Blanc is more fruity and dense, evoking aromas of lemon oil, verbena, kumquat and confit citrus. Broad but tensile, it’s medium-bodied with a fleshy core of fruit and a delicately phenolic frame that segues into a chalky, saline and bright finish. This blend of 80% Sauvignon and 20% Sémillon is simply stunning.
91-93pts – Yohan Castaing
Les Champs Libres 2023
$290 ($316.10 inc GST) per case (3*75cl OWC)
Slightly sweet preserved lemon notes on the nose. The intensity of Grand Village is amplified here. Riper mid-palate fruit but always controlled and compact. Really starts to take off, fleshy but always sheathed in acidity. Stunning cut and length.
92-94pts – Matthew Hemming MW
The 2023 Les Champs Libres is pure Sauvignon Blanc picked from August 28 to 30. Interestingly, you would not pick this up as Sauvignon Blanc on the nose. It’s very pretty, with more orchard fruit than bell pepper scents. Further hints of white peach come through with time. The two-thirds new oak is already very well integrated. The palate is particularly well balanced, with a pure lime cordial and peachy entry, a fine bead of acidity and a tensile, persistent finish. This is absolutely delicious with bells on.
92-94pts – Neal Martin
Terms & Conditions of 2023 En Primeur Purchase in Singapore
* All items offered under bond, ex-Singapore (inclusive of freight from Bordeaux)
* Government duties are not inclusive & will apply at the time of physical availability.
* 2% discount will be given for Cheque/TT/PayNow payments.
* Purchases are to be transacted in case multiples as offered, change of bottle formats subject to extra charges.
* Payment is immediate upon confirmation of order/s. Order/s confirmed are non-refundable &/or exchangeable.
* 2% administrative charge [subject to prevailing GST] will be levied for amendment(s) [Duty paid to Bond or vice versa] on confirmed orders. Alterations are not allowed for confirmed order(s) after two years from the date of invoice.
* ETA 2026
* All wines offered subject to remaining unsold
